Global Poker Index: Raymer, Clements & Clark Join the List
Another week in the books means it is time for the new Global Poker Index rankings. Since being introduced by Federated Sports & Gaming (FS+G) a few weeks ago, the GPI attempts to answer the question: “Who are the best live tournament poker players in the world today?” Each week the GPI releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world. Here's a look at the movers and shakers for the week ending Aug. 2, 2011.
Here's a look at this week's GPI top ten. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.
The Top 10 as of August 1, 2011
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 2,473.134 | - |
| 2 | Erik Seidel | 2,457.361 | 1 |
| 3 | Jason Mercier | 2,434.301 | -1 |
| 4 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,248.826 | 0 |
| 5 | Fabrice Soulier | 2,193.589 | 1 |
| 6 | Samuel Stein | 2,168.853 | -1 |
| 7 | Sorel Mizzi | 2,115.122 | 0 |
| 8 | Tom Marchese | 2,035.664 | 0 |
| 9 | David “Bakes” Baker | 2,027.315 | 0 |
| 10 | John Juanda | 2,013.628 | 0 |
Minimal Changes to the Top Ten
For the third week in a row, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier sits atop the GPI. While there were no new additions to the top 10, there were a few shake-ups. Erik Seidel managed to move up a spot to No. 2, barely edging out Jason Mercier, while Fabrice Soulier leapfrogged Sam Stein to take over fifth place.
Meanwhile, there was some movement just outside the top ten where Vanessa Selbst’s gradual slide continued as she dropped to 13th place. Both Daniel Negreanu and David Peters jumped a spot, coming in 11th and 12th respectively.
Welcome to the GPI
The GPI welcomed six new players to the rankings this week, most notably 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Greg Raymer and consummate tournament grinder Scott Clements. The latter barely cracked the list in 299th place, while the former debuted a few spots higher in 293rd. It was surprising to learn that these two players had previously been absent on the list, but now that they're on, we don’t expect them to go anywhere but up.
Consequently, a few notables fell off the GPI including James Bord, Yuval Bronshtein, Andrew Pantling, and Alan Sternberg.
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Hicks | 1,036.367 | 291st |
| Greg Raymer | 1,035.256 | 293rd |
| Francesco De Vivo | 1,033.708 | 294th |
| Zachary Clark | 1,032.556 | 296th |
| Joao Barbosa | 1,030.003 | 297th |
| Scott Clements | 1,027.01 | 299th |
Ups and Downs
The biggest mover of the week was Steve O’Dwyer who jumped 132 spots from 261st to 129th. How does one ascend the GPI so quickly? All you need is a deep run in the WSOP Main Event (626th for $19,359) and a victory in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Event at the Bellagio Cup VII for $259,452.
Former World Champs Jonathan Duhamel and Joe Hachem both moved up over 30 spots and cracked the top 100 and gains from Andrey Zaichenko (+55) and Shaun Deeb (+58) put them hot on their heels. While there were a lot of players who improved their positions this week, there were only ten notable movers.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73rd | Jonathan Duhamel | 1,525.819 | +35 |
| 83rd | Joe Hachem | 1,489.691 | +33 |
| 111th | Andrey Zaichenko | 1,392.177 | +55 |
| 116th | Shaun Deeb | 1,368.013 | +58 |
| 129th | Stephen O’Dwyer | 1,334.476 | +132 |
| 164th | Davidi Kitai | 1,271.338 | +64 |
| 183rd | Jeffrey Papola | 1,217.907 | +49 |
| 187th | Antony Lellouche | 1,210.715 | +72 |
| 194th | Benjamin Pollak | 1,201.045 | +73 |
| 233rd | Lucien Cohen | 1,144.412 | +31 |
The unfortunate corollary of players moving up are players falling fast. No one felt this effect more than Tyler Smith who dropped 104 spots to 300th, barely clinging to the GPI. While Smith had a pair of cashes this summer at the WSOP, his victories in the 2010 Gold Strike World Poker Open Main Event in Tunica (July 31, 2010, for $152,529) and 2010 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge Main Event in New Orleans (December 10, 2010, for $66,488) have become dated and fallen into lower-multiplied periods. If Smith hopes to hold a spot on the GPI, he’ll need some more tournament scores soon. The same can be said for Cornel Cimpan and John O’Shea, who both dropped nearly 100 spots this week.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 118th | Thomas Bichon | 1,364.461 | -38 |
| 148th | Kristijonas Andrulis | 1,299.572 | -33 |
| 179th | Shander De-Vries | 1,224.759 | -48 |
| 201st | Ludovic Lacay | 1,187.85 | -28 |
| 243rd | Cornel Cimpan | 1,128.754 | -90 |
| 280th | John O’Shea | 1,052.88 | -96 |
| 300th | Tyler Smith | 1,025.947 | -104 |
What's In Store?
As fall approaches, the tournament poker schedule ramps up and will surely shake up the GPI. The 2011 Legends of Poker, European Poker Tour Tallinn, Latin American Poker Tour Uruguay, and EPT Barcelona will all take place this month, and as Michael Craig pointed out in his weekly write up, this will likely result in some European players making moves in the GPI. Likewise, the Epic Poker League, WSOP Europe, and 2011 Festa al Lago Classic are right around the corner and will surely wreak havoc on the GPI.
As a reminder, for a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. While you're at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.
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