World Series of Poker Player of the Year Race: Daniel Negreanu Holds Comfortable Lead
After the first two weeks of the 2013 World Series of Poker, Daniel Negreanu still leads the Player of the Year race. Negreanu holds 427.15 points on the POY leaderboard, well above Benny Chen, who sits in second place with 300 points. Negreanu established his lead earlier this year at the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific in Melbourne Australia, where he won the Main Event for his fifth bracelet and 300 POY points. He also finished fourth in Event #3 at WSOP APAC for 48.40 points. His only result so far in Las Vegas at the WSOP is a 12th-place finish in Event #5 for 18.75 points. Negreanu is vying for his second Player of the Year title after first winning the award in 2004.
Chen earned his place near the top of leaderboard by virtue of his victory in Event #6 at the 2013 WSOP, the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em “Millionaire Maker.” Chen earned 300 POY points and his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Dan Kelly, fourth in the rankings, can make up ground on Thursday when he returns for the final day of Event #21: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em (Six Handed). Kelly already has six cashes this summer and will attempt to reach his third final table on Thursday. He'll enter Day 3 ranked fifth in chips out of the 13 remaining.
Here's a full look at the top 10 on the leaderboard:
WSOP PLAYER OF THE YEAR TOP 10 (through 19 events)
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Negreanu | 427.15 |
| 2 | Benny Chen | 300 |
| 3 | Mark Radoja | 292.50 |
| 4 | Daniel Kelly | 269.70 |
| 5 | Charles Sylvestre | 260.00 |
| 6 | Daniel Marton | 252.00 |
| 7 | Matthew Waxman | 242.00 |
| 8 | Athanasios Polychronopoulos | 241.00 |
| 9 | Matthew Ashton | 240.75 |
| 10 | Davidi Kitai | 240.72 |
With over 40 events still to be played in Las Vegas at this year’s WSOP, and the World Series of Poker Europe coming up in October, there are still plenty of points yet to be awarded, and Negreanu’s lead is far from safe. Come back to PokerNews.com for weekly updates on the Player of the Year race, as Negreanu tries to pad his lead and the rest of the field attempts to catch him.
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