They may be getting a bit of a late start in 2022, but the Global Poker Index’s battle for the 2022 Player of the Year is off and running. It was announced on Friday that the tabulations for the 2022 race have been determined and, naturally, have been backdated to the start of the year. That means that there is now an active 2022 POY race for overall tournament poker, one for the ladies and one for the “mid-major” players in the game.
Jeremy Ausmus Jumps Out to Early Lead
On the GPI Player of the Year race, Jeremy Ausmus has been able to use an outstanding first three months of 2022 to move into an early lead. His championship run at the 2022 PokerGO Cup – in which he won one event and final tabled three other tournaments – kicked off his New Year in style. It also garnered him a boatload of points, making him the leader of the pack with 2318.3 points as we reach the close of March.
He hasn’t had the overwhelming success that Ausmus has had, but Brock Wilson has been quite successful in his own right. To this point in 2022 a championship may have eluded him, but Wilson also had a great run at the PokerGO Cup, making five final tables. Along with his other work at the World Poker Tour’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open in late January and a couple of deep runs at the 2022 Wynn Millions, Wilson has 2048.32 points for the POY race.
It is early yet, but the defending champion has eyes on a repeat of his work in 2021. Ali Imsirovic has reached the Winner’s Circle four times in 2022, but the finishes aren’t racking up the points that he would like to see. The GPI POY uses a formula that has a minimum number of entries to qualify, which eliminated two finishes by Imsirovic in January from his 2022 resume. Still, Imsirovic is sitting in the third slot on the GPI POY with his 1889.47 points.
Here’s the Top Ten at the close of March on the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race:
1. Jeremy Ausmus, 2318.3 points
2. Brock Wilson, 2048.32
3. Ali Imsirovic, 1889.47
4. Sean Perry, 1832.54
5. Darren Elias, 1548.7
6. Scott Baumstein, 1489.09
7. Cary Katz, 1462
8. Jesse Lonis, 1411.09
9. Ankit Ahuja, 1411
10. Bin Weng, 1392.22
Kristen Nyman Leads the Ladies, Ankit Ahuja Mid-Major Leader
For the Ladies’ POY race, the race is off and running with Kristen Nyman moving out to the early lead. Nyman has already racked up ten cashes in 2022, with all but one of them earning her POY points. Nyman’s top finish of that lot (cash wise, at least) was a 107th place finish in the monstrous Wynn Millions Main Event, which picked her up slightly more than $23K in prize money. For the year, Nyman has 1208.92 points, putting her on top of the Ladies’ Player of the Year race and in the Top 20 for the overall POY:
1. Kristen Nyman, 1208.92 points
2. Christina Gollins, 1122.09
3. Jessica Vierling, 867.27
4. Thi Xoa Nguyen, 698.48
5. Elanit Hasas, 690.26
On the “Mid-Major” POY race (tournaments under a buy-in of $2500), there are a couple of names that are also on the above lists. Ahuja has been able to move out to the lead at the quarter mark of 2022, in part because of his 12 cashes in the first three months. It is enough to garner him the lead for the “Mid-Major” POY race on the GPI:
1. Ankit Ahuja, 1196.86 points
2. Tuan Mai, 1158.57
3. Scott Baumstein, 1142.4
4. Aaron Massey, 1140.52
5. Christina Gollins, 1122.09
Changes WILL Happen…
One thing that can be counted on is that, by the start of the 2022 World Series of Poker in May, all three of these lists will be vastly different. All the major tournament circuits – the World Poker Tour, the World Series of Poker Circuit, the European Poker Tour, and others – are back in action, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for different players to rise up the standings. By the time “summer camp” begins at the WSOP, we may have different leaders on all three of the Global Poker Index’s Player of the Year boards.
