Global Poker Index: Dan Smith Nears POY Lead, Esther Brady Moves 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 July 12.
2017 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Petrangelo | 2881.97 | - |
| 2 | Dan Smith | 2841.98 | +13 |
| 3 | Bryn Kenney | 2840.97 | -1 |
| 4 | Dario Sammartino | 2748.22 | +4 |
| 5 | Sergio Aido | 2695.82 | -2 |
| 6 | Koray Aldemir | 2673.73 | -2 |
| 7 | Ari Engel | 2652.80 | -2 |
| 8 | Justin Bonomo | 2466.55 | +3 |
| 9 | David Peters | 2607.62 | -3 |
| 10 | Anthony Spinella | 2453.11 | +14 |
Last week Nick Petrangelo was able to wrestle away Bryn Kenney's 21-week stranglehold on the No. 1 spot of the Global Poker Index 2017 Player of the Year rankings. The latest update shows Petrangelo remains on top for a second week in a row, although Dan Smith has suddenly made a hard charge upwards from No. 15 to No. 2 to sit just a few points behind the leader.
In the last seven days Smith made a final table in one of the last preliminary events at the 2017 World Series of Poker, finishing seventh in the Event #67: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller won by James Calderaro. He also won another $25,000 buy-in tournament, one of the ARIA High Roller events where he bested a 35-entry field to earn a nice payday plus POY points.
Dario Sammartino finished one spot ahead of Smith in sixth in that $25K PLO High Roller, helping him go from No. 8 to No. 4. Justin Bonomo jumped back on the list, going from No. 11 to No. 8. And Anthony Spinella joined the Top 10, jumping from No. 24 to No. 10 after a third-place finish in the 1,318-entry Goliath Phamous Poker Series Main Event at Planet Hollywood.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Petrangelo | 3383.01 | - |
| 2 | David Peters | 3307.24 | - |
| 3 | Ari Engel | 3267.94 | - |
| 4 | Bryn Kenney | 3230.06 | +5 |
| 5 | Adrian Mateos | 3164.37 | +1 |
| 6 | Justin Bonomo | 3101.63 | +2 |
| 7 | Steve O'Dwyer | 3047.42 | -2 |
| 8 | Sergio Aido | 3016.33 | +5 |
| 9 | Dan Smith | 3002.51 | -2 |
| 10 | Rainer Kempe | 2975.84 | +4 |
Petrangelo continues to stay on top of the overall GPI rankings as well, making it 15 weeks at No. 1 for him.
Down the list, Bryn Kenney moved up from No. 9 to No. 4, while a couple of new names appear in this week's Top 10.
Sergio Aido (up from No. 13 to No. 8) picked up his fourth WSOP cash of the summer last week, while Rainer Kempe (up from No. 14 to No. 10) has a half-dozen WSOP cashes plus other recent ones around Las Vegas.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 96 | Esther Taylor | 2249.47 |
| 187 | Raffaele Sorrentino | 1985.31 |
| 191 | Benjamin Tollerene | 1977.78 |
| 214 | David Jackson | 1936.26 |
| 223 | Dylan Linde | 1928.50 |
| 247 | Isaac Haxton | 1872.99 |
| 258 | Phong Nguyen | 1861.51 |
| 260 | Matthew Wakeman | 1860.15 |
| 265 | Joey Weissman | 1851.16 |
| 270 | Aleksandr Gofman | 1843.72 |
| 282 | Tony Dunst | 1826.63 |
| 286 | Albert Daher | 1819.82 |
| 289 | Guillaume Diaz | 1810.71 |
| 292 | Jonathan Borenstein | 1804.29 |
| 296 | Liang Xu | 1802.35 |
| 297 | Bart Lybaert | 1801.06 |
| 299 | Apostolos Bechrakis | 1799.35 |
| 300 | Adam Geyer | 1796.98 |
There were 18 newcomers showing up in the Top 300 overall GPI rankings this week. It's rare to see a player make a leap from outside the Top 300 all of the way into the Top 100, but that's just what Esther Taylor did after enjoying a huge week at the World Series of Poker.
Taylor made two final tables since the last update, first finishing fourth in Event #64: $1,500 No-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Omaha won by Sebastian Langrock, then a couple of days later getting to third in the aforementioned Event #67: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.
That made eight cashes for Taylor at this year's WSOP totaling $689,229 in winnings.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96 | Esther Taylor | 2249.47 | +264 |
| 187 | Raffaele Sorrentino | 1985.31 | +189 |
| 247 | Isaac Haxton | 1872.99 | +151 |
| 139 | Matt Salsberg | 2104.38 | +140 |
| 155 | Alexandru Papazian | 2070.54 | +138 |
Taylor's big week — taking her from No. 360 to No. 96 — unsurprisingly made her the biggest gainer of all the players in the current Top 300.
Raffaele Sorrentino also made a big move from No. 376 to No. 187 after winning a Mid-States Poker Tour Deepstack Extravaganza III event this week at the Venetian.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 291 | Cliff Josephy | 1805.90 | -144 |
| 298 | Lucas Greenwood | 1800.80 | -118 |
| 281 | Sean Winter | 1827.37 | -102 |
| 244 | John Monnette | 1874.19 | -90 |
| 196 | Chris Hunichen | 1973.84 | -81 |
Finally, Cliff Josephy fell the furthest this week (considering only players still in the Top 300) after dropping from No. 147 to No. 291. Points he gained from his third-place finish in last year's WSOP Main Event were affected by the Aging Factor this week to move him down the list.
What to Expect Next Week
So far 72 out of 74 2017 World Series of Poker bracelet events have played out, with only the Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT and Event #74: The Little One for One Drop - $1,000 +111 No-Limit Hold'em left to finish.
Day 3 of the Main Event gets going in an hour, and the PokerNews live reporting team continues to provide its usual extensive coverage, including live updates, chip counts, photos, videos and more. Be sure to follow along!
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.
