Global Poker Index: Ole Schemion Reclaims Overall Rankings Lead as WSOP Begins

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May 28, 2015 3 min read

Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player’s results over six half-year periods. The GPI also ranks the top performers of the year over two six-month periods as calculated by the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.

2015 GPI Player of the Year

It was a quiet week atop the Global Poker Index 2015 Player of the Year leaderboard with zero movement among the top eight positions and only Atanas Kavrakov moving up into the top 10 after collecting points for his victory in the partypoker World Poker Tour National Cyprus Main Event last week.

That means Dzmitry Urbanovich remains the POY leader, his 10th week in a row in first position. Such quiet won’t be long-lived, however, as the race will surely start shaking up soon with this week’s start of the 2015 World Series of Poker.

GPI 300 Top 10

Things were relatively calm as well at the top of the overall Global Poker Index rankings, although there was a change at the top as Ole Schemion inched back ahead of Scott Seiver to end the latter’s four-week reign in first and retake the top spot. Schemion had been the top-ranked player for a record 18 straight weeks from Dec. 2014 to Apr. 2015 before Seiver grabbed the lead for a month, but the 22-year-old German’s sixth-place showing in the EPT Grand Final Main Event gave him the points to move back in front.

Also worth noting is the appearance of Mustapha Kanit at No. 10 this week, equaling his highest-ever GPI ranking. Aside from collecting big live scores of late — including winning the €50,000 Super High Roller in Monaco at the EPT Grand Final earlier this month — the top-ranked player in Italy had a huge online score this week by winning the $10,300 Spring Championship of Online Poker Main Event (High) on PokerStars.

Online play doesn’t count in the GPI rankings, of course, but Kanit — a.k.a. “lasagnaaammm” — is surely enjoying counting up the $1,304,720 he earned for that win.

Welcome to the GPI Top 300

Eight players joined the GPI Top 300 this week, all entering the list at the bottom with Marco Della Tommasino the highest-ranked of the group at No. 286.

2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess is part of this group, reentering the Top 300 once again at No. 294. As we noted last week when taking a look at how the last dozen WSOP ME winners have fared in the GPI, Riess’s highest-ever ranking was at No. 199 (in November 2013). However, Riess and other Main Event winners are already excitedly working on earning more points — and more gold — at the WSOP this week.

Biggest Gains

Tommasino was the biggest gainer this week among those in the Top 300, having moved up on the strength of a fourth-place finish in that aforementioned WPT National event in Cyprus.

Biggest Drops

Meanwhile of those slipping in the rankings this week yet retaining spots inside the Top 300, Viet Van Vo fell the furthest, going from No. 205 to No. 265.

To view both the 2015 Player of the Year and GPI overall rankings in their entirety, visit the official GPI website. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

• Tags Global Poker Index Ole Schemion Dzmitry Urbanovich Scott Seiver Mustapha Kanit Marco Della Tommasino Ryan Riess Viet Van Vo World Series of Poker European Poker Tour World Poker Tour
• Related Tournaments World Series of PokerWorld Poker TourEuropean Poker Tour
• Related Players Scott SeiverMustapha KanitOle SchemionRyan RiessDzmitry UrbanovichViet Van Vo