Global Poker Index: Byron Kaverman Charges to No. 2 Overall Behind Jason Mercier
Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player’s results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list, visit the official GPI website. Here’s a look at the rankings as of August 5, 2015.
2015 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Zinno | 4192.90 | - |
| 2 | Connor Drinan | 3771.11 | - |
| 3 | Scott Seiver | 3610.30 | - |
| 4 | Byron Kaverman | 3510.54 | - |
| 5 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | 3380.69 | - |
| 6 | Stephen Chidwick | 3352.68 | - |
| 7 | Dominick Nitsche | 3300.76 | - |
| 8 | Nicholas Petrangelo | 3277.39 | - |
| 9 | Ivan Luca | 3128.45 | - |
| 10 | Joe Kuether | 3110.05 | - |
All of the featured cast of characters headlining the 2015 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race remained the same this week with no movement among the top spots.
Anthony Zinno keeps his POY lead for a fifth-straight week on the strength of a year that has included victories in the World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic and WPT L.A. Poker Classic (both in February), the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars High Roller (in March), and the 2015 World Series of Poker $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller (in June).
Further down in the POY list, Jake Schindler moved up from No. 49 to No. 34, Scott Clements climbed from No. 75 to No. 49, and Mohsin Charania jumped from No. 118 to No. 83.
Clements won the $3,250 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller at the WSOP National Championship in Cherokee, North Carolina this week, while Schindler took fifth in the same event. Meanwhile a cash at WPT Choctaw in Durant, Oklahoma helped Charania with his upwards move.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 4057.41 | - |
| 2 | Byron Kaverman | 3987.89 | +6 |
| 3 | Scott Seiver | 3963.42 | -1 |
| 4 | Anthony Zinno | 3903.28 | -1 |
| 5 | Stephen Chidwick | 3748.13 | - |
| 6 | Dan Smith | 3735.57 | -2 |
| 7 | Davidi Kitai | 3546.61 | -1 |
| 8 | Bryn Kenney | 3636.26 | -1 |
| 9 | Paul Volpe | 3522.01 | - |
| 10 | Dario Sammartino | 3513.19 | - |
Jason Mercier enjoys a third-straight week atop the overall GPI rankings this week, although coming on strong behind him is Byron Kaverman who made a significant move from No. 8 to No. 2 to sit about 70 points out of the lead. In other words, Kaverman is just one small cash away from grabbing the overall GPI lead for the first time in his career.
A consistently successful performer in tournaments over the last seven years, Kaverman has accumulated nearly $5.7 million in tourney earnings, more than $2.4 million of which has come just this year. Those 2015 results include several big cashes in Aria High Roller events, with a couple of victories among them, as well as a first WSOP bracelet for Kaverman after winning the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Championship for $657,351.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 232 | Tristan Wade | 1811.26 |
| 240 | Kevin Eyster | 1789.63 |
| 286 | Timothy Miles | 1701.61 |
| 287 | Chance Kornuth | 1699.94 |
| 299 | Nick Pupillo | 1661.85 |
| 300 | Carlo Savinelli | 1654.60 |
There are only six new names in the GPI top 300 this week, with Tristan Wade the highest-ranked of the group. Wade moved from No. 305 to No. 232 after finishing third in the aforementioned High Roller event at the WSOP-C National Championship in Cherokee won by Clements.
Incidentally, sitting just outside the top 300 this week at No. 312 is Loni Harwood, winner of the WSOP National Championship in Cherokee. While Harwood picked up her second career WSOP bracelet in the 122-player tournament, she didn’t pick up GPI points as the National Championship wasn’t technically an “open” event.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 240 | Kevin Eyster | 1789.63 | +94 |
| 232 | Tristan Wade | 1811.26 | +73 |
| 287 | Chance Kornuth | 1699.94 | +66 |
| 196 | Matt Salsberg | 1911.19 | +44 |
| 229 | Felix Stephensen | 1925.83 | +37 |
Of those in this week’s top 300, Kevin Eyster earns the distinction of making the biggest upward move after going from No. 334 all of the way to No. 240 thanks to a cash at WPT Choctaw.
This is the second-straight week 2014 WSOP Main Event runner-up Felix Stephensen has made the “Biggest Gains” list, having moved from No. 229 to No. 192 this week.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 261 | Paul Tedeschi | 1756.74 | -92 |
| 267 | Yann Dion | 1741.81 | -72 |
| 281 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 1710.09 | -62 |
| 208 | Miroslav Alilovic | 1887.34 | -30 |
| 291 | Joni Jouhkimainen | 1688.42 | -29 |
Of those keeping spots inside the top 300 this week, Paul Tedeschi slid the furthest, dropping from No. 169 to No. 261. Meanwhile Joni Jouhkimainen makes this list for a second week in a row after going from No. 262 to No. 291.
What to Expect Next Week
The WSOP Circuit Foxwoods series gets started today in Mashantucket, CT (Aug. 6-17), the first of 19 scheduled WSOP-C stops during the 2015-16 season. Meanwhile the WPT National Rozadov Main Event begins tomorrow in the Czech Republic.
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.
