Dan Zack Claims 2022 WSOP Player of the Year Honors
Table Of Contents
Dan Zack has been a consistent World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year contender since 2017, and he finally got over the hump this year to win the prestigious award.
With two gold bracelets added to his trophy case, the high stakes pro was the top performer this summer. Additionally, the New Jersey native who first became known in the poker world for crushing Live at the Bike games had 14 other cashes in bracelet events, including two other final table appearances.
2022 WSOP Player of the Year Final Leaderboard
| Position | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Zack | 4,530 |
| 2 | Daniel Weinman | 4,040 |
| 3 | Koray Aldemir | 3,275 |
| 4 | Shaun Deeb | 3,197 |
| 5 | David Peters | 2,982 |
| 6 | Yueqi Zhu | 2,766 |
| 7 | Joao Viera | 2,752 |
| 8 | Joao Simao Peres | 2,735 |
| 9 | Alex Foxen | 2,548 |
| 10 | Brian Rast | 2,520 |
WSOP Player of the Year Speaks
Zack, who is competing in the Tournament of Champions, the final WSOP event open only to bracelet and Circuit ring winners, spoke with PokerNews on a break to discuss the significance of becoming Player of the Year.
"It means a lot, I set a goal three years ago that I really wanted to try to win it before I left poker, and this is the third series I've tried," Zack said.
When asked what he meant by "before I left poker," he explained that he doesn't expect to have many more years in him of grinding the WSOP. The three-time bracelet winner said he's getting married next year and wants to have kids in the near future, and that means he won't be able to play full-time anymore.
"My fiance has a real job," Zack said.
In 2019, Zack won his first bracelet in a $2,500 limit mixed triple draw event for $160,447 and cashed in 14 events, but ended up in sixth place in the POY race. That year, WSOP Europe results were factored into the POY chase, but Zack opted to skip the trip to Rozvadov, Czech Republic, essentially surrendering his shot at POY.
"I thought I was probably about 20% to win and it was a month-long commitment with only 11 events in a pretty remote location away from my family," Zack said of his decision to skip 2019 WSOP Europe."
The Best of the Best
With 4,530 points at the 2022 WSOP, Zack beat out Daniel Weinman, who also had a brilliant series, by just under 500 points. The champion held the lead in the POY race for the final three weeks.
Zack is one of three players to win two bracelets in 2022, joining Main Event winner Espen Jorstad and Lawrence Brandt. He first took down Event #15: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $440,757, and then shipped Event #40: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $324,174.
Last year's Player of the Year, Josh Arieh, had another impressive series with two third place finishes, but ended the WSOP well behind Zack in 41st place at 2,041 points.
Some of the perennial POY chasers were never in contention this summer, especially Daniel Negreanu who lost over $1 million and didn't make many deep runs. Phil Hellmuth, who did book a second place finish, was also never a part of the race this year.
"You're tossing away a few hundred dollars here and there just to give yourself the best chance to compete because you know that guys like (Deeb) are doing the same thing and it's the only way to keep pace with them."
Shaun Deeb, the 2017 winner, however, finished in fourth place at 3,197 points, although even he wasn't much of a threat to Zack late in the series.
Competing for WSOP Player of the Year is quite a grind and it requires players to enter dozens of events to have any shot at winning. Deeb, Negreanu, and a few others traditionally enter 40 or more bracelet tournaments each series. Zack told PokerNews that chasing POY does decrease some expected value, but the honor of winning it is so worth it.
"One-hundred percent, you lose some EV chasing it," Zack explained. "You're tossing away a few hundred dollars here and there just to give yourself the best chance to compete because you know that guys like (Deeb) are doing the same thing and it's the only way to keep pace with them."
During the Tournament of Champions on Monday afternoon, WSOP Vice President Jack Effel presented Zack with a trophy and honored him for his outstanding accomplishments this summer.
