Global Poker Index: Schemion Still On Top, Buddiga Bounces Up To Second
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
We are still awaiting the first reports for the 2015 GPI Player of the Year race in which results from the just-completed PokerStars Caribbean Adventure will set the stage for another exciting POY battle.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ole Schemion | 4083.21 | - |
| 2 | Pratyush Buddiga | 3578.34 | +6 |
| 3 | Davidi Kitai | 3549.56 | -1 |
| 4 | Dan Smith | 3479.26 | +1 |
| 5 | Bryn Kenney | 3476.22 | +1 |
| 6 | Sorel Mizzi | 3345.22 | +3 |
| 7 | Ami Barer | 3293.58 | -4 |
| 8 | Daniel Negreanu | 3271.27 | +39 |
| 9 | Daniel Colman | 3265.92 | -5 |
| 10 | Olivier Busquet | 3211.36 | +24 |
Ole Schemion maintains the top spot in the overall GPI rankings for a fourth straight week after taking over the lead on December 24, 2014. Meanwhile Pratyush Buddiga moved up from No. 8 to No. 2 this week on the strength of his deep run in the $10,000 PCA Main Event in which he finished seventh.
Also of note this week are a couple of huge leaps upwards in the rankings introducing new Top 10ers. Daniel Negreanu earned significant points at the end of December with a 25th-place finish in the World Poker Tour Five Diamond Poker Classic, then picked up still more by cashing in the PCA Main Event where he finished 94th. (His 14th-place showing in the PCA High Roller will earn him still more points next week.)
Olivier Busquet, meanwhile, also grabbed enough points with a 39th-place showing in the Main Event to move up just inside this week's Top 10.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 107 | Jonathan Karamalikis | 2183.61 |
| 187 | Alexander Denisov | 1804.34 |
| 198 | Tim Reilly | 1774.71 |
| 199 | Taylor Paur | 1770.89 |
| 205 | Scott Baumstein | 1761.05 |
| 210 | Ramin Hajiyev | 1752.48 |
| 212 | Antonio Buonanno | 1751.04 |
| 225 | Zachary Korik | 1706.03 |
| 231 | Daniel Strelitz | 1681.83 |
| 238 | James Collopy | 1662.02 |
| 273 | Samuel Chartier | 1579.29 |
| 290 | Roger Hairabedian | 1550.19 |
| 291 | Tom Thomas | 1549.23 |
| 299 | Albert Daher | 1537.18 |
There are 14 newcomers in the GPI Top 300 this week, with performances in events at the PCA again the cause for players' upward trending.
Jonathan Karamalikis enjoyed a successful festival at the Atlantis in the Bahamas, finishing 13th in the LAPT Bahamas Main Event, 15th in a $2,200 NLHE Turbo Bounty event, and fourth in another $5,300 NLHE event �� enough to catapult the Aussie all of the way from No. 520 to No. 107.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 291 | Tom Thomas | 1549.23 | +1222 |
| 199 | Taylor Paur | 1770.89 | +439 |
| 107 | Jonathan Karamalikis | 2183.61 | +413 |
| 238 | James Collopy | 1662.02 +369 | |
| 205 | Scott Baumstein | 1761.05 +270 |
All five of the week's biggest gainers were at the PCA where they earned scores, with Tom Thomas making the biggest move upward of anyone in the Top 300, going from No. 1513 to No. 291.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 267 | Dominik Panka | 1591.22 | -96 |
| 217 | Justin Young | 1740.42 | -79 |
| 103 | Vanessa Selbst | 2191.49 | -74 |
| 237 | Fabian Quoss | 1666.23 | -72 |
| 275 | Joey Weissman | 1575.79 | -72 |
Meanwhile on the flip side of things the week��s biggest drops (of those still within the Top 300) were populated by past PCA heroes, the points earned from their big scores in the Bahamas being diminished or lost with the passage of time. Of those, last year��s PCA Main Event champion Dominik Panka dropped the furthest, from No. 171 to No. 267.
To view the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. While you��re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.
