Global Poker Index: Bryn Kenney Takes Both Overall and POY Leads
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 23.
2017 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryn Kenney | 3284.93 | +3 |
| 2 | Koray Aldemir | 2992.49 | +3 |
| 3 | Dario Sammartino | 2928.47 | -2 |
| 4 | Nick Petrangelo | 2881.97 | -2 |
| 5 | Dan Smith | 2841.98 | -2 |
| 6 | Sergio Aido | 2809.01 | - |
| 7 | Pete Chen | 2747.89 | +10 |
| 8 | David Peters | 2745.14 | - |
| 9 | Ari Engel | 2713.64 | -2 |
| 10 | Manig Loeser | 2654.66 | +4 |
Bryn Kenney had been leading the 2017 Global Poker Index Player of the Year Race for most of the first half of the year, enjoying a 21-week run at the top until Nick Petrangelo took over the lead in July, then Dario Sammartino surged ahead to claim the No. 1 spot for the last five weeks.
This week Kenney is once again the frontrunner in the POY race, having moved back up on the strength of a couple of final tables in the PokerStars Championship Barcelona series. Kenney finished seventh in the €50,000 Super High Roller won by Igor Kurganov on Monday. He followed that a couple of days later with a runner-up to Stephen Chidwick in the single-day €25,500 NL Hold'em 8-Handed Single Re-Entry event.
Koray Aldemir took third in the Super High Roller, helping him move from No. 5 to No. 2 while Sammartino slipped back to third. Pete Chen has also picked up a couple of cashes in Barcelona to jump from No. 17 to No. 7, and Manig Loeser earned one as well to help him go from No. 14 to No. 10.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryn Kenney | 3415.63 | +5 |
| 2 | David Peters | 3314.49 | - |
| 3 | Nick Petrangelo | 3297.95 | -2 |
| 4 | Justin Bonomo | 3230.84 | -1 |
| 5 | Adrian Mateos | 3213.65 | - |
| 6 | Ari Engel | 3186.97 | -2 |
| 7 | Stephen Chidwick | 3152.44 | +12 |
| 8 | Dan Smith | 3140.81 | -1 |
| 9 | Ankush Mandavia | 3051.68 | -1 |
| 10 | Steve O'Dwyer | 3036.14 | -1 |
There's been a change at the top of the overall GPI rankings as well. On the strength of those two final tables in Barcelona, Kenney has moved from No. 6 to No. 1, taking the overall lead away from Petrangelo who last week marked 20 weeks in a row on top.
Fedor Holz started 2017 in No. 1 position in the overall rankings for a 30th-straight week, then David Peters took over for one week before Petrangelo claimed the top spot the next five. Peters got back in front for six more weeks after that, then from the start of April onward Petrangelo was No. 1 until Kenney's surge to the top. Kenney had been close many times before, but this marks his first week at No. 1 in the overall rankings.
Chidwick also moved up the overall list, going from No. 19 to No. 7 after his win in that €25,500 Single-Day High Roller. Chidwick's previous career-high ranking has been No. 3 (in January 2015).
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 169 | Bart Lybaert | 2040.58 |
| 220 | Oleksii Khoroshenin | 1942.12 |
| 230 | Goran Mandic | 1925.51 |
| 231 | Ramin Hajiyev | 1924.95 |
| 248 | Jared Jaffee | 1896.41 |
| 268 | Hui Chen-Kuo | 1866.48 |
| 276 | Chad Eveslage | 1847.82 |
| 280 | Guiseppe Pantaleo | 1844.39 |
| 281 | Jeff Gross | 1842.95 |
| 283 | Jerry Wong | 1841.10 |
| 284 | Joe Serock | 1839.63 |
| 286 | Zhaoxing Wang | 1836.94 |
| 291 | Kully Sidhu | 1826.83 |
| 292 | Alexander Condon | 1826.64 |
| 298 | Apostolos Bechrakis | 1822.51 |
Thanks largely to all of the action in Barcelona there were 15 new names joining the overall GPI Top 300. Bart Lybaert is the highest-ranked of this group after moving up from No. 310 to No. 169. The Belgian took third of 4,557 entries in the massive €1,100 PokerStars National Championship in Barcelona won by Pedro Cairat.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 230 | Goran Mandic | 1925.51 | +300 |
| 220 | Oleksii Khoroshenin | 1942.12 | +267 |
| 231 | Ramin Hajiyev | 1924.95 | +188 |
| 127 | Isaac Haxton | 2153.20 | +162 |
| 169 | Bart Lybaert | 2040.58 | +141 |
Of all the players in the current GPI Top 300, Goran Mandic enjoyed the largest leap up the rankings, going from No. 530 to No. 230 after his big victory in the €10,300 NL Hold'em 8-Handed event. Mandic topped a 166-entry field to win the trophy and a €374,400 first prize, a career-high touranment score for the Croatian.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 253 | Pavel Plesuv | 1889.34 | -125 |
| 290 | Vojtech Ruzicka | 1826.95 | -101 |
| 203 | Samuel Chartier | 1982.56 | -88 |
| 296 | Josip Simunic | 1823.07 | -76 |
| 240 | Bryan Yoon | 1908.63 | -74 |
Finally, considering only players ranked in this week's GPI Top 300, Pavel Plesuv took the biggest tumble after slipping from No. 128 to No. 253.
What to Expect Next Week
The PokerStars Championship Barcelona continues through the weekend with the €10,300 High Roller and €5,300 Main Event highlighting the schedule. Remember PokerNews is on hand at the Casino Barcelona with its live reporting team providing live updates, chip counts, photos, videos and more.
Meanwhile the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker series is still ongoing at the Bicycle Casino in California, the WSOP Circuit is at Foxwoods in Connecticut, and the Mid-States Poker Tour South Dakota series is happening in Sioux Falls.
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.
