Global Poker Index: EPT Grand Final Shakes Up Rankings; Urbanovich, Seiver Still on Top
Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player��s results over six half-year periods. The GPI also ranks the top performers of the year over two six-month periods as calculated by the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.
2015 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | 3380.70 | - |
| 2 | Scott Seiver | 3023.15 | +2 |
| 3 | Ivan Luca | 2978.00 | -1 |
| 4 | Connor Drinan | 2919.17 | +1 |
| 5 | Joe Kuether | 2545.91 | -2 |
| 6 | Steve O��Dwyer | 2538.37 | +3 |
| 7 | Nicholas Petrangelo | 2326.17 | -1 |
| 8 | Ramin Hajiyev | 2228.48 | +4 |
| 9 | Vladimir Dobrovolskiy | 2152.88 | -2 |
| 10 | Atanas Kavrakov | 1969.75 | +4 |
As expected, the recently completed PokerStars and Monte-Carlo?Casino EPT Grand Final festival certainly had its effect on the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race, but another impressive showing by Dzmitry Urbanovich (pictured above) enabled the Polish player to withstand the heat from others to retain the No. 1 spot in the POY rankings for an eighth-straight week.
After finishing runner-up in the �100K Super High Roller during the first week of the series, Urbanovich followed that with a cash in the �10K Main Event (finishing 40th) and a third-place showing in one of the very last events, a �10K NLH 6-Max Turbo.
We mentioned last week how Scott Seiver had bolted up the rankings after winning a side event in Monaco and final tabling both of the Super High Rollers (the �100K and �50K). Seiver would then cash in the �25K High Roller as well (finishing 20th) plus take fourth in that aformentioned �10K Turbo to finish one spot behind Urbanovich �� all of which helped Seiver move one spot behind Urbanovich in the GPI POY race, too, into second postion.
Others hovering just outside the Top 10 this week thanks to successful EPT Grand Finals include Dominik Nitsche (No. 11), Daniel Dvoress (No. 12), Stephen Chidwick (No. 13), and Sorel Mizzi (No. 14).
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Seiver | 3972.33 | - |
| 2 | Ole Schemion | 3878.61 | +1 |
| 3 | Dan Smith | 3828.71 | +17 |
| 4 | Davidi Kitai | 3745.14 | -2 |
| 5 | Byron Kaverman | 3670.90 | -1 |
| 6 | Jason Mercier | 3669.68 | -1 |
| 7 | Stephen Chidwick | 3606.35 | - |
| 8 | Bryn Kenney | 3586.55 | -2 |
| 9 | Sorel Mizzi | 3483.57 | - |
| 10 | Pratyush Buddiga | 3451.41 | -2 |
All of those EPT Grand Final scores enabled Seiver to stay on top of the overall GPI rankings again for a third week in a row, but both of the last two top-ranked players are edging closer to him after also doing well in Monaco.
Ole Schemion had been No. 1 for a record 18 straight weeks until Seiver began his reign atop the rankings. A sixth-place finish in the EPT Grand Final Main Event helped Schemion move back into the No. 2 position this week, not far behind Seiver with the World Series of Poker now looming.
Meanwhile Dan Smith had been No. 1 for the 17 weeks prior to Schemion��s time at the top, and after dropping down to No. 20 shot back up to third position this week after winning a �5K ��Midnight Hyperturbo�� event in Monte Carlo, then finishing eighth in the �25K High Roller.
Incidentally, EPT Grand Final champion Adrian Mateos moved up from to No. 58 to No. 27 this week in the overall GPI rankings; he��s also now at No. 24 (up from No. 79) in the 2015 POY race.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 186 | Georgios Sotiropoulos | 1923.47 |
| 198 | Charlie Carrel | 1886.56 |
| 221 | Nicolas Chouity | 1825.58 |
| 248 | Felix Stephensen | 1734.75 |
| 265 | Simon Higgins | 1679.09 |
| 268 | Fabrice Soulier | 1669.87 |
| 271 | Eric Afriat | 1661.94 |
| 275 | Damian Salas | 1653.27 |
| 278 | Vlado Banicevic | 1639.82 |
| 285 | Rocco Palumbo | 1619.76 |
| 289 | Nicolau Villa-Lobos | 1606.19 |
| 296 | Vyacheslav Stoyanov | 1598.06 |
| 297 | Hossein Ensan | 1593.86 |
| 298 | Jason Mo | 1591.67 |
| 299 | Giacomo Fundaro | 1589.20 |
Fifteen players jumped into the GPI Top 300 this week, again thanks largely to EPT Grand Final successes. Felix Stephensen and Rocco Palumbo each won side events at the Monte Carlo Bay Resort and Hotel, while Hossein Ensan managed to capture two trophies in Monaco.
Also winning big this week was the U.K.��s Charlie Carrel who topped a 215-entry field to win the �25K High Roller and capture �1,114,000 million first prize. Carrel catapulted from No. 440 to No. 198 for that triumph, marking the 21-year-old��s debut inside the GPI Top 300.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 285 | Rocco Palumbo | 1619.76 | +531 |
| 198 | Charlie Carrel | 1886.56 | +242 |
| 297 | Hossein Ensan | 1593.86 | +207 |
| 126 | Isaac Haxton | 2166.12 | +148 |
| 186 | Georgios Sotiropoulos | 1923.47 | +132 |
Carrel��s leap up was the second-biggest among those in this week��s Top 300, with Rocco Palumbo��s move from No. 816 to No. 285 being the most spots advanced. In addition to winning one EPT Grand Final event, the �3K NLH ��Escalator,�� Palumbo took second in another, a �2K NLH Turbo 8-Max event.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 209 | Anatoly Filatov | 1855.05 | -70 |
| 224 | Farid Jattin | 1806.85 | -67 |
| 193 | John Racener | 1897.41 | -55 |
| 231 | Kiryl Radzivonau | 1774.33 | -45 |
| 220 | Blake Bohn | 1828.03 | -44 |
Finally Anatoly Filatov dropped the furthest this week among GPI Top 300 players, falling from No. 139 to No. 209 after coming up empty in Monte Carlo following having three cashes there a year ago.
To view both the 2015 Player of the Year and 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.
