It's Now Scott Seiver vs. the World for WSOP Player of the Year
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Move over Shaun Deeb, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, and anyone else chasing the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year award. There's now a clear-cut frontrunner in the race almost midway through the series, and his name is Scott Seiver.
The newly minted six-time bracelet winner took down Event #40: $1,500 Razz on Sunday for $141,374, beating out 547 players. In doing so, he won his second bracelet of the summer, and is now atop the WSOP Player of the Year standings.
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In our last POY update, Darius Samual had come out of nowhere to move into a slight lead. But the leaderboard has since changed, and it's been taken over by a player who just might reach the Poker Hall of Fame next year.
Is it Seiver's to Lose?
Heading into Sunday's action at the 2024 WSOP, Nick Schulman sat alone atop the POY standings with 1,890 points. But Seiver, with 1,605 points entering the Razz tournament, was in great position to overtake the lead as he was among the chip leaders deep throughout Day 3.
First place awards 961 Player of the Year points, meaning the title allowed Seiver to surpass Schulman with 2,566 points. The POY battle between these two poker legends will be interesting as the summer progresses given both, at age 40, will become eligible for the Poker Hall of Fame next year.
At present, Seiver appears to have the upper hand, not only for POY but also 2025 PHOF. But it's only the middle of the series, and neither achievement has been decided. Schulman won his fifth bracelet last week, and is one behind Seiver.
Who Else is in Contention?
Should neither player finish the summer as the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year, there are at least 15-20 others capable. That includes Phil Ivey, who recently won his 11th bracelet and is currently a close third in the POY race (1,755). Sean Troha (1,646) and Dylan Weisman (1,575) aren't far off the pace either.
Dan Sepiol is another name to follow as the series progresses. While the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship $5.3 million winner wasn't a pre-series favorite for Player of the Year, he's racked up a bracelet and 1,515 points, and could be a sleeper pick to win.
Calvin Anderson (1,489) and Robert Mizrachi (1,479) have a combined nine WSOP bracelets, which means they're far from out of the race. Perennial contender and 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener is, unsurprisingly, hanging around with 1,463 points.
And then, of course, you can never count out pros like Deeb and Negreanu, who've combined to win WSOP Player of the Year three times. Both are struggling to rack up the deep runs and bracelet wins needed to capture POY, but they still have a month to turn it around. That said, at this point in the 2024 WSOP, Seiver appears to be the favorite to win Player of the Year, and it could serve as a launchpad to a 2025 Poker Hall of Fame induction.
*Note: WSOP Player of the Year points listed in this article are NOT official and are based on current WSOP.com standings.
