2018 WSOP Player of the Year: John Hennigan on Top of the World

July 03, 2018

Martin Harris

A week ago we were noting how Shaun Deeb — on the strength of his bracelet win in Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller and a bundle of other cashes — had moved out in front in 2018 World Series of Poker Player of the Year race.

Deeb picked up two more WSOP cashes over the last week, but couldn't hold onto to first position as John Hennigan has moved back in front. "Johnny World" grabbed three more cashes to go along with his victory in Event #27: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. to elevate into top spot.

Here's a look at how the 2018 WSOP POY Top 10 appears of this morning, Tuesday, July 3:

Place	Player	2018 WSOP POY Points
1	John Hennigan	3,130.76
2	Shaun Deeb	2,769.11
3	Eric Baldwin	2,309.06
4	Mike Leah	2,294.28
5	Julien Martini	2,096.31
6	Elio Fox	2,010.14
7	Mario Prats Garcia	2,005.73
8	Paul Volpe	1,935.94
9	Justin Liberto	1,913.44
10	Scott Bohlman	1,895.69

Eric Baldwin earned his second career bracelet in Event #37: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em to join the Top 10 a week ago, and after cashing three more times in recent days now sits in third in the POY race.

Mike Leah has one career bracelet and this summer has come close to earning a second on multiple occasions with three final tables out of nine cashes, a performance that puts him in fourth in the POY race at the moment.

Julien Martini is in fifth in the rankings. He also has one bracelet, earned at the start of the summer in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Martini also almost got a second one after taking third in Event #56: $10,000 Razz Championship where Leah finished fourth and Calvin Anderson (presently 15th in the WSOP POY race) won the bracelet.

Early POY leader Elio Fox, winner of Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty, holds on in sixth place, while Event #45: Big Blind Antes $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em winner Mario Prats Garcia stays on the list in seventh.

Currently in eighth, Paul Volpe has been in the Top 10 all summer after earning gold in Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.

Justin Liberto final-tabled Event #63: $3,200 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em High Roller won by Chance Kornuth, finishing seventh. That was Liberto's ninth cash of the summer and right now places him in ninth on the POY list. Also joining the list in 10th is Scott Bohlman, winner of Event #40: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet, one of nine cashes he's collected at the WSOP.

Sitting just outside the current Top 10 at the moment are Anthony Zinno (11th), Ismael Bojang (12th), Ben Yu (13th), and Joe Cada (14th).

About the 2018 WSOP Player of the Year

The 2018 WSOP POY race includes events from this summer's WSOP in Las Vegas as well as from the 2018 World Series of Poker Europe series in Rozvadov, Czech Republic later this year (Oct. 11-Nov. 2). Finishes in 72 of the 78 bracelet events at the 2018 WSOP will count toward the POY, with the following six events excluded:

Event #1: $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em
Event #32: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em
Event #36: Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em
Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em
Event #57: $1,000/$10,000 Ladies Event
Event #78: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop

We're providing a weekly update on the race here at PokerNews, but you can additionally visit the WSOP Player of the Year page for the latest standings. Also located there is a "Point Calculator" with which you can determine how points from upcoming events will be awarded according to the number of entries.

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2018 WSOP Player of the Year: John Hennigan moves in front ahead of Deeb, Baldwin, Leah, Martini.
After five weeks at the WSOP it's John Hennigan's world as he leads the Player of the Year race.