Global Poker Index: Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier Closes The Gap
Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes a player's results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.
The Top 10 as of November 28, 2011
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank from Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Seidel | 2,560.94 | 0 |
| 2 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 2,534.45 | 0 |
| 3 | Jason Mercier | 2,398.58 | 0 |
| 4 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,378.13 | 0 |
| 5 | Shawn Buchanan | 2,219.40 | 0 |
| 6 | Sam Stein | 2,178.26 | 0 |
| 7 | Sam Trickett | 2,121.17 | 0 |
| 8 | Sorel Mizzi | 2,106.72 | 0 |
| 9 | Fabrice Soulier | 2,024.88 | 0 |
| 10 | Matt Waxman | 2,003.46 | 0 |
No shuffling of positions took place among the top 10, but there is something to keep an eye on. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier closed the gap between himself and Erik Seidel and now sits about 25 points out of the No. 1 spot on the GPI. In November 2010, Grospellier finished 56th in the European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event. That score fell from Period 2, where it wasn't one of his top three results, to Period 3 where it is being counted, thus resulting in a bump in points for Grospellier.
Welcome to the GPI
For the second consecutive week, there were only four new addition to the GPI. Kenny Hallaert is making his debut on the GPI thanks to two side-event wins at EPT Loutraki.
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Georges Yaazbeck | 1,196.52 | 193rd |
| Jan Bendik | 1,099.12 | 251st |
| Kenny Hallaert | 1,075.77 | 263rd |
| Chris McClung | 1,050.14 | 284th |
Those who fell from the GPI this week are Kevin Vandersmissen, Kyle Loman, Matt Jarvis, and Paul Berende.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged to Rupert Elder. With a 13th-place finish in the EPT Loutraki Main Event, Elder added a third Period 1 result to be calculated by the GPI. Also rising nicely up the ranks this week were Darryll Fish and Micah Raskin, thanks to respective sixth-place and 15th-place finishes at the WPT Jacksonville Main Event.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75th | Kevin MacPhee | 1,524.53 | +43 |
| 112th | Dominik Nitsche | 1,406.64 | +66 |
| 117th | Rupert Elder | 1,382.16 | +107 |
| 142nd | Per Linde | 1,312.50 | +32 |
| 149th | Micah Raskin | 1,304.59 | +90 |
| 178th | Darryll Fish | 1,235.32 | +65 |
| 184th | Surrinder Sunar | 1,212.16 | +35 |
| 199th | Markus Ristola | 1,189.35 | +95 |
| 203rd | Sam Chartier | 1,181.27 | +31 |
| 207th | Mike Beasley | 1,178.78 | +33 |
| 260th | Jean-Philippe Rohr | 1,080.76 | +32 |
Lucien Cohen suffered the biggest drop this week. His eighth-place result in a €2,500 no-limit hold'em event at the France Poker Masters in May fell from Period 1 to Period 2.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39th | Bryn Kenney | 1,706.25 | -26 |
| 101st | Nick Schulman | 1,435.96 | -32 |
| 103rd | Konstantin Puchkov | 1,427.11 | -31 |
| 191st | Alex Kostritsyn | 1,197.91 | -29 |
| 196th | Andrey Danilyuk | 1,192.63 | -35 |
| 235th | Kimmo Matias Kurko | 1,135.68 | -30 |
| 242nd | Lucien Cohen | 1,118.82 | -74 |
| 253rd | Nicolas Levi | 1,097.77 | -68 |
| 259th | Cristiano Guerra | 1,081.20 | -65 |
| 264th | Eric Haik | 1,075.75 | -65 |
| 288th | [Removed:388] | 1,044.57 | -47 |
| 300th | Nicolas Chouity | 1,021.92 | -42 |
What's In Store?
Next week will mark the start of scores from the 2011 World Series of Poker falling into Period 2. Which players GPI scores will take a hit? Eugene Katchalov (No. 4), Sam Stein (No. 6), Matt Waxman (No. 10), Jake Cody (No. 17), and Allen Bari (No. 27) will all have six-figure scores from that first week of the WSOP drop into Period 2, so expect a bit of a shakeup toward the top of the GPI next week.
To 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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