Global Poker Index: Nick Petrangelo Grabs Overall Lead
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 January 18.
2017 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryn Kenney | 1424.08 |
| 2 | Byron Kaverman | 939.05 |
| 3 | Mustapha Kanit | 891.89 |
| 4 | Luc Greenwood | 765.12 |
| 5 | Sergi Reixach | 760.80 |
| 6 | Daniel Dvoress | 663.18 |
| 7 | Anton Astapau | 636.83 |
| 8 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | 631.23 |
| 9 | Daniel Colman | 603.54 |
| 10 | Roland Israelashivili | 592.45 |
With the first results of 2017 having come in the Global Poker Index Player of the Year rankings show Bryn Kenney to be the early leader after enjoying a strong start to his year at the just completed PokerStars Championship Bahamas series.
Not only did Kenney win the $50,000 Single-Day High Roller during his time on Paradise Island, he also won the added $25,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shot Clock event, his earnings from those two victories alone topping $1.35 million.
In fact, Kenney cashed in six events at the Bahamas, making the final table in all six of them including a seventh-place in the $100,000 Super High Roller won by Jason Koon and taking ninth in the $25,750 High Roller won by Luc Greenwood.
Byron Kaverman — winner of the GPI POY in 2015 — appears at No. 2 in this early list on the strength of four deep-run cashes in the Bahamas of his own. Meanwhile Mustapha Kanit cashed five times at PokerStars Championship Bahamas, making the top five in events on four different occasions to appear at No. 3.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Petrangelo | 3505.20 | +1 |
| 2 | David Peters | 3505.18 | -1 |
| 3 | Bryn Kenney | 3287.99 | +2 |
| 4 | Adrian Mateos | 3128.56 | - |
| 5 | Ari Engel | 3114.12 | -2 |
| 6 | Jack Salter | 3045.45 | - |
| 7 | Anthony Zinno | 2939.20 | +4 |
| 8 | Ankush Mandavia | 2933.98 | +1 |
| 9 | Fedor Holz | 2929.50 | +4 |
| 10 | Benjamin Zamani | 2928.85 | +2 |
There's a new No. 1 at the top of the overall GPI rankings this week and by the slimmest of margins. David Peters spent just one week in the top spot before getting edged out in the latest update by Nick Petrangelo who becomes the 15th player ever to be ranked No. 1 on the GPI.
Petrangelo chopped that aforementioned PokerStars Championship Bahamas $25,750 High Roller with eventual winner Luc Greenwood, the points Petrangelo earned for finishing second being enough to put him just a couple of hundredths of a point ahead of Peters in the newest update.
The breakthrough to No. 1 was a long time coming for Petrangelo. He has been in the GPI top 10 every single week since August 2015, spending no less than 19 of those weeks at No. 2, mostly during the last few months.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 190 | Roland Israelashivili | 1885.93 |
| 213 | Rocco Palumbo | 1846.87 |
| 219 | Thomas Muehloecker | 1833.20 |
| 258 | Mark Radoja | 1757.01 |
| 263 | Dylan Wilkerson | 1742.59 |
| 268 | Esther Taylor-Brady | 1733.78 |
| 284 | Jonathan Borenstein | 1705.03 |
| 285 | Anton Astapau | 1703.18 |
| 291 | Manig Loeser | 1687.99 |
| 293 | Russell Head | 1685.00 |
| 295 | Natasha Mercier | 1679.40 |
| 299 | David Urban | 1677.69 |
| 300 | Cliff Josephy | 1677.24 |
There were 13 new names in the GPI top 300 list this week, with Roland Israelashivili the highest-ranked of the group after jumping from No. 421 all of the way to No. 190. Israelashivili cashed six times at PokerStars Championship Bahamas, including winning a $3K NL side event, a performance that also secured him a spot inside in the top 10 of the 2017 GPI POY (see above).
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | Cliff Josephy | 1677.24 | +440 |
| 190 | Roland Israelashivili | 1885.93 | +231 |
| 285 | Anton Astapau | 1703.18 | +201 |
| 213 | Rocco Palumbo | 1846.87 | +177 |
| 291 | Manig Loeser | 1687.99 | +173 |
Israelashivili's climb earned him a spot high on this week's "Biggest Gains" list, although Cliff Josephy made an even larger leap after going from No. 740 to barely making it onto the list at No. 300.
The third-place finisher in the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event followed up that triumph with a runner-up in the PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event after making a heads-up deal with eventual winner Christian Harder.
In between those cashes, Josephy won another event, a $5K NL event at the Bellagio during the World Poker Tour Five Diamond Classic series in December. His highest career GPI ranking has been No. 146 back in October 2012.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 252 | Jon Turner | 1770.92 | -127 |
| 257 | Dani Stern | 1760.09 | -110 |
| 169 | Igor Kurganov | 1940.75 | -105 |
| 233 | Cary Katz | 1816.67 | -71 |
| 261 | Faraz Jaka | 1751.65 | -67 |
Finally, among players dropping the furthest this week (although remaining inside the top 300), Jon Turner endured the steepest slide after going from No. 125 to No. 252.
What to Expect Next Week
The 2017 Aussie Millions Poker Championship has been up and running for a week now, with the live reporting team for PokerNews having now arrived to bring start-to-finish coverage of several events, including the $25,000 Challenge, the $100,000 Challenge, the $250,000 Challenge, and the $10,000 Main Event.
Also currently in action is the World Series of Poker International Circuit Marrakech where PokerNews is also on hand from Morocco with live updates, chip counts, photos, and more.
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.
