Global Poker Index: Marvin Rettenmaier Begins 2013 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 a player's results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.
Top 10 as of December 31, 2012
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Rank Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 3,350.62 | +1 |
| 2 | Dan Smith | 3,346.44 | -1 |
| 3 | Jason Mercier | 3,091.30 | -- |
| 4 | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier | 3,061.39 | -- |
| 5 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 2,953.60 | -- |
| 6 | Joseph Cheong | 2,923.00 | +5 |
| 7 | Steve O'Dwyer | 2,686.24 | +3 |
| 8 | Mike Watson | 2,662.03 | +1 |
| 9 | David Sands | 2,641.13 | -1 |
| 10 | Roberto Romanello | 2,615.78 | +5 |
As we mentioned last week, the GPI's annual review was going to lead to a few changes throughout the rankings. Some shuffling came about in the top 10 with Joseph Cheong and Roberto Romanello coming in, while Phil Hellmuth and Vanessa Selbst slipped out. Hellmuth dropped because of his Big One for One Drop fourth-place finish (for $2,645,333) at the2012 World Series of Poker aging into Period 2, while Selbst's win in Event No. 52 (10 Game Six-max for $244,259) also aged into Period 2. As a result of their respective aging scores, both Hellmuth and Selbst only have four results counting in Period 1. Cheong and Romanello, previously 11th and 15th on the GPI, each have a full compliment of fives scores constituting Period 1.
Despite the change in scoring, new No. 1 Marvin Rettenmaier was set to take the reigns atop the GPI regardless. Dan Smith's third-place finish in Event No. 50 ($5,000 NLH) at the 2012 WSOP (for $368,943) aged into Period 2, giving Rettenmaier the slight edge at the top.
Welcome to the GPI
With the adjusted scoring system in place, 22 players are new to this week's GPI. Mick Graydon came in best at No. 188, mainly because of an additional �1,000 buy-in event counting. Most notably, he has a full slate of five Period 1 scores because two �1,000 tournaments are counting for him.
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Mick Graydon | 1,349.49 | 188th |
| Ruben Visser | 1,275.61 | 215th |
| David Stefanski | 1,263.01 | 220th |
| Casey Kastle | 1,254.43 | 227th |
| Eric Baldwin | 1,230.18 | 236th |
| Dario Alioto | 1,226.94 | 237th |
| Josh Brikis | 1,226.84 | 238th |
| Mukul Pahuja | 1,216.69 | 242nd |
| Paul Vas Nunes | 1,210.69 | 245th |
| Oliver Speidel | 1,192.06 | 258th |
| Alex Queen | 1,191.00 | 259th |
| Aaron Lim | 1,173.60 | 264th |
| Timothy Chang | 1,171.15 | 265th |
| Jason Tompkins | 1,169.73 | 266th |
| Jean-Philippe Rohr | 1,165.18 | 268th |
| Steven van Zadelhoff | 1,163.98 | 269th |
| Matthias De Meulder | 1,162.54 | 271st |
| Juan Manuel Pastor | 1,142.95 | 277th |
| Zachary Corik | 1,134.37 | 286th |
| Manig Loeser | 1,122.82 | 291st |
| Hiu Chen-Kuo | 1,116.17 | 296th |
| Ondrej Vinklarek | 1,115.53 | 297th |
Falling from the GPI this week were Andrey Pateychuk, Benjamin Hamnett, Brian Hastings, Carla Solinas, Cliff Josephy, Daniel Reijmer, Eric Froehlich, Eric Sfez, Fabrizio Gonzalez, Tony Dunst, Greg Ronaldson, Hafiz Khan, James Dempsey, Joe Ebanks, Manuel Bevand, Martins Adeniya, Max Silver, Nam Le, Nicholas Verkaik, Randy Lew, Simeon Naydenov, and Stephane Albertini.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged to Lee Childs. His 16th-place finish in Event No. 53 ($1,500 NLH) at the 2012 WSOP (for $26,414) aging into Period 2, helping boost his Period 2 while his Period 1 had other scores to help ease the loss. Also, though, Childs is helped throughout the six periods by scores in $1,000 buy-ins that are now GPI eligible.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72nd | Ognjen Sekularec | 1,786.80 | +94 |
| 124th | Dominik Nitsche | 1,554.05 | +83 |
| 131st | Salvatore Bonavena | 1,531.90 | +98 |
| 154th | Jan Bendik | 1,443.49 | +71 |
| 172nd | Rocco Palumbo | 1,393.08 | +80 |
| 185th | Lee Childs | 1,357.84 | +112 |
| 194th | Khiem Nguyen | 1,323.72 | +83 |
| 204th | Denys Drobyna | 1,306.14 | +75 |
| 209th | Frank Rusnak | 1,288.97 | +63 |
| 217th | Bryan Devonshire | 1,273.51 | +65 |
Taking the biggest hit this week was Galen Hall. He only has one score comprising his Period 1 after two of his results aged. His third-place finish in a $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller at the Deep Stack Extravaganza III (for $51,408) dropped into Period 2, as did his 40th-place finish in Event No. 50 at the 2012 WSOP (for $20,324).
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 127th | Jason Wheeler | 1,550.75 | -62 |
| 190th | Galen Hall | 1,334.13 | -77 |
| 211th | Steve Barshak | 1,287.01 | -51 |
| 248th | Jeff Madsen | 1,207.09 | -58 |
| 251st | John Racener | 1,202.49 | -53 |
| 254th | Dominykas Karmazinas | 1,201.26 | -61 |
| 275th | Jon Turner | 1,148.81 | -49 |
| 281st | Justin Conley | 1,140.73 | -65 |
| 284th | Lucille Cailly | 1,136.27 | -49 |
| 294th | Amir Lehavot | 1,117.23 | -75 |
What's In Store?
While the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure begins this weekend, results won't take effect in the GPI for two weeks. Until then, more aging WSOP scores will be the main cause for changes in the GPI.
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.
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