Global Poker Index: Seidel Reclaims Top Spot, Duhamel Surges
Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes a player's results over six half-year periods. The 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure made major waves across the GPI the last two weeks with several players kicking off 2012 in style. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.
The Top 10 as of January 16, 2012
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank from Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Seidel | 2,988.29 | +1 |
| 2 | Jason Mercier | 2,986.07 | -1 |
| 3 | Bertrand ��ElkY�� Grospellier | 2,823.70 | 0 |
| 4 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,760.52 | 0 |
| 5 | Shawn Buchanan | 2,672.49 | +1 |
| 6 | Sam Trickett | 2,582.47 | -1 |
| 7 | Matt Waxman | 2,429.83 | +1 |
| 8 | Will "The Thrill" Failla | 2,423.22 | +1 |
| 9 | Vanessa Selbst | 2,412.31 | -2 |
| 10 | Mike "Timex" McDonald | 2,406.80 | +1 |
Erik Seidel overtook Jason Mercier for the top spot on the GPI thanks to results from the 2011 PCA that matured into Period 3. With no results in Period 3 prior to this week, Seidel is now reaping the benefits of the GPI scoring system as his amazing first half of 2011 is being recognized in the point standings.
Sitting just outside the top 10 in the No. 11 spot is Jonathan Duhamel. After rising 30 places last week after his fourth place finish in the $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super High Roller Event for $313,600, Duhamel added three more final tables and roughly $900,000 in earnings to his 2012 resume. He moved up 41 places this week and with no major results due to expire in the next few weeks, there's a good chance he can crack the top ten.
Welcome to the GPI
A whopping 27 players are new to the GPI this week. Russia's Leonid Bilokur landed at No. 97 after he collected $1,134,930 for his win in the $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max High Roller. Jon Turner cashed three times at the PCA to return to the list, and Faraz Jaka's third-place finish in the Main Event boosted him back into the rankings after a one week absence.
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Leonid Bilokur | 1,529.15 | 97th |
| Jon Turner | 1,442.92 | 119th |
| Faraz Jaka | 1,358.71 | 145th |
| Kunimaro Kojo | 1,329.40 | 151st |
| Randy Lew | 1,328.43 | 152nd |
| Ruben Visser | 1,294.23 | 162nd |
| Luca Pagano | 1,243.81 | 187th |
| Jason Koon | 1,229.66 | 192nd |
| Corey Burbick | 1,226.39 | 194th |
| Kyle Julius | 1.195.52 | 215th |
| Laurence Houghton | 1,158.13 | 232nd |
| Maksim Semisoshenko | 1,154.46 | 234th |
| Andrew Badecker | 1,145.67 | 240th |
| Nicholas Grippo | 1,137.00 | 246th |
| Pius Heinz | 1,133.10 | 249th |
| Danyel Boyaciyan | 1.125.96 | 252nd |
| Bolivar Palacios | 1,117.17 | 255th |
| Xuan Liu | 1,109.73 | 258th |
| Vyacheslav Igin | 1,106.18 | 262nd |
| Lie Boeree | 1,103.27 | 263rd |
| Justin Schwartz | 1,102.75 | 264th |
| Alexander Venovski | 1,084.03 | 278th |
| Eddy Sabat | 1,083.22 | 279th |
| Mike Leah | 1,076.53 | 282nd |
| Yuliyan Nikolaev Kolev | 1,070.48 | 286th |
| Stephen Chidwick | 1,062.44 | 291st |
| Adam Levy | 1,062.11 | 292nd |
Who is off the GPI this week? Well, a lot of folks: Alex Debus, Allen Cunningham, Amnon Filippi, Andrew Robl, Brandon Cantu, Daniel Reijmer, David Ulliott, Erick Lindgren, Fabrizio Gonzalez, Gregory Brooks, Humberto Brenes, Jan Bendik, Jared Jaffee, Joe Hachem, John Andress, Joe Serock, Nenad Medic, Nicolas Cardyn, Nikolay Evdakov, Ognjen Sekularac, Paul Berende, Phil Laak, Praz Bansi, Richard Ashby, Sebastian Ruthenberg, Ted Forrest, and Ville Haavisto.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged to Andrew Chen, who climbed 119 spots to No. 96. Two of his three PCA cashes count toward the GPI, including a runner-up showing in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max High-Roller tournament worth $191,984.
Isaac Haxton (up 94 places) and Nicolas Fierro (up 103 places) rode top five finishes in the $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max High Roller up the GPI as well. Scott Seiver (up 81 places), who was in the top ten as recently as November, made a nice move back up the ranks with a chop in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Heads-Up Championship worth $78,210.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40th | Isaac Haxton | 1,876.51 | +94 |
| 52nd | Scott Seiver | 1.751.91 | +81 |
| 81st | Nicolas Fierro | 1,603.75 | +103 |
| 96th | Andrew Chen | 1,531.13 | +119 |
| 98th | Barry Greenstein | 1.527.34 | +112 |
| 123rd | Keven Stammen | 1,434.98 | +85 |
| 128th | Yevgeniy Timoshenko | 1,410.65 | +94 |
| 158th | Hans Winzeler | 1,314.06 | +104 |
| 181st | Kenny Hallaert | 1.257.30 | +91 |
| 203rd | Evgeny Zaytsev | 1,216.30 | +97 |
Will Molson took the biggest hit this week. For the first time in four years, Molson did not finish in the top two of the $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max High Roller. With his win from 2011 falling into Period 3 and his runner-up showing in 2010 falling into Period 5, Molson tumbled 165 spots in the GPI.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 130th | William Thorson | 1,407.82 | -54 |
| 147th | Erich Kollman | 1,347.52 | -55 |
| 195th | Justin Smith | 1,224.00 | -72 |
| 222nd | David Paredes | 1,188.18 | -56 |
| 223rd | Brandon Meyers | 1,183.04 | -63 |
| 224th | Joe Elpayaa | 1,183.79 | -56 |
| 225th | Daniel Colman | 1,179.46 | -108 |
| 228th | Nick Schulman | 1,167.88 | -109 |
| 289th | Maria Ho | 1,069.07 | -56 |
| 296th | Will Molson | 1,055.23 | -165 |
What's In Store?
The 2012 Aussie Millions is under way and will undoubtedly be causing movement in the GPI over the next two weeks. However, that means the 2011 Aussie Millions will carry into Period 3.
That will cause serious damage to the scores of Erik Seidel and Sam Trickett. Seidel's third-place finish in the AUD$100,000 No-Limit Hold'em tournament last January will mature into Period 3, perhaps opening the door once again for Jason Mercier to sit atop the GPI.
Trickett, the winner of that tournament, may find himself outside of the top 10. To make matters worse for both, the AUD$250,000 Super High-Roller No-Limit Hold'em, in which Seidel defeated Trickett heads-up, is due to fall into Period 3 in two weeks. As a result, both can expect a rare GPI slide.
To look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. While you're at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.
To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