WSOP Player of the Year Winners
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Daniel Negreanu | Ted Forrest |
| 2005 | Allen Cunningham | Mark Seif |
| 2006 | Jeff Madsen | Phil Hellmuth |
| 2007 | Tom Schneider | Jeff Lisandro |
| 2008 | Erick Lindgren | Barry Greenstein |
| 2009 | Jeff Lisandro | Ville Wahlbeck |
| 2010 | Frank Kassela | Michael Mizrachi |
| 2011 | Ben Lamb | Phil Hellmuth |
| 2012 | Greg Merson | Phil Hellmuth |
| 2013 | Daniel Negreanu | Matthew Ashton |
| 2014 | George Danzer | Brandon Shack-Harris |
| 2015 | Mike Gorodinsky | Jonathan Duhamel |
| 2016 | Jason Mercier | Paul Volpe |
| 2017 | Chris Ferguson | John Racener |
| 2018 | Shaun Deeb | Ben Yu |
| 2019 | Robert Campbell | Shaun Deeb |
| 2020 | N/A (pandemic) | N/A |
| 2021 | Josh Arieh | Phil Hellmuth |
| 2022 | Dan Zack | Daniel Weinman |
In this Series
- 1 Officials Offer First Look at 2022 WSOP; Answer Several Lingering Questions
- 2 Bally's & Paris: Your Guide to the New Home of the World Series of Poker (WSOP)
- 3 Negreanu, Deeb (as Expected) Highest Bids in $25k WSOP Fantasy Draft
- 4 WSOP Transportation Guide: Riding the Las Vegas Strip Monorail
- 5 Let the Games Begin: 2022 WSOP is Officially Underway
- 6 Phil Hellmuth Misses 2022 WSOP Opener After Bout of Traveler's Diarrhea
- 7 Kenney, Schindler & Imsirovic Arrive at 2022 WSOP Despite Recent Cheating Allegations
- 8 Phil Ivey is Back! Poker G.O.A.T. Cashes First 2022 WSOP Event
- 9 Baltimore Raven Calais Campbell at WSOP: "We Have Super Bowl Potential"
- 10 2022 WSOP Featured Females: Katie Kopp Becomes Bally's First-Ever Bracelet Winner
- 11 WSOP Player of the Year Race One Week In: Defending Champ Arieh Off and Running
- 12 ClubGG Offers Bubble Protection For Eight 2022 WSOP Events
- 13 Doyle Brunson Skipping 2022 WSOP Due to COVID-19 Concerns
- 14 Retired NBA Star Paul Pierce Allegedly Won't Pay His Poker Debts
- 15 Scott Seiver Pays $43k to Enter $1k WSOP Event, Fails to Cash
- 16 2022 WSOP Featured Females: Lara Eisenberg Talks Poker's Impact on Dementia
- 17 2022 WSOP Hands of the Week: Depaulo vs. Hellmuth, a Pure One Outer & a Royal Flush
- 18 Reigning World Champ Koray Aldemir Quietly Crushing it at 2022 WSOP
- 19 2022 WSOP Player of the Week 2: Jeremy Ausmus Wins Third Bracelet in 9 Months
- 20 Hellmuth Controversy at WSOP: Poker Brat's Chips Swiped on Break
- 21 Security Mistakenly Tries to Kick Out Neymar Jr. After He Cashes First WSOP Event
- 22 Breaking News: Phil Ivey Closing in on Elusive 11th WSOP Bracelet Tonight
- 23 Doyle Brunson Becomes a WPT Ambassador, Might Play WSOP Main Event
- 24 World Series of Daniel's? Zack, Weinman (But Not Negreanu) Lead POY Race
- 25 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller Kicks Off; Ivey, Negreanu and Kenney All Enter
- 26 Ali Imsirovic Busts WSOP $250K Super High Roller on Brutal Cooler
- 27 Cruising in the $250k, Is 2022 One of Phil Ivey's Best WSOP's Ever?
