Global Poker Index: Nick Petrangelo Moves Up, Many Enjoy Barcelona Bounce
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 September 2, 2015.
2015 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Zinno | 4461.20 | - |
| 2 | Byron Kaverman | 4292.41 | - |
| 3 | Nicholas Petrangelo | 4076.11 | +10 |
| 4 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | 3955.62 | - |
| 5 | Connor Drinan | 3771.11 | -2 |
| 6 | Jason Mercier | 3751.99 | - |
| 7 | Paul Volpe | 3651.76 | -2 |
| 8 | Scott Seiver | 3610.29 | -1 |
| 9 | Stephen Chidwick | 3473.17 | - |
| 10 | Steve O’Dwyer | 3466.74 | -2 |
Results from the recently completed European Poker Tour Barcelona festival had an effect up and down both the 2015 Global Poker Index Player of the Year leaderboard and the overall GPI rankings.
POY frontrunner Anthony Zinno picked up one cash last week, finishing 41st in the EPT Barcelona Main Event, helping him to keep the top spot for a ninth-straight week. Byron Kaverman also cashed three times in Barcelona — including in both the €50K Super High Roller and the €10K High Roller — to help him remain at No. 2.
Meanwhile Nicholas Petrangelo continued his amazing 2015 with a cash in the EPT Main as well as a third-place showing in the €10K High Roller following the three-handed deal made between himself, Kuljinder Sidhu, and winner Mustapha Kanit. Points collected from those cashes pushed Petrangelo up from No. 13 to No. 3 this week.
Looking just outside the top 10, €25K High Roller champion Martin Finger (who also cashed three other times in Barcelona, making two final tables), jumped all of the way from No. 63 to No. 14 this week in the POY list.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 4245.59 | - |
| 2 | Anthony Zinno | 4026.49 | - |
| 3 | Byron Kaverman | 3982.06 | - |
| 4 | Scott Seiver | 3917.99 | +1 |
| 5 | Nicholas Petrangelo | 3817.84 | +4 |
| 6 | Paul Volpe | 3700.93 | -2 |
| 7 | Stephen Chidwick | 3592.90 | - |
| 8 | Bryn Kenney | 3590.78 | -2 |
| 9 | Mustapha Kanit | 3580.03 | +45 |
| 10 | Davidi Kitai | 3549.00 | +6 |
After final-tabling a €1K side event in Barcelona, Jason Mercier remains in first position in the overall GPI rankings for a seventh-straight week, with Zinno and Kaverman keeping their places behind him. Meanwhile Petrangelo jumps from No. 9 to No. 5 on the strength of his performance in Spain, while Kanit makes the most notable jump among those at the top after going all of the way from No. 54 to No. 9 this week.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 135 | Farid Jattin | 2221.74 |
| 177 | Richard Dubini | 2013.87 |
| 192 | Dmitry Ivanov | 1956.49 |
| 218 | Nicolas Chouity | 1891.98 |
| 220 | Roman Korenev | 1884.62 |
| 235 | Liv Boeree | 1847.56 |
| 242 | Niklas Astedt | 1836.78 |
| 243 | Andrea Dato | 1836.51 |
| 248 | Aku Joentausta | 1814.74 |
| 249 | Michael Tureniec | 1810.04 |
| 250 | Charles Chattha | 1804.38 |
| 251 | Timur Margolin | 1802.49 |
| 259 | Steven Warburton | 1785.81 |
| 260 | Benny Spindler | 1783.95 |
| 261 | Mario Lopez | 1783.12 |
| 263 | Jussi Nevanlinna | 1778.12 |
| 273 | Oleksandr Gnatenko | 1765.42 |
| 279 | Naoya Kihara | 1757.17 |
| 289 | Christoph Vogelsang | 1724.45 |
| 293 | Andrey Pateychuk | 1711.75 |
| 294 | Ori Miller | 1709.96 |
| 295 | Lasse Frost | 1709.19 |
| 299 | Jyri Merivirta | 1691.65 |
No less than 23 new players appear in the GPI overall top 300 this week, and in fact all 23 of them were playing in Barcelona over the last two weeks.
Three of them won events, including the two highest-ranked on the list. Farid Jattin, who went from No. 306 to No. 135, won the very last side event to complete last Sunday night, a €2K NLHE turbo. Richard Dubini took down a €2K NLHE event to help him jump from No. 308 to No. 177. And Mario Lopez topped a huge field of 3,292 to win the Estrellas Main Event, helping him climb from No. 334 to No. 261.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 242 | Niklas Astedt | 1836.78 | +835 |
| 259 | Steven Warburton | 1785.81 | +438 |
| 294 | Ori Miller | 1709.96 | +400 |
| 299 | Jyri Merivirta | 1691.65 | +393 |
| 235 | Liv Boeree | 1847.56 | +255 |
Among those newcomers to the top 300 are the week’s biggest gainers with several players making huge moves after gaining big points in Barcelona.
Liv Boeree rejoins the GPI top 300 this week, going from No. 490 to No. 235 after finishing third in the €25K High Roller event won by Finger. Meanwhile Steven Warburton, who finished runner-up to John Juanda in the EPT Barcelona Main Event, moved from No. 697 to No. 259.
The week’s biggest gainer, though, was Niklas Astedt, who cashed four times in Barcelona including making two final tables. After coming in at No. 1,077 last week, he’s up to No. 242 this time.
Incidentally, EPT Barcelona Main Event champ Juanda ranks No. 700 this week in the overall GPI rankings and No. 1,194 in the 2015 POY race. Not too surprising, given that he tweeted a couple of weeks ago that he hadn’t played any tournaments since last year’s EPT Barcelona stop.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 288 | Ivan Soshnikov | 1725.94 | -111 |
| 217 | Doug Polk | 1894.54 | -59 |
| 219 | Tyler Reiman | 1889.22 | -58 |
| 296 | Steve Gross | 1700.13 | -58 |
| 297 | Noah Vaillancourt | 1697.52 | -53 |
Finally, looking strictly at those still within the top 300, Ivan Soshnikov dropped the furthest this week, going from No. 177 to No. 288.
What to Expect Next Week
This week sees action heating up in Rozvadov, Czech Republic where the PokerStars.net King’s Cup is playing out. There’s also the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Hotel & Casino in Bell Gardens, California, where the Main Event is scheduled to complete tomorrow.
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.
