Global Poker Index: Seidel Maintains Lead
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. Erik Seidel is still on top this week as the top 10 remained mostly the same. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.
The Top 10 as of January 30, 2012
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank from Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Seidel | 3,069.84 | 0 |
| 2 | Jason Mercier | 2,986.07 | 0 |
| 3 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 2,839.23 | 0 |
| 4 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,760.52 | 0 |
| 5 | Shawn Buchanan | 2,672.49 | 0 |
| 6 | Sam Trickett | 2,436.22 | 0 |
| 7 | Will "The Thrill" Failla | 2,423.22 | 0 |
| 8 | Matt Waxman | 2,400.18 | +1 |
| 9 | Vanessa Selbst | 2,397.53 | -1 |
| 10 | Mike "Timex" McDonald | 2,377.53 | +1 |
Back in the top ten this week is Mike "Timex" McDonald, one week after making way for Jonathan Duhamel. Last January, Duhamel took first place in the €10,000 High-Roller event at the 2011 EPT Deauville. That score fell into Period 3, and as a result, Duhamel dropped six spots on the GPI.
Welcome to the GPI
Daniel Idema returns to the GPI with the best ranking of the 11 new players after his eighth-place result in the Aussie Millions Main Event.
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Idema | 1,323.23 | 158th |
| Daniel Chevalier | 1,304.80 | 164th |
| Brian Hawkins | 1,122.06 | 257th |
| Nacho Barbero | 1,113.64 | 262nd |
| Taylor von Kriegenbergh | 1,105.10 | 266th |
| Sebastian Winkler | 1,094.21 | 273rd |
| Grant Levy | 1,093.92 | 274th |
| Daniel Reijmer | 1,078.21 | 288th |
| Connor Drinan | 1,076.66 | 289th |
| Paul Berende | 1,053.79 | 298th |
| Kevin Calenzo | 1,050.97 | 300th |
The 11 players who fell from the GPI this week were Cornel Cimpan, David Sonelin, Denys Drobyna, Jacob Bazeley, Lucien Cohen, Maria Ho, Martin Finger, Maurizio Sepede, Owais Ahmed, Sigurd Eskeland, and Stefan Huber.
In last week's article we mentioned that Phil Ivey could very well be returning to the GPI, because he was deep in the Main Event at the Aussie Millions. In addition to his eventual 12th-place finish, Ivey won the AUD$250,000 tournament for more than AUD$2,000,000. However, that win is not reflected in the GPI because the event only drew 16 players. To qualify for the GPI, a tournament must have at least 21 entrants. As a result, Ivey didn't crack the GPI quite yet.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged to Jason Koon. With a 27th-place finish in the Aussie Millions Main Event, Koon added a third result for his Period 1 scores during January, going along with two cashes at the PCA.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68th | Jason Koon | 1,663.88 | +121 |
| 82nd | David Steicke | 1,610.00 | +43 |
| 91st | Faraz Jaka | 1,569.10 | +54 |
| 112th | Matt Stout | 1,479.75 | +72 |
| 127th | Michael Tureniec | 1,424.61 | +93 |
| 151st | Dominykas Karmazinas | 1,344.84 | +44 |
| 162nd | Khiem Nguyen | 1,316.74 | +100 |
| 165th | Jeff Lisandro | 1,297.85 | +64 |
| 182nd | Manuel Bevand | 1,261.49 | +87 |
| 186th | Alain Roy | 1,248.77 | +94 |
Kenny Hallaert saw his GPI stock fall the most. His sixth-place finish in the 2011 EPT Deauville Main Event fell from Period 2 to Period 3.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 128th | Tristan Wade | 1,423.84 | -37 |
| 168th | Kristijonas Andrulis | 1,292.75 | -35 |
| 223rd | Marco Leonzio | 1,178.74 | -40 |
| 226th | Cristiano Guerra | 1,174.08 | -46 |
| 227th | Justin Smith | 1,173.91 | -35 |
| 246th | Luca Pagano | 1,142.87 | -52 |
| 256th | Kenny Hallaert | 1,122.33 | -80 |
| 259th | Jeff Papola | 1,119.94 | -35 |
| 282nd | Daniel Colman | 1,087.26 | -60 |
| 295th | Mike Beasley | 1,056.92 | -70 |
What's In Store?
EPT Deauville is in the midst of its Main Event, which concludes on Monday. While it probably won't be a part of next week's rankings, many side events will be and should result in some movement throughout the GPI.
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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