GPL Results, Standings, and Schedule After Week 14: Playoffs are Set

October 29, 2016

Mo Nuwwarah

Welcome to the weekly rundown of the Global Poker League here on PokerNews. In this space, all of the past week's results from the GPL will be listed followed by league standings and a look at the following week's schedule.

It was the final week of GPL action before a month-long hiatus prior to the playoffs. The top four teams in each conference made the playoffs and the team most at risk of slipping out of playoff position in the Americas Conference was the San Francisco Rush. The Rush, who opened the season in the basement, managed to climb into fourth but were ahead of the fifth-place New York Rounders by just three points. It was up to Phil Galfond to secure their spot. The online legend faced off with Felipe Ramos of the Sao Paulo Mets. Galfond prevailed 2-1, which proved to be enough.

The Rounders, on the other hand, were the victims of a crucial sweep to open the week. Bryn Kenney was matched with Twitch star Scott Ball of the basement-dwelling Las Vegas Moneymakers. The team may have had little to play for, but Ball showed out against Kenney with a 3-0 win that left the Rounders in need of major help. When Galfond was able to pull out the win, the Rush were nine points ahead with the tiebreaker advantage and there was nothing Kevin MacPhee could do in the final match against L.A. Sunset manager Maria Ho that would turn the tide. He still won 2-1, but the Rounders' season ended in fifth place.

In the Eurasia Conference, it was a different story. The top three teams stayed the same, but the London Royals rose from the ashes and moved from last place into fourth to snag the final playoff spot. The Royals came into the week three points back of the fourth-place Paris Aviators and one point back of the Rome Emperors. It was Royals versus Emperors with a playoff spot likely on the line if anyone could manage a sweep. Justin Bonomo took the felt for the Royals while the Emperors deployed No. 1 overall pick Mustapha Kanit in the biggest spot of the season. It was Bonomo coming out on top 2-1, meaning the Royals still needed a little bit of help.

If Alex Luneau could just get a win for the Aviators, they would hang on to fourth place. It wasn't to be, though, as Luneau went to battle against Anatoly Filatov of the Moscow Wolverines. Filatov, the team manager, was plenty motivated himself as the Wolverines needed to win to ensure themselves the top seed. Filatov did just that with a 2-1 victory and the Aviators wound up tied with the Royals in points. The playoff spot went to the Royals, though, by virtue of the tiebreaker — 15 wins to 14.

Exact playoff schedules are to be decided, but it will be Nationals versus Rush and Sunset versus Mets in the Americas, and Wolverines versus Royals and Stars versus Bears in the Eurasia.

Week 14 Results

Player	Team	Wins	Points
Match 1	Heads-Up
Bryn Kenney	New York Rounders	0	0
Scott Ball	Las Vegas Moneymakers	3	9


Match 2	Heads-Up
Player	Team	Wins	Points
Pascal Lefrançois	Montreal Nationals	1	3
Olivier Busquet	L.A. Sunset	2	6


Match 3	Heads-Up
Player	Team	Wins	Points
Felipe Ramos	Sao Paulo Mets	1	3
Phil Galfond	San Francisco Rush	2	6


Match 4	Heads-Up
Player	Team	Wins	Points
Dominik Nitsche	Berlin Bears	1	3
Randy Lew	Hong Kong Stars	2	6


Match 5	Heads-Up
Player	Team	Wins	Points
Mustapha Kanit	Rome Emperors	1	3
Justin Bonomo	London Royals	2	6


Match 6	Heads-Up
Player	Team	Wins	Points
Alex Luneau	Paris Aviators	1	3
Anatoly Filatov	Moscow Wolverines	2	6


Match 7	Heads-Up
Player	Team	Wins	Points
N/A	San Francisco Rush	0	0
N/A	Montreal Nationals	2	6


Match 8	Heads-Up
Player	Team	Wins	Points
Scott Ball	Las Vegas Moneymakers	1	3
João Bauer	Sao Paulo Mets	2	6


Match 9	Heads-Up
Player	Team	Wins	Points
Maria Ho	L.A. Sunset	1	3
Kevin MacPhee	New York Rounders	2	6

Standings

Place	Team	Points	Wins
Americas Conference
1	Montreal Nationals	199	19
2	L.A. Sunset	188	19
3	Sao Paulo Mets	183	16
4	San Francisco Rush	161	16
5	New York Rounders	158	12
6	Las Vegas Moneymakers	140	11

Eurasia Conference
Place	Team	Points	Wins
1	Moscow Wolverines	171	14
2	Hong Kong Stars	164	14
3	Berlin Bears	160	13
4	London Royals	156	15
5	Paris Aviators	156	14
6	Rome Emperors	154	11