Global Poker Index: Shawn Buchanan Back in the Top Three
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 June 18, 2012
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank from Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 2,859.50 | -- |
| 2 | Steve O'Dwyer | 2,594.38 | +1 |
| 3 | Shawn Buchanan | 2,576.53 | +14 |
| 4 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 2,566.68 | -- |
| 5 | Jason Mercier | 2,565.28 | -3 |
| 6 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,532.03 | +4 |
| 7 | Erik Seidel | 2,463.35 | +11 |
| 8 | Dan Smith | 2,455.76 | -3 |
| 9 | David "Doc" Sands | 2,455.62 | -3 |
| 10 | Jonathan Duhamel | 2,440.52 | -3 |
The big movement in the top ten this week was the return of Shawn Buchanan. After slipping recently from the top ten, Buchanan stormed back to the No. 3 spot by filling out his Period 1 results. He finished in sixth place in WSOP Event #22 ($2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball) for $20,322, and finished 62nd in Event #26 ($3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha) for $5,226 Along with two PCA cashes from January, Buchanan has a full slate of Period 1 scores.
Meanwhile, Jason Mercier slipped three spots to No. 5. His win in the High Roller Event at the 2011 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic (worth $709,767) dropped into Period 2, as did his seventh-place finish in the Epic Poker League Main Event #3 (worth $89,680).
Welcome to the GPI
Fifteen players are new to this week's GPI, led by Nick Grippo at No. 204. With a cash in WSOP Event #23 ($3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max) and one at the Venetian Deepstack Extravaganza III, Grippo's Period 1 is much stronger to go along with the rest of his results.
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Grippo | 1,232.12 | 204th |
| Simon Charette | 1,216.57 | 210th |
| Mickey Petersen | 1,216.50 | 212th |
| Michael Benvenuti | 1,216.13 | 214th |
| Khiem Nguyen | 1,204.20 | 219th |
| Joe Cassidy | 1,192.36 | 228th |
| Liv Boeree | 1,190.24 | 230th |
| Bryan Devonshire | 1,151.91 | 243rd |
| Daniel Alaei | 1,150.50 | 245th |
| Matt Berkey | 1,125.98 | 260th |
| Jon Spinks | 1,110.37 | 269th |
| Aaron Jones | 1,085.18 | 280th |
| Andrey Gulyy | 1,073.85 | 286th |
| Mike Matusow | 1,068.77 | 288th |
| Brett Richey | 1,053.06 | 297th |
Falling from the GPI this week were Amnon Filippi, Anton Ionel, Chad Brown, Chris Tryba, Clayton Mozdzen, Dana Kellstrom, James Akenhead, James Mitchell, Jeff Papola, Justin Smith, Konstantin Tolokno, Marc Inizan, Mark Rose, Roland Israelashivili, and Vanessa Rousso.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged toDan Kelly. He rounded out his Period 1 result with two deep WSOP runs: a 12th-place finish in Event #24 ($5,000 Omaha H/L) for $21,020, and an eighth-place result in Event #32 ($10,000 HORSE) for $45,360. David "Bakes" Baker also shot up the GPI ranks this week after his win in Event #32.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62nd | John Monnette | 1,779.04 | +61 |
| 94th | Dan Kelly | 1,617.75 | +124 |
| 102nd | Gavin Smith | 1,584.42 | +59 |
| 119th | David "Bakes" Baker | 1,511.63 | +105 |
| 122nd | Galen Hall | 1,500.63 | +60 |
| 133rd | Dan O'Brien | 1,467.05 | +76 |
| 149th | Anthony Gregg | 1,415.34 | +79 |
| 175th | Owais Ahmed | 1,335.48 | +83 |
| 192nd | Josh Arieh | 1,268.78 | +71 |
| 220th | Allen Cunningham | 1,204.06 | +66 |
The biggest fall of the week belonged to Max Lykov. A combination of aging WSOP scores from 2011 and 2010 fell into Period 3 and Period 5, respectively.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 159th | Arnaud Mattern | 1,370.18 | -51 |
| 195th | Carlos Mortensen | 1,263.84 | -44 |
| 225th | Andrea Benelli | 1,197.13 | -58 |
| 238th | Max Lykov | 1,172.35 | -82 |
| 249th | Brent Hanks | 1,142.51 | -51 |
| 250th | Salvatore Bonavena | 1,142.17 | -47 |
| 254th | Jeff Gross | 1,133.66 | -44 |
| 285th | Benjamin Pollak | 1,075.48 | -69 |
| 291st | Ty Reiman | 1,067.02 | -79 |
| 293rd | Max Pescatori | 1,064.35 | -57 |
| 296th | Tim Finne | 1,053.91 | -73 |
What's In Store?
As has been the case the last two weeks, the WSOP is where it's at. A deep run or two can result in a huge jump (Dan Kelly this week), while a cold streak can send one tumbling down the ranks. Jason Mercier is outside of the top three for the first time in ... well ... ever, but one deep run can change all that.
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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