Dan Zack Still Leads WSOP POY Race; Ivey, Deeb within Striking Distance

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Jul 02, 2022 2 min read

On the eve of the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event, Dan Zack is holding steady in first place in the Player of the Year race. But he'll have to hold off the likes of Shaun Deeb, Phil Ivey, and defending champion Josh Arieh, all of whom are still in the ballgame.

Zack held the top spot last week, but much of the leaderboard has since changed. Daniel Weinman remains in second place, while Ivey and Deeb have both moved a few spots higher in the top 10.

How Zack has Built a Lead

Through 64 completed events, Zack is the only player this summer to have scooped two gold bracelets. He first won Event #15: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $440,757 before also taking down Event #40: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $324,174.

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In the latter event, he won an eight-hour marathon heads-up battle against David Funkhouser to claim the bracelet. In doing so, he moved into the POY lead and has sat there ever since. For the series, the New Jersey native has 11 cashes, including four final table appearances and two bracelets.

Zack, who was once known more for his cash game success on livestreamed shows such as Live at the Bike, has been a crusher at the WSOP since 2017.

The Competition

With 3,702 points, Zack sits atop the Player of the Year standings as of July 2. Weinman remains in second place at 3,087 points. There's a bit of a drop after that with Alex Foxen in third place at 2,390, but there are a dozen or so players who could still battle back to win the award.

Deeb (fourth place/2,242) and Ivey (seventh place/2,213) are both a couple of deep runs away from catching up. Ivey lost a heads-up battle to Aleksejs Ponakovs in Event #42: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em. Otherwise, he'd be a few steps closer to the top.

Last year's Main Event champion, Koray Aldemir is quietly hanging around in the Player of the Year race. The German high-stakes pro has 2,166 points, good for eighth place. He's reached three final tables and has eight cashes this summer.

Arieh is also still in the mix after winning it last year, although he just missed the top 10 this week. With 2,041 points, he sits in 11th place on the POY leaderboard. The four-time WSOP bracelet winner is also up for 2022 Poker Hall of Fame nomination, along with nine other players and industry personnel.

Current WSOP Player of the Year Standings

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