GPI Player of the Year: Paul Volpe Holds Slight Lead Over Mike Watson
There's a new leader in the 2013 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race. Paul Volpe's incredible run on the World Poker Tour over the past month has vaulted him past Dan Shak and into the top position this week. Volpe (501.53 points) holds the slightest of margins over Mike Watson (501.20), while Shak (429.59) now sits in third.
Despite not winning a tournament yet this year, Volpe is riding the hottest rush of his live-poker career. The Philadelphia native took second place in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic late last month for $651,170, and followed it up with a third-place finish at WPT Bay 101 a week later for another $435,610. Volpe added another final table last week at the European Poker Tour London High Roller and finished fourth for £107,410, bringing his 2013 live tournament earnings to $1.27 million.
Before Black Friday, Volpe spent most of his waking hours grinding online poker tournaments in the States, but he's since been traveling to more tournaments around the world. He told Rich Ryan on the PokerNews Podcast last week that he hates traveling, but he'll "probably" continue playing more on the circuit to earn Player of the Year points.
Unlike Volpe, Watson has accrued points in several smaller events, including a victory in the AU$2,500 buy-in pot-limit Omaha event at the Aussie Millions Poker Championships. He also logged a pair of runner-up finishes in side events during the London Poker Festival this month for just over £100,000 combined. His biggest score of the year came at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure where he took third in the $25,000 High Roller for $462,320.
Making their debut in the GPI POY top 10 this week were Scott Seiver, Yury Gulyy, Steven Silverman and Christopher Frank. Seiver climbed 26 spots to No. 6 after a pair of cashes at the London Poker Festival, including a 14th-place finish in the EPT London High Roller. Most of Seiver's GPI points come from his victory in the PCA $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller, where he collected more than $2 million.
Here’s a look at the top 10 of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race:
| Place | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Volpe | 501.53 | +19 |
| 2 | Michael Watson | 501.20 | +1 |
| 3 | Dan Shak | 429.59 | -2 |
| 4 | Christian Harder | 410.03 | +8 |
| 5 | Ana Marquez | 390.92 | -- |
| 6 | Scott Seiver | 386.90 | +26 |
| 7 | Yury Gulyy | 355.16 | +45 |
| 8 | Steven Silverman | 349.89 | +8 |
| 9 | Micah Raskin | 344.90 | -7 |
| 10 | Christopher Frank | 338.78 | +317 |
The Global Poker Index Player of the Year, presented by PokerNews, honors the player who has a strong performance as calculated by the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.
For the full GPI Player of the Year standings, head on over to GlobalPokerIndex.com.
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