Global Poker Index: Jason Mercier Reclaims Top Spot
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.
Top 10 as of May 16, 2013
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Rank Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 3295.41 | +5 |
| 2 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 3170.41 | -1 |
| 3 | Stephen O'Dwyer | 3165.12 | +5 |
| 4 | Mike Watson | 3034.54 | -2 |
| 5 | Philipp Gruissem | 2932.28 | -2 |
| 6 | Bryn Kenney | 2887.18 | -2 |
| 7 | Bertrand Grospellier | 2813.75 | -2 |
| 8 | Ole Schemion | 2786.87 | +3 |
| 9 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 2686.80 | +11 |
| 10 | David Sands | 2678.66 | -3 |
For the first time since February 28, Marvin Rettenmaier doesn't hold the top spot in the GPI.
Jason Mercier mashed the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final, winning a €2,000 Open-Face Chinese side event and finishing seventh in the EPT Grand Final Main Event. He is back in the top spot, and his runner-up finish in the €100,000 Super High Roller will surely be accounted for next week. This is the first time Mercier has been ranked No. 1 since "King" Dan Smith dethroned him on Nov. 1, 2012.
Rettenmaier didn't fall far, landing softly at No. 2, but Steve O'Dwyer is less than six points behind him. O'Dwyer won the EPT Grand Final Main Event, earning a whopping $1,604,972. With the World Poker Tour $25,000 World Championship right around the corner, and the World Series of Poker following it, this three-man race for the top spot between Mercier, Rettenmaier and O'Dwyer is bound to heat up this summer.
Ole Schemion, who moved up three spots to No. 8, will not be able to improve his ranking in Las Vegas because the German will not be 21. Like Mercier, the young Schemion added to his lore in Monaco, winning three side events (€5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, €1,000 Win the Button, €10,000 Six-Handed Turbo) and finishing third in the €5,000 8-Game.
New Additions
| Player | Total Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Artem Litvinov | 1637.65 | 116 |
| Victor Ramdin | 1529.12 | 137 |
| Jake Cody | 1504.48 | 143 |
| Tony Gregg | 1433.22 | 162 |
| Grant Levy | 1362.18 | 193 |
| Salman Behbehani | 1359.42 | 195 |
| JC Alvarado | 1290.97 | 217 |
| Guy Goossens | 1255.25 | 232 |
| Dan Murariu | 1249.32 | 235 |
| Zachary Korik | 1241.71 | 238 |
| Leo Fernandez | 1237.24 | 241 |
| Kiryl Radzivonau | 1234.73 | 242 |
| Andrew Chen | 1233.25 | 245 |
| Benjamin Hamnett | 1229.51 | 247 |
| Max Lykov | 1218.90 | 250 |
| Kyle Frey | 1214.89 | 252 |
| Nacho Barbero | 1208.14 | 257 |
| Rodrigo Caprioli | 1207.09 | 258 |
| Christopher Frank | 1202.11 | 261 |
| Fadi Kamar | 1156.58 | 281 |
| Daniele Mazzia | 1155.76 | 283 |
| Blake Bohn | 1154.06 | 284 |
| Kevin Vandersmissen | 1153.96 | 285 |
| Mikhail Korotkikh | 1152.37 | 286 |
| Steven van Zadelhoff | 1146.20 | 289 |
| Stan Jablonski | 1142.71 | 291 |
| Rumen Nanev | 1139.92 | 294 |
| Artem Metalidi | 1139.41 | 295 |
After cashing in back-to-back EPT High Rollers and finishing runner-up in two side events at the EPT Grand Final, Artem Litvinov joins the GPI top 300. The Russian sits at No. 116, and will try to shadowbox his way into the top 100.
Jake Cody, Grant Levy and Tony Gregg also jumped into the top 300 thanks to final table appearances in Monaco. Cody and Levy finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in the Main Event, while Gregg finished runner-up to his good friend Steven Silverman in the €25,000 High Roller.
Falling from the GPI 300 this week were 28 players, including Hans Winzeler, Denys Drobyna, Tom Alner, Melanie Weisner, Jan Suchanek, Andy Bloch, Stephen Bokor, Jean-Philippe Rohr, Fernando Brito, Atanas Gueorguiev, Martin Staszko, Bruno Lopes, Steve Gross, Trevor Pope, Tomeu Gomila, AP Phahurat, Tristan Clemencon, Brandon Meyers, Dario Alioto, Sergio Espina, Andrew Badecker, Dani Stern, Yosuke Sekiya, Jonas Lauck, Andrey Pateychuk, Nam Le, Torsten Brinkmann and Daniel Neilson.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | Leonid Bilokur | 1943.34 | +67 |
| 83 | John Juanda | 1839.47 | +66 |
| 100 | Johnny Lodden | 1727.60 | +128 |
| 102 | Freddy Deeb | 1718.86 | +86 |
| 146 | Benjamin Spindler | 1497.75 | +74 |
| 167 | David Rheem | 1420.25 | +81 |
| 171 | Stephane Benadiba | 1409.12 | +84 |
| 174 | Alex Kravchenko | 1403.76 | +111 |
| 186 | David Peters | 1379.51 | +97 |
| 192 | Jean-Noel Thorel | 1363.61 | +90 |
Making the largest leap this week was Team PokerStars Pro Johnny Lodden. Lodden finished third in the EPT Grand Final Main Event, earning €467,000 and launching him up 128 spots to No. 100.
Also making a three-figure leap this week was fellow Team Pro Alex Kravchenko. The Russian now sits at No. 174 after finishing fifth in the Open-Face Chinese event and cashing in the Main Event.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 142 | Kristijonas Andrulis | 1509.91 | -48 |
| 155 | Jonathan Karamalikis | 1464.56 | -55 |
| 183 | Sam Razavi | 1384.34 | -68 |
| 200 | David Williams | 1341.59 | -41 |
| 208 | Corey Burbick | 1313.55 | -47 |
| 254 | David Steicke | 1211.28 | -47 |
| 264 | Kenny Hallaert | 1199.51 | -43 |
| 268 | Joey Weissman | 1189.86 | -44 |
| 274 | Eric Froehlich | 1171.06 | -43 |
| 276 | Lee Markholt | 1166.54 | -49 |
Sam Razavi plummeted 68 spots this week and now comes in at No. 183. Razavi has cashed in a handful of smaller events in 2013, but with only one five-figure score, he has dropped in the rankings.
Also taking big hits were notables Jonathan Karamalikis, David Williams, Corey Burbick, Eric Froelich and Lee Markholt.
To view 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.
