Global Poker Index: Dario Sammartino Seizes Player of the Year Lead

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Jul 20, 2017 4 min read

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. Here's a look at the rankings as of July 19.

2017 GPI Player of the Year

There's a brand new No. 1 in the 2017 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race as Dario Sammartino leaped three spots to the top, knocking Nick Petrangelo out of the lead he had held for the previous two weeks.

Sammartino just concluded a fantastic summer at the 2017 World Series of Poker with a deep run in the Main Event ending with a 43rd-place finish.

That was the Italian's eighth cash of the series, including two final tables. The first came at the start of the WSOP when he took third in the Event #6: $111,111 No-Limit Hold'em - High Roller for One Drop won by Doug Polk, while the other came near the end when he finished sixth in the Event #67: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller won by James Calderaro.

Charlie Carrel also made it to the end of Day 5 of the WSOP Main Event, finishing in 88th. That run plus four other cashes in this summer's series pushes the U.K. player up into the POY Top 10 this week after he moved from No. 18 to No. 9.

GPI 300 Top 10

Meanwhile Petrangelo managed to retain the No. 1 spot in the overall rankings this week, his 16th-straight week at the top.

Former top-ranked player Fedor Holz catapulted back into the Top 10 this week following his victory in the 2017 Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro HK$250,000 6-Max High Roller. Holz topped a 41-entry field, making a final table comeback to win the title and HK$3,472,200 first prize (worth nearly $445K USD).

From mid-June 2016 to early January 2017, Holz was the top-ranked tournament player in the world according to the GPI, spending 29 straight weeks on top. Last week he came in at No. 21, his lowest ranking since December 2015, but his win helped him move up 15 spots to No. 6.

Sammartino also joins the Top 10 since the last update after going from No. 30 to No. 10. Sammartino has been in the Top 10 before, peaking at No. 7 in July 2015.

Welcome to the GPI Top 300

There are 21 new names in the GPI Top 300 this week, with Richard Dubini the highest-ranked among them at No. 108. An eighth place in the Event #50: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Bounty won by Chris Bolek coupled with his 12th-place showing in the WSOP Main Event helped Dubini move up 248 places from No. 356.

Scott Stewart made it all of the way to 13th in the Main Event, and as a result moved up from No. 389 to No. 150, his highest career ranking. Alexandre Reard went out in 16th place on Monday in the Main Event as well, pushing him from No. 402 to No. 181 this week, also a career-high.

Biggest Gains

We were just talking to Patrick Leonard recently about a hand he played during the WSOP Main Event, one for which he provided an excellent analysis. Leonard didn't cash in the Main, but he did have one heck of a week in Las Vegas otherwise, winning three different tournaments with his cashes totaling more than $1.26 million.

After winning two $25,000 ARIA High Rollers, Leonard then topped a 271-entry field to win the $10,400 Bellagio Cup XIII, enabling him to go from No. 1060 to No. 295.

Biggest Drops

Finally, looking only at players still in the GPI Top 300, Paul Newey endured the steepest drop this week after going from No. 194 to No. 287.

What to Expect Next Week

Over the next three days, all eyes will be on the final table of the Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT. Stick close here at PokerNews for comprehensive coverage of every hand played, chip counts, photos, videos and more as we find out together who will be poker's next world champion.

Meanwhile the PokerStars Festival Lille series is underway in France, as is the PokerStars Festival Korea series in Incheon. PokerNews is on hand this week with coverage from PSF Korea, and also reporting from the 2017 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam.

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.

• Tags Global Poker Index Dario Sammartino Nick Petrangelo Charlie Carrel Fedor Holz Richard Dubini Scott Stewart Alexandre Reard Patrick Leonard WSOP
• Related Tournaments World Series of Poker
• Related Players Dario SammartinoCharlie CarrelNick PetrangeloFedor HolzPatrick LeonardAlexandre Reard