Global Poker Index: Kenney, Peters Lead While Strelitz, Fish Move Up
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 March 8.
2017 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryn Kenney | 1974.95 | - |
| 2 | Mustapha Kanit | 1597.35 | - |
| 3 | Byron Kaverman | 1257.50 | - |
| 4 | Ben Heath | 1238.88 | +8 |
| 5 | Sergio Aido | 1175.05 | -1 |
| 6 | Koray Aldemir | 1147.45 | -1 |
| 7 | Roland Israelashivili | 1139.87 | - |
| 8 | Manig Loeser | 1121.64 | -2 |
| 9 | Nadya Magnus | 1047.62 | +5 |
| 10 | Allen Kessler | 1008.84 | +14 |
Bryn Kenney sits comfortably atop the 2017 Global Poker Index Player of the Year rankings for a fifth-straight week, his lead over his nearest challenger, Mustapha Kanit, having grown larger after Kenney cashed in two separate $25,000 ARIA High Roller events last week, finishing third in one and fourth in another (though he earned points for only one of those cashes — see below).
Ben Heath also used recent success to advance up the rankings and join the top 10, moving up from No. 12 to No. 4. Heath's runner-up finish in the 818-entry Wynn Spring Classic Championship won by Eric Baldwin was the source of his POY points.
There are two other newcomers to the current POY top 10. Nadya Magnus made a deep run in the PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event (finishing ninth) and cashed on the World Series of Poker Circuit (winning a ring), the Heartland Poker Tour and at the Chicago Poker Classic to earn enough points to jump to No. 9 this week.
And Allen Kessler moved up from No. 24 to No. 10 this week after cashing in that Wynn Spring Classic Championship. He, too, has a number of cashes already in 2017, collecting them in the Bahamas, at the Borgata Winter Open, on the HPT, the WSOP-C and elsewhere.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Peters | 3457.98 | - |
| 2 | Nick Petrangelo | 3234.88 | +1 |
| 3 | Bryn Kenney | 3203.87 | -1 |
| 4 | Justin Bonomo | 3130.44 | - |
| 5 | Adrian Mateos | 3093.96 | - |
| 6 | Ankush Mandavia | 3032.75 | - |
| 7 | Dan Smith | 2956.33 | - |
| 8 | Jason Koon | 2951.83 | - |
| 9 | Ari Engel | 2951.10 | - |
| 10 | Jake Schindler | 2935.30 | +9 |
David Peters retains his hold on the No. 1 spot in the overall rankings this week, his third consecutive week at the top, while Nick Petrangelo edged back to No. 2 ahead of Bryn Kenney.
The rest of the list remained the same aside from Jake Schindler jumping from No. 19 to No. 10 after winning the first of those two $25,000 ARIA High Rollers mentioned above. The one Schindler won drew 33 entries, which meant it exceeded the 32-entry minimum for GPI points. The other one, incidentally, drew 31 entries, and so didn't count.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 169 | Eric Baldwin | 1897.96 |
| 170 | Simeon Naydenov | 1895.20 |
| 184 | Jonathan Borenstein | 1865.67 |
| 203 | Joe Serock | 1823.98 |
| 245 | Garett Greer | 1748.79 |
| 278 | Kevin MacPhee | 1694.27 |
| 281 | Alexander Condon | 1691.52 |
| 285 | Celina Lin | 1680.69 |
| 293 | Ian O'Hara | 1671.90 |
Eric Baldwin's victory in that Wynn Spring Classic Championship was mentioned above, and by winning at the Wynn he earned the distinction of the being the highest-ranked among the nine newcomers in this week's GPI top 300, coming in at No. 169. The highest previous GPI ranking for the WSOP bracelet holder was No. 65 back in July 2011.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 203 | Joe Serock | 1823.98 | +259 |
| 170 | Simeon Naydenov | 1895.20 | +238 |
| 169 | Eric Baldwin | 1897.96 | +173 |
| 36 | Daniel Strelitz | 2436.03 | +152 |
| 67 | Darryll Fish | 2252.11 | +138 |
Baldwin made the "Biggest Gains" top five thanks to his jump up from No. 342 to No. 169. Topping this list is Joe Serock who went from No. 462 to No. 259 after finishing eighth in the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic Main Event won by Daniel Strelitz.
Speaking of Strelitz (pictured above, left), that win also helped him make a big GPI move, going all of the way from No. 188 to No. 36, a career GPI peak for Strelitz. Meanwhile a win in a WPTDeepStacks event and a third-place finish in another tournament has helped Darryll Fish (pictured above, right) jump from No. 205 to No. 67 this week, also a career-best ranking for him.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 262 | Matt Salsberg | 1720.90 | -104 |
| 277 | Zo Karim | 1696.30 | -103 |
| 300 | Michael Wang | 1661.92 | -94 |
| 208 | Anthony Spinella | 1822.45 | -63 |
| 271 | Bryan Piccioli | 1704.94 | -54 |
Finally, looking only at players still within the top 300, Matt Salsberg dropped the furthest this week after slipping from No. 158 to No. 262.
What to Expect Next Week
The PokerStars Festival Rozvadov is currently underway in the Czech Republic, with the live reporting team from PokerNews on hand sharing all the details from the €2,200 High Roller, the €5,300 King's High Roller and the €1,100 Main Event. PokerNews will also be on hand with live updates, chip counts, photos, videos and more from PokerStars Championship Panama starting this weekend.
Meanwhile the WSOP-C stops in Los Angeles, the Wynn Spring Classic continues and the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event will play down to a winner tomorrow.
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.
