With the 2012 World Series of Poker in the books (sans the Main Event) now is as good a time as any to take a look at how the summer tournament series has shaken-up the various Player of the Year races. We now have three major Player of the Year leader-boards (along with the WSOP POY award) and each uses a very distinct criteria to crown its winner: Bluff Magazine, Cardplayer Magazine, and the Global Poker Index.
Prior to the 2012 WSOP the names at the top of the leader-boards were Jonathan Duhamel, Dan Smith, Marvin Rettenmaier, and winners of 2012 Majors like Oliver Speidel. However, the WSOP really shook-up the standings as several different players had monster WSOP’s, putting themselves in contention for the POY crown alongside the aforementioned players.
Bluff Magazine Player of the Year leader-board (accurate as of July 23, 2012):
1. Dan Smith — 946.71 points
2. Phil Ivey — 904.17 points
3. Marvin Rettenmaier — 826.27 points
4. Jonathan Duhamel — 795.80 points
5. Vanessa Selbst — 697.70 points
6. Kyle Julius — 694.43 points
7. Oliver Speidel — 669.81 points
8. Joe Kuether — 647.04 points
9. Daniel Negreanu — 638.96 points
10. Bruno Lopes — 595.85 points
Bluff Magazine’s formula uses a player’s 2012 results along with 2011 results, with a higher emphasis placed on the 2012 results.
Cardplayer Magazine Player of the Year leader-board (accurate as of July 23, 2012):
1. Kyle Julius — 3,752 points
2. Dan Smith — 3,488 points
3. Oliver Speidel — 3,046 points
4. Vadzim Kursevich — 2,717 points
5. Joe Kuether — 2,716 points
6. Marvin Rettenmaier — 2,552 points
7. John Dibella — 2,512 points
8. Daniel Kelly — 2,508 points
9. Phil Ivey — 2,495 points
10. Davidi Kitai — 2,474 points
Cardplayer Magazine’s formula only looks at results from 2012.
Global Poker Index Player of the Year leader-board (accurate as of July 23, 2012):
1. David Baker — 715.91 points
2. Marvin Rettenmaier — 682.09 points
3. Jonathan Duhamel — 668.79 points
4. Dan Smith — 662.47 points
5. Kyle Julius — 637.63 points
6. Phil Ivey — 629.12 points
7. Daniel Negreanu — 607.28 points
8. Andrew Lichtenberger — 605.50 points
9. Samuel Chartier — 583.37 points
10. Erik Cajelais — 559.60 points
The GPI has the most unique formula, breaking the year into quarters and using a player’s best results from each period only (basically rewarding quality over quantity).
There is still a long way to go before a player of the Year is crowned, and with the major European tournaments like the WSOP Europe, EPT tournaments, and the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event, as well as the WSOP Main Event final table, the POY awards are most definitely still up for grabs.
