Global Poker Index: Mercier Moves to No. 2 Behind Dan Smith; Shack-Harris Debuts

Martin Harris

Oct 30, 2014 2 min read Last updated Apr 09, 2015

Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player’s results over six half-year periods. The GPI also ranks the top performers of the year over two six-month periods as calculated by the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.

2014 GPI Player of the Year

Rank	Player	GPI Score	Change
1	Dan Smith	3839.04	-
2	Daniel Colman	3820.76	-
3	Mustapha Kanit	3567.62	-
4	Jason Mercier	3545.77	-
5	Scott Seiver	3480.86	-
6	Davidi Kitai	3440.11	-
7	Ole Schemion	3395.94	-
8	Jacob Schindler	3384.02	-
9	Keven Stammen	3278.36	-
10	Alex Bilokur	3276.21	-

A quiet week, tourney-wise, meant zero changes among the top 10 and in fact no movement at all among the top 40 in the 2014 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race. This marks the ninth straight week Dan Smith has led the GPI POY standings, with Daniel Colman now remaining just a few points back — a gap easily closed with a single small cash.

GPI 300 Top 10

Rank	Player	GPI Score	Change
1	Dan Smith	4175.80	-
2	Jason Mercier	3814.33	+1
3	Scott Seiver	3783.43	+1
4	Ole Schemion	3703.79	-2
5	Davidi Kitai	3588.84	-
6	Olivier Busquet	3510.06	-
7	Byron Kaverman	3442.07	-
8	Daniel Negreanu	3380.39	-
9	Stephen Chidwick	3337.63	+2
10	Alex Bilokur	3290.57	-

Smith likewise remains atop the overall GPI rankings, the 10th-straight week he’s done so, with a few small moves finding Jason Mercier sneak ahead one spot into second position. Meanwhile Stephen Chidwick nudged back into the top 10, claiming a spot vacated by Jacob Schindler who fell from No. 10 to No. 15.

Welcome to the GPI

Rank	Player	Total Score
201	Tyler Patterson	1859.34
254	Viet Van Vo	1712.50
279	Ben Yu	1675.06
290	James Collopy	1659.79
293	Fabian Quoss	1651.49
294	Alexandru Masek	1649.30
295	Ludovic Geilich	1647.28
298	Brandon Shack-Harris	1644.75
299	Alexander Queen	1644.49

After last week’s mass movement seeing 23 newcomers join the overal Top 300, just nine new names appear in the list this week, most edging into spots at the bottom.

Tyler Patterson significantly moved up from No. 304 all the way to No. 201 thanks to a couple of cashes at the recently completed WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond series. And after nearly winning the 2014 World Series of Poker Player of the Year — only falling at the last to George Danzer — Brandon Shack-Harris’s appearance at No. 298 this week marks his career debut inside the GPI Top 300.

Biggest Gains

Rank	Player	Total GPI Score	Change
201	Tyler Patterson	1859.34	+103
229	Chad Eveslage	1762.13	+71
211	Roberto Romanello	1822.25	+69
254	Viet Van Vo	1712.50	+61
279	Ben Yu	1675.06	+54

Patterson’s charge upwards marked the biggest gain of any of this week’s GPI Top 300 players, with Chad Eveslage also advancing up the leaderboard after cashing in an event at the 2014 Isle Open at the Isle Casino Pompano Park in Pompano Beach, Florida.