Global Poker Index: Phil Ivey Joins Both Lists; Scott Seiver Grabs 2015 POY Lead

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Phil Ivey

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.

2015 GPI Player of the Year

RankPlayerGPI Score
1Scott Seiver1327.94
2Ramin Hajiyev1145.28
3Jonathan Karamalikis1101.37
4Alexander Trevallion1095.89
5Thomas Muehloecker1052.51
6Atanas Kavrakov1010.03
7Joe Kuether994.51
8Bryn Kenney962.88
9Nicholas Petrangelo931.97
10Pratyush Buddiga900.72

Scott Seiver finished the 2014 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race at No. 10, and as the second month of 2015 begins he has once more embarked on a challenge for POY honors, having moved up from No. 12 into first position this week. At the recently completed Aussie Millions, Seiver final tabled both the $100,000 Challenge (finishing third) and the $250,000 Challenge (finishing fourth), thereby putting some distance between himself and the chase pack at the moment.

Phil Ivey was the winner of that latter event, taking down the Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge for the third time in four years. That victory plus a 23rd-place finish in the Aussie Millions Main Event allowed Ivey to debut at No. 27 this week in the 2015 GPI POY rankings.

Looking back at the top 10, Alexander Trevallion jumped from No. 39 to No. 4 this week after also doing well in his native Australia where he won a $25,000 event and took 33rd in the Aussie Millions Main Event.

GPI 300 Top 10

RankPlayerGPI ScoreChange
1Ole Schemion4244.03-
2Scott Seiver3937.19+6
3Pratyush Buddiga3800.66-1
4Bryn Kenney3616.71-1
5Jason Mercier3602.60-
6Davidi Kitai3552.51-2
7Ami Barer3523.32+2
8Stephen Chidwick3458.71-1
9Dan Smith3335.56-3
10Jonathan Duhamel3320.62-

Turning our attention to the overall GPI rankings, the same players remain in the top 10 spots from last week, albeit with a bit of shuffling among them.

Ole Schemion stays on top for a seventh-straight week, while Scott Seiver’s aforementioned successes in Australia carried him upward from No. 8 up to No. 2. Daniel Negreanu currently sits just outside the top 10 in No. 11, and Mike McDonald made a big move from No. 36 up to No. 13.

Welcome to the GPI Top 300

RankPlayerTotal Score
163Phil Ivey1933.40
171Lasse Frost1901.61
200Raiden Kan1814.44
210James Calderaro1780.30
244Richard Lyndaker1711.71
247Eric Afriat1705.13
262Russell Thomas1657.30
266Georgios Sotiropoulos1647.10
272Matthew Alexander1635.06
273Vladimir Dobrovolskiy1633.41
282Guy Goossens1620.06
285Aaron Steury1603.59
289Chris Klodnicki1594.95
295Michael Wang1581.80
297Athanasios Polychronopoulos1578.05

There are 15 newcomers in this week’s GPI Top 300, with Phil Ivey the highest-ranked among them after his achievements Down Under. Ivey moved up from No. 526 to No. 163 on the strength of his points-earning performances in Australia. Also making a big move this week is Richard Lyndaker who catapulted from No. 480 up to No. 244. The New York-based player known as “nutsinho” online took seventh in the Aussie Millions Main Event to bolster his GPI standing.

While on the way to that final table, Lyndaker spoke with our Chad Holloway about his thought process during a big hand on Day 2 — read what he had to say in “Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 17: Richard ‘nutsinho’ Lyndaker on Getting It in Marginal.”

Biggest Gains

RankPlayerTotal GPI ScoreChange
163Phil Ivey1933.40+363
244Richard Lyndaker1711.71+236
171Lasse Frost1901.61+179
285Aaron Steury1603.59+164
295Michael Wang1581.80+158

Ivey and Lyndaker were the biggest gainers this week among players in the top 300. Other big movers this week not on this short list include Chris Klodnicki (from No. 425 to No. 289), Russell Thomas (from No. 372 to No. 262), and James Calderaro (from No. 317 to No. 210).

Biggest Drops

RankPlayerTotal GPI ScoreChange
275Anthony Ruberto1630.07-78
241Brian Hastings1717.07-65
255Liv Boeree1682.10-65
252Joni Jouhkimainen1684.40-54
276Aaron Lim1628.48-51

Finally among those falling the furthest yet remaining in the top 300, both Anthony Ruberto and Brian Hastings appear on this list for a second straight week.

To view both the 2015 Player of the Year and GPI overall rankings in their entirety, visit the official GPI website. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

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