Global Poker Index: Bryn Kenney Leads POY After Super High Roller Wins
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. Below we look at the 2019 Player of the Year race and overall GPI rankings as of June 5.
2019 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | 2019 GPI POY Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryn Kenney | 2933.56 |
| 2 | Sean Winter | 2627.05 |
| 3 | Sam Greenwood | 2482.84 |
| 4 | Manig Loeser | 2470.86 |
| 5 | Brian Altman | 2465.80 |
| 6 | Rainer Kempe | 2416.04 |
| 7 | James Romero | 2240.06 |
| 8 | Alex Foxen | 2224.19 |
| 9 | Ole Schemion | 2185.65 |
| 10 | Nick Pupillo | 2163.86 |
It's a new month, which means it is time to check in once again on how the 2019 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race is going.
The last three times we provided such updates (going back to early March), Sean Winter was the player sitting at No. 1. But in mid-May Bryn Kenney leaped from No. 14 to No. 2 in the standings, then two weeks ago the New Yorker passed Winter to claim the top spot heading into the 2019 World Series of Poker.
Kenney's rise came thanks in large part to back-to-back victories in Triton Poker Super High Roller Series events in Montenegro, with those coming just after Kenney also made two final tables in Triton events in Jeju to kick off May.
In Montenegro, Kenney topped a field of 75 to win the Main Event and a first prize worth about $2.7M USD. That was just a couple of days after Kenney had won the 79-entry six-max event for a prize worth about $1.43M.
Winter remains high on the list at No. 2. Meanwhile Sam Greenwood made three final tables in Montenegro (including finishing fifth in the Main Event) to move onto the list and all of the way up to No. 3. Manig Loeser sits just behind him at No. 4 at present, having added several more cashes after his victory in the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Main Event a month ago.
A couple of other familiar names who weren't among the GPI POY Top 10 a month ago have now joined the list.
Alex Foxen has been reigning atop the overall rankings for some time (see below). Foxen won the 2018 GPI Player of the Year, and now he's at No. 8 after a runner-up in Montenegro and a cash at the WSOP in Event #8: $10,000 Short Deck No-Limit Hold'em won by Alex Epstein.
Ole Schemion has also joined the list at No. 9 after collecting five cashes at EPT Monte-Carlo and then winning the Baccarat Crystal World Poker Tour Tournament of Champions last weekend. Always a challenger for the GPI POY, Schemion won the title before back in 2013
Overall GPI Top 10
| Rank | Player | Overall GPI Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Foxen | 3939.73 |
| 2 | Rainer Kempe | 3556.30 |
| 3 | Stephen Chidwick | 3462.34 |
| 4 | David Peters | 3421.41 |
| 5 | Bryn Kenney | 3418.48 |
| 6 | Manig Loeser | 3398.27 |
| 7 | Steve O'Dwyer | 3373.72 |
| 8 | Ryan Riess | 3291.89 |
| 9 | Jake Schindler | 3276.52 |
| 10 | Michael Soyza | 3270.20 |
As already noted, the top of the overall GPI rankings looks the same as it has for the last 35 weeks now, with Alex Foxen still the top-ranked tournament player in the world.
Foxen still maintains a decent-sized lead over a chase pack in which Rainer Kempe (No. 2), Stephen Chidwick (No. 3), David Peters (No. 4), and Kenney (No. 5) have been trading positions over the last few weeks.
Indeed, the only new names in the overall Top 10 compared to a month ago are Manig Loeser (up to No. 6) and Ryan Riess (up to No. 8). Riess, you'll recall, finished fourth in that EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event won by Loeser, and like Loeser has added more cashes since then to prompt his upward move in the rankings.
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.
