As the midpoint of 2022 draws within sight, the two major Player of the Year races have tightened up considerably. While the player who held the top slot on the CardPlayer Magazine board has remained the same, those that are in pursuit have crept closer. On the Global Poker Index, it has resulted in a change atop the standings.
Ali Imsirovic Leads CardPlayer Board, But by Smaller Margin
Ali Imsirovic has been atop the standings in the CardPlayer Magazine Player of the Year for the better part of a year, but his recent cold streak has slowed down his run at a second POY title. Although he had a final table finish in the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em Bounty tournament at the 2022 World Series of Poker, that is the ONLY tournament that has garnered him any points at the WSOP. The 300 points he earned for that Bounty Tournament finish has pushed his overall total on the CardPlayer rankings to 4683 points.
One of the players who has earned a 2022 WSOP bracelet, Jake Schindler, has been able to pull within striking distance of Imsirovic. That bracelet win in the $50,000 Eight Max No Limit Hold’em tournament (along with a runner up finish in the $25K version of the same event) has catapulted Schindler into the second place slot on the CardPlayer ladder. With 2210 points just from his WSOP work, Schindler now has 4322 points.
Someone who has been quietly stalking the tournament circuit has been Jeremy Ausmus. After coming out of the gate strongly in 2022, Ausmus has slowed down a bit, but the WSOP has reignited his engines. His bracelet win in the $3000 Six Max Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP picked him up 540 points, putting Ausmus at 4009 for the first half of 2022.
The difference between first (Imsirovic, 4383) and tenth (Nick Petrangelo, 2188) at the start of the WSOP was almost 2200 points. Now, that lead has shrunk massively.
1. Ali Imsirovic, 4683 points
2. Jake Schindler, 4322
3. Jeremy Ausmus, 4009
4. Stephen Chidwick, 3786
5. Chance Kornuth, 3636
6. Daniel Dvoress, 3583
7. Chris Brewer, 3443
8. Sean Winter, 3358
9. Phil Ivey, 3244
10. Darren Elias, 3135
Imsirovic Falls From #1 on GPI POY
Once again, Ali Imsirovic had been atop the standings of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race since the start of the 2022 schedule. That has now changed as more players have been able to add on to their qualifying tournaments with better finishes. Under the GPI computations, a player’s thirteen best finishes are considered, meaning that players only improve if they can bump off a worse finish with a better one.
The man who has been able to top Imsirovic is Ausmus. With his work at the Triton Poker Series in Madrid prior to the WSOP, Ausmus has exchanged four of his results totaling over 950 points. These new replacements have allowed Ausmus to pack up 3277.16 points to oust Imsirovic from the lead in the GPI POY.
Not only has Ausmus blown by Imsirovic, Chance Kornuth has also bypassed the defending champion. Every cash that Kornuth has earned at the 2022 WSOP has been an improvement on an earlier finish in 2022, allowing him to pick up nearly 1000 points by the GPI calculations. It has pushed Kornuth’s overall total up to 3092.24 points as he comes to the close of the first half of 2022.
Imsirovic is not exactly out of the mix, however. He has been able to keep himself in the Top Three with his limited work at the WSOP, joining both Ausmus and Kornuth in the 3000-point club on the GPI board. To this mark in 2022, Imsirovic’s 3068.39 points keep him relevant in the race to defend his 2021 title.
Here is the remainder of the Top Ten in the Global Poker Index POY race:
1. Jeremy Ausmus, 3277.16 points
2. Chance Kornuth, 3092.24
3. Ali Imsirovic, 3068.39
4. Stephen Chidwick, 2938.45
5. Chris Brewer, 2873.67
6. Sean Winter, 2859.45
7. Phil Ivey, 2840. 56
8. Alex Foxen, 2808.96
9. Jake Schindler, 2702.98
10. Farid Jattin, 2677.27
You might have noticed the name of Phil Ivey poking into the countdown. This is the highest that Ivey has been ranked in a POY race since 2005, when he concluded the tournament season in 18th place on the CardPlayer rankings. That was so long ago that the Global Poker Index did not exist.
The remaining three weeks or so of the 2022 WSOP will be tremendously impactful on these rankings. There are several high dollar events which could have an effect, including the $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship and, of course, the $10,000 Championship Event. It will be intriguing to see how the standings roll out at the conclusion of this year’s festivities in Las Vegas.