- 28 Runner-Runner Bad Beat Tilts Negreanu; Poker Star Out of WSOP $250k
- 29 Navy Vet Reps Military Charity During WSOP Salute to Warriors Event
- 30 2022 WSOP Featured Females: Meet Wendeen Eolis, 1st Woman to Ever Cash Main Event
- 31 Dan Zack Still Leads WSOP POY Race; Ivey, Deeb within Striking Distance
- 32 888poker Pro Ian Simpson Gears Up for 2022 WSOP Main Event
- 33 Poker Players Who Have Defended Their WSOP Bracelet
- 34 How to Make Day 2 of the Million Dollar Bounty
- 35 Poker Player Wins WSOP Main Event Satty in His Sleep...Literally
- 36 Josh Arieh Flushed Out of WSOP Main Event Early; Four Past Champs in Day 1a
- 37 2022 WSOP Hands of the Week: Yuvee Loses $50K to Pair of Deuces; Ivey Hits Ace from Space
- 38 BREAKING: Phil Hellmuth at 2022 WSOP $3,000 NLH Final Table, Chasing 17th Bracelet
- 39 Will the 2022 WSOP Main Event Smash the Attendance Record?
- 40 Barstool Sports' Cracking Aces Podcast Hosts Crush it on Main Event Day 1
- 41 WSOP Main Event Railbird Pays Back Daniel Negreanu Four-Year "Debt"
- 42 Matt Glantz Finds the $1 Million WSOP Bounty
- 43 BREAKING: WSOP Main Event Day 2 Schedule Altered
- 44 Aces Bust Kings 15 Minutes into Day 1b of WSOP Main Event
- 45 The Muck: Ike Haxton Takes on Barstool Sports' Poker Invasion
- 46 2022 WSOP Player of the Week 5: Jessica Teusl Wins First Bracelet at First WSOP
- 47 2022 WSOP Main Event Draws Massive Field, Almost Breaks All-Time Record
- 48 Phil Hellmuth's World Series of Poker Entrance Met w/ a Chorus of Boos
- 49 Robert Lipkin is the 2022 WSOP Main Event Bubble
- 50 SO SICK! Kings vs. Kings Cooler Busts 888poker's Sam Abernathy from the WSOP Main Event
- 51 Koray Aldemir: Back-to-Back WSOP Main Event Runs "A Privilege"
- 52 Brutal River! Aces, Queens, & Jacks All In Preflop in WSOP Main Event
- 53 Former World Champ Tom McEvoy Shares his Poker Samadhi Wisdom
- 54 Did Alejandro Lococo Pull Off Best WSOP Main Event Bluff Since Moneymaker?
- 55 The Muck: Did Mike Matusow Really Have a Blow Up in the WSOP Main Event?
- 56 Dan Zack Claims 2022 WSOP Player of the Year Honors
- 57 How Much Money Players at 2022 WSOP Main Event Final Table Really Made
- 58 Espen Jorstad Wins 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000
- 59 Las Vegas Active Shooter Rumors Spark Panic; WSOP Impacted, Negreanu Injured
- 60 Quads Dooms Asher Conniff at WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 61 Aces Cracked! Souki Busts from WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 62 Espen Jorstad Holds Commanding Lead in Pursuit of WSOP Main Event Title
- 63 Not Su's Day: From Chip Leader to Out in 9th Place
- 64 A Look at All the 2022 WSOP Online Michigan Bracelet Winners
- 65 Five Memorable Hands from the 2021 WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 66 Where Are They Now: Ron “The Carolina Express” Stanley Battled Stu Ungar at 1997 WSOP
- 67 WATCH: One of the Best Folds in WSOP Main Event History?
- 68 Adrian Attenborough Just Made Two of the Gutsiest Plays of the 2022 WSOP
- 69 Can Karim Rebei Click his Way to a WSOP Main Event Title?
- 70 Cool, Calm & Collected Efthymia Litsou is WSOP Main Event's Last Woman Standing
- 71 2022 WSOP Hands of the Week: Quads, Quads, Quads, Quads!
- 72 Brutal River! Aces, Queens, & Jacks All In Preflop in WSOP Main Event
- 73 Daniel Negreanu Wraps 2022 World Series of Poker Down $1.1 Million
- 74 How the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Will Be Remembered
- 75 PN Podcast: 2022 WSOP Main Event Final Thoughts; Interviews w/ Main Event Final Three
