Global Poker Index: Vanessa Selbst Cracks 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 July 16, 2012
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank from Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 2,847.86 | -- |
| 2 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 2,738.21 | -- |
| 3 | Vanessa Selbst | 2,594.33 | +5 |
| 4 | Steve O'Dwyer | 2,591.42 | -- |
| 5 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 2,586.06 | -2 |
| 6 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,558.02 | -- |
| 7 | Erik Seidel | 2,545.21 | -- |
| 8 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 2,482.07 | +1 |
| 9 | Jonathan Duhamel | 2,468.54 | -4 |
| 10 | Mike McDonald | 2,409.86 | +2 |
Vanessa Selbst jumped into the No. 3 spot this week following a deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event. She finished in 73rd place for $88,070.
Welcome to the GPI
New to the GPI this week are 18 players, most because they cashed in the Main Event. Four players led by Fabrizio Gonzalez at No. 170 (finished 45th) vaulted into the top 200. Following him are Yuval Bronshtein at No. 180 (finished 23rd), Roland Israelashvili at No. 186 (finished 25th), and Amnon Filippi (finished 39th).
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrizio Gonzalez | 1,364.01 | 170th |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 1,336.85 | 180th |
| Roland Israelashvili | 1,324.86 | 186th |
| Amnon Filippi | 1,318.93 | 191st |
| Alessio Isaia | 1,256.78 | 209th |
| Jason Somerville | 1,232.45 | 220th |
| Timothy Adams | 1,225.54 | 223rd |
| Brent Hanks | 1,216.88 | 227th |
| Nick Binger | 1,201.14 | 236th |
| Luke Nettles | 1,200.27 | 237th |
| James Mitchell | 1,138.85 | 258th |
| Massimo Mosele | 1,119.90 | 272nd |
| Craig McCorkell | 1,118.21 | 274th |
| Simeon Naydenov | 1,098.76 | 282nd |
| Chance Kornuth | 1,098.36 | 283rd |
| Mike Leah | 1,094.14 | 285th |
| Jesse Alexis Cohen | 1,087.06 | 291st |
| Ryan Eriquezzo | 1,074.26 | 298th |
Falling from the GPI this week were Aage Ravn, Anatoly Gurtovy, Andras Kovacs, Brandon Meyers, Carla Solinas, Dan Perper, Daniel Colman, David Pham, Dimitry Stelmak, Dmitry Gromov, Erich Kollman, Jeff Madsen, Michael Telker, Mike Sexton, Nico, Fierro, Ryan Julius, Stefan Huber, and Vitaly Lunkin.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged to Greg Merson. He capped an excellent WSOP (four cashes with a bracelet) with a spot at the final table of the Main Event (currently counting as a ninth-place finish). That gives him a full slate of Period 1 scores. Joining him at the final table is Jeremy Ausmus and he vaulted up the GPI as well. He cashed nine times at the 2012 WSOP, so he has a full slate of Period 1 scores, as well.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57th | Isaac Baron | 1,842.83 | +61 |
| 88th | Taylor Paur | 1,702.65 | +56 |
| 114th | Greg Merson | 1,566.03 | +175 |
| 130th | Ronny Kaiser | 1,497.15 | +67 |
| 146th | Jeremy Ausmus | 1,435.30 | +120 |
| 153rd | Andrey Zaichenko | 1,427.01 | +48 |
| 161st | Kyle Bowker | 1,396.86 | +58 |
| 198th | Dan Murariu | 1,286.76 | +56 |
| 212th | Ali Eslami | 1,251.26 | +65 |
| 234th | Bernard Lee | 1,209.68 | +47 |
On the other end of the spectrum is William Thorson. He slipped the furthest this week after his third-place finish in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event in the Bellagio Cup VII from last July slipped into Period 3.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96th | Govert Metaal | 1,661.29 | -58 |
| 103rd | Elio Fox | 1,601.42 | -44 |
| 159th | Hafiz Khan | 1,416.90 | -53 |
| 195th | Nick Yunis | 1,289.20 | -63 |
| 205th | Dan O'Brien | 1,265.43 | -52 |
| 216th | Ondrej Vinklarek | 1,245.07 | -62 |
| 219th | William Thosron | 1,236.98 | -70 |
| 252nd | Leo Fernandez | 1,152.17 | -56 |
| 259th | Brandon Cantu | 1,137.81 | -50 |
| 284th | Maxi Lehmanski | 1,095.11 | -48 |
What's In Store?
With the conclusion of the WSOP (until late October), expect the GPI to calm down a bit until the WPT season starts in August.
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.
