Global Poker Index: Andrew Lichtenberger Cracks Top 10
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 March 19, 2012
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank from Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 2,980.42 | -- |
| 2 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 2,845.12 | -- |
| 3 | Shawn Buchanan | 2,751.42 | -- |
| 4 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,575.42 | +2 |
| 5 | David "Doc" Sands | 2,533.47 | -1 |
| 6 | Erik Seidel | 2,510.57 | -1 |
| 7 | Sorel Mizzi | 2,427.21 | -- |
| 8 | Steve O'Dwyer | 2,381.88 | +2 |
| 9 | Vanessa Selbst | 2,368.63 | -1 |
| 10 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 2,348.38 | +15 |
Eugene Katchalov is back in the top five after a brief time away. He finished in 12th-place in a €2,000 side event at EPT Madrid, good for a min-cash. Debuting in the top 10 is Andrew Lichtenberger. Katchalov, known as "luckychewy," took fourth place in the Wynn Classic Main Event for $78,328.
Welcome to the GPI
Thanks to his Main Event win at EPT Madrid, Frederik Jensen returned to the GPI in a big way and sits in the No. 165 spot.
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Frederik Jensen | 1,337.60 | 165th |
| Taylor Paur | 1,280.56 | 194th |
| Cary Katz | 1,144.14 | 238th |
| Zimnan Ziyard | 1,108.50 | 261st |
| Jeff Sluzinski | 1,081.65 | 278th |
| Johnny Lodden | 1,069.88 | 289th |
| Manuel Bevand | 1,055.20 | 295th |
| Stuart Fox | 1,054.91 | 296th |
| Tyler Kenney | 1,054.29 | 297th |
| Mihai Manole | 1,053.15 | 298th |
| David Pham | 1,051.87 | 299th |
| Christophe Benzimra | 1,050.69 | 300th |
The 12 players who fell out of the GPI this week were Anton Ionel, Daniel Colman, Fabian Quoss, Kevin Calenzo, Kevin Iacofano, Liv Boeree, Massimiliano Martinez, Matt Berkey, Owen Crowe, Sebastian Winkler, Tamas Lendvai and Yuliyan Nikolaev Kolev.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged to Bruno "Kool Shen" Lopes. The rapper-turned-poker-pro finished in fourth place at the EPT Madrid Main Event for €140,000.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67th | Ilan Boujenah | 1,663.79 | +65 |
| 69th | Isaac Baron | 1,649.96 | +108 |
| 75th | Alex Kravchenko | 1,627.75 | +61 |
| 85th | Nicolas Levi | 1,603.05 | +102 |
| 89th | Dermot Blain | 1,596.94 | +46 |
| 106th | Bruno “Kool Shen” Lopes | 1,526.14 | +130 |
| 142nd | Ty Reiman | 1,402.65 | +57 |
| 178th | Dan Kelly | 1,308.99 | +43 |
| 184th | Kenny Hallaert | 1,295.31 | +71 |
| 252nd | Jon Spinks | 1,122.10 | +43 |
John Racener saw his GPI stock fall the most this week. A combination of aging scores hurt Racener. His 35th-place finish in the WPT Borgata Poker Open last September, along with his third-place score in a $1,500 side event there, dropped into Period 2 and left his Period 1 slate empty. In addition, his fifth-place finish in the £5,000 PLO event at the 2010 WSOPE aged into Period 4.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96th | Byron Kaverman | 1,566.34 | -41 |
| 115th | Salman Behbehani | 1,491.84 | -63 |
| 119th | Darren Elias | 1,480.75 | -42 |
| 224th | Jeff Lisandro | 1,182.82 | -48 |
| 232nd | John Racener | 1,168.30 | -128 |
| 243rd | Thorsten Schafer | 1,137.01 | -40 |
| 257th | John Juanda | 1,116.49 | -40 |
| 268th | Mads Wissing | 1,096.50 | -45 |
| 280th | Alex Venovski | 1,077.08 | -41 |
| 290th | Giuseppe Pantaleo | 1,069.26 | -88 |
| 293rd | Jesse Alexis Cohen | 1,057.46 | -46 |
What's In Store?
Matt Waxman was in the top 10 not all that long ago, but is in the No. 19 spot this week. He will most likely see a small boost up the GPI next week after his third-place result in a $2,000 six-max tournament at the 2012 Battle at the Beach at the Isle Casino in Pompano Beach, Florida, worth $15,000. The $3,000 Main Event begins on Friday, but won't conclude in time to be reflected in next week's GPI.
The World Series of Poker Circuit has a stop at Harrah's Rincon coming up and depending who shows up, it could result in some GPI movement 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.
To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
