Global Poker Index: Daniel Colman Grabs Player of the Year Lead, Steve O’Dwyer Surges Back
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 | Daniel Colman | 4141.91 | +1 |
| 2 | Dan Smith | 3839.04 | -1 |
| 3 | Davidi Kitai | 3653.96 | +3 |
| 4 | Mustapha Kanit | 3567.62 | -1 |
| 5 | Jason Mercier | 3545.77 | -1 |
| 6 | Ami Barer | 3516.83 | +6 |
| 7 | Scott Seiver | 3480.86 | -2 |
| 8 | Ole Schemion | 3395.94 | -1 |
| 9 | Jacob Schindler | 3384.02 | -1 |
| 10 | Keven Stammen | 3278.36 | -1 |
There is a new leader atop the 2014 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race as we enter the last two months of the year. Daniel Colman has finally ended the nine-week reign of Dan Smith to take over the top spot in the POY standings. A seventh-place finish for Colman in the HK$500,000 buy-in Asia Championship of Poker Super High Roller earned him the needed points to pass Smith this week.
Colman earned 321.14 GPI points for finishing seventh in the 52-entry event won by Steve O’Dwyer. He also picked up another big payday of HK$2,900,000, worth about $373,932 USD. That ups Colman’s total live tournament earnings for 2014 to nearly $22.4 million.
Colman currently ranks third on the the all-time money list with $22,894,190 behind recent Poker Hall of Fame inductee Daniel Negreanu ($29,796,381) and Antonio Esfandiari ($26,252,746).
Here is a full rundown of all of Colman’s cashes during his amazing 2014:
| Event | Buy-In | Entries | Finish | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCA High Roller (Jan.) | $25,500 | 198 | 27th | $59,300 |
| EPT Grand Final Super High Roller (Apr.) | €100,000 | 50 | 1st | $2,127,398 |
| EPT Grand Final, Turbo 6-Max. (May) | €10,300 | 63 | 5th | $68,526 |
| WSOP NLHE Heads-Up (June) | $10,000 | 136 | 3rd | $111,942 |
| WSOP NLHE (June) | $5,000 | 696 | 19th | $22,309 |
| WSOP $1 Million Big One for One Drop (June) | $1,000,000 | 42 | 1st | $15,306,668 |
| Aria Super High Roller (July) | $100,000 | 30 | 3rd | $796,821 |
| EPT Barcelona Super High Roller (Aug.) | €50,000 | 77 | 2nd | $1,118,479 |
| $10 Million Guarantee Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (Aug.) | $5,300 | 1,499 | 1st | $1,446,710 |
| WPT Alpha8 London (Oct.) | £60,000 | 23 | 1st | $957,396 |
| ACOP Super High Roller (Nov.) | HK$500,000 | 52 | 7th | $373,932 |
| Total | $22,389,481 |
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Smith | 4178.40 | - |
| 2 | Jason Mercier | 3814.33 | - |
| 3 | Scott Seiver | 3718.11 | - |
| 4 | Davidi Kitai | 3697.63 | +1 |
| 5 | Olivier Busquet | 3510.06 | +1 |
| 6 | Ole Schemion | 3444.44 | -2 |
| 7 | Daniel Negreanu | 3397.44 | +1 |
| 8 | Byron Kaverman | 3295.01 | -1 |
| 9 | Paul Volpe | 3226.44 | +2 |
| 10 | Jonathan Duhamel | 3206.96 | -2 |
Meanwhile Smith retained first position in the overall GPI rankings, marking his 11th-straight week as the overall leader.
Davidi Kitai moved up in to third in the POY race this week, and he also has nudged ahead into fourth position on the overall list after finishing eighth and cashing in that same ACOP Super High Roller event. Paul Volpe moves back inside the top 10 this week to No. 9, taking the spot vacated by by Stephen Chidwick who is No. 11 this week.
Welcome to the GPI
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 98 | Steve O’Dwyer | 2284.51 |
| 257 | Joey Weissman | 1709.91 |
| 275 | Louis Salter | 1681.19 |
| 287 | Fabian Ortiz | 1662.11 |
| 297 | Vlado Banicevic | 1637.85 |
| 298 | Bryan Campanello | 1635.68 |
| 299 | Sylvain Loosli | 1626.28 |
| 300 | Martin Staszko | 1625.11 |
Just two weeks ago we were reporting how Steve O’Dwyer had slipped out of the GPI Top 300 for the first time since the rankings began in early 2011. His victory in the HK$500,000 ACOP Super High Roller rectified that situation that in a hurry, vaulting him all of the way from No. 313 to No. 98 this week.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98 | Steve O’Dwyer | 2284.51 | +215 |
| 275 | Louis Salter | 1681.19 | +156 |
| 287 | Fabian Ortiz | 1662.11 | +152 |
| 297 | Vlado Banicevic | 1637.85 | +120 |
| 257 | Joey Weissman | 1709.91 | +94 |
No surprise, then, that O’Dwyer’s big jump marked the biggest gain of the week among the current Top 300. Among the other big movers who joined the Top 300 this week, a third-place finish in the Latin American Poker Tour Grand Final High Roller in Lima, Peru helped Fabian Ortiz move from No. 439 to No. 287.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 246 | Paul Berende | 1727.97 | -65 |
| 195 | Jan Bendik | 1886.72 | -61 |
| 260 | Tom Koral | 1708.07 | -45 |
| 236 | John Juanda | 1746.75 | -38 |
| 281 | Ankush Mandavia | 1666.89 | -37 |
Finally among the players falling the furthest this week while retaining spots inside the Top 300, Paul Berende took the biggest dip from No. 181 to No. 246.
To view the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.
