Global Poker Index: Paul Volpe Closes Gap with Fedor Holz for POY
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 3, 2016.
2016 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fedor Holz | 3389.32 | - |
| 2 | Paul Volpe | 3095.05 | +2 |
| 3 | Adrian Mateos | 3034.62 | -1 |
| 4 | Chance Kornuth | 3016.86 | -1 |
| 5 | Jason Mercier | 2812.00 | - |
| 6 | Dominik Nitsche | 2799.02 | - |
| 7 | David Peters | 2761.45 | - |
| 8 | Ivan Luca | 2722.47 | - |
| 9 | Dietrich Fast | 2622.28 | - |
| 10 | Bryn Kenney | 2606.87 | - |
There was very little movement reflected in the latest update of the top of the 2016 GPI Player of the Year leaderboard, with Fedor Holz continuing to maintain his lead for an eighth-straight week.
The only change among the top 10 involved Paul Volpe jumping ahead two spots to No. 2. A post-World Series of Poker cash at the Borgata Summer Poker Open helped Volpe add POY points to his total, as he finished runner-up to Joshua Gordon in the 557-entry $2,700 No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
Looking down the POY leaderboard, Craig Varnell made a big jump from No. 69 to No. 23 this week after placing third in the $3,700 buy-in World Poker Tour Choctaw Championship Event won by James Mackey.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fedor Holz | 4727.64 | - |
| 2 | Jason Mercier | 4349.57 | - |
| 3 | Nick Petrangelo | 4191.55 | - |
| 4 | Anthony Zinno | 4041.85 | - |
| 5 | David Peters | 4013.81 | - |
| 6 | Bryn Kenney | 4009.82 | - |
| 7 | Dominik Nitsche | 3954.82 | +1 |
| 8 | Tom Marchese | 3950.06 | -1 |
| 9 | Steve O'Dwyer | 3883.06 | - |
| 10 | Adrian Mateos | 3829.45 | - |
It was also a quiet week atop the overall GPI rankings where Holz likewise remains at No. 1 for an eighth week in a row. Only Dominik Nitsche and Tom Marchese swapped seventh and eighth positions, with everyone else staying right where they were seven days ago.
Volpe, by the way, jumped up from No. 23 to No. 14 this week. Volpe's highest career GPI ranking has been No. 4, achieved in August 2015.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 281 | Kou Vang | 1894.58 |
| 282 | Kyle Bowker | 1890.34 |
| 289 | Matt Bond | 1868.86 |
| 296 | Jonathan Abdellatif | 1849.67 |
| 299 | Brandon Shack-Harris | 1841.39 |
| 300 | Rumen Nanev | 1840.68 |
The relative lull in the tournament schedule meant only six newcomers arrived to join the GPI top 300 this week, all coming in near the bottom of the list. Kou Vang is the highest-ranked of the group after moving up from No. 306 to No. 281 to rejoin the top 300.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 182 | Rex Clinkscales | 2123.10 | +56 |
| 132 | Craig Varnell | 2343.78 | +55 |
| 113 | Olivier Busquet | 2417.54 | +41 |
| 114 | Harrison Gimbel | 2413.36 | +39 |
| 282 | Kyle Bowker | 1890.34 | +39 |
Looking at players within the top 300 who made the biggest gains this week, Rex Clinkscales enjoyed the most significant upward move after going from No. 238 to No. 182 thanks to a cash in that aforementioned WPT Choctaw Championship Event where he finished 53rd.
We mentioned already Varnell's third-place finish in that same event in Choctaw. Olivier Busquet took seventh in that one and Harrison Gimbel 22nd, enabling them to move up in the rankings as well. Meanwhile Kyle Bowker's 26th-place finish in that Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship helped him move up and into the top 300.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 272 | Upeshka Desilva | 1906.39 | -74 |
| 259 | Aleksandr Gofman | 1925.00 | -60 |
| 288 | Calvin Anderson | 1871.02 | -58 |
| 175 | Ami Barer | 2135.49 | -49 |
| 248 | Joe Serock | 1945.28 | -46 |
Finally, among those remaining in the top 300 it was Upeshka Desilva slipping the furthest this week after tumbling from No. 272 to No. 198.
What to Expect Next Week
Poker players are flocking to the southeastern United States this week for both the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida and the World Series of Poker Circuit stop at Harrah's Cherokee in North Carolina, a.k.a. the Global Casino Championship. Meanwhile the Heartland Poker Tour is also in action at the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Additionally, the partypoker WPT National Rozvadov series continues this week at the Kings Casino in the Czech Republic, the NetBet Open plays out at the Vox Maris Grand Resort Costinesti in Romania, and the WaSOP VII series continues at the Casino de Namur in Belgium.
To view the 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.
