August 11 2011, Mickey Doft

Each week, the Global Poker Index, releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier has been holding strong to the top spot for the last few weeks, and the rankings for the week ending Aug. 8 are no different. New names have been added to the list, and some notables, like Jose “Nacho” Barbero, have dropped significantly in rank.

Here’s a look at this week’s GPI top 10. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.

The Top 10 as of August 8, 2011

1	Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier	2,473.134	0
2	Erik Seidel	2,457.361	0
3	Jason Mercier	2,434.301	0
4	Eugene Katchalov	2,248.826	0
5	Fabrice Soulier	2,193.589	0
6	Samuel Stein	2,168.853	0
7	Sorel Mizzi	2,115.122	0
8	Tom Marchese	2,097.097	0
9	David “Bakes” Baker	2,027.315	0
10	John Juanda	2,013.628	0

Top Ten Remains the Same

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier continues to sit atop the GPI with Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, and Eugene Katchalov hot on his heels. The rest of the top ten remains the same, as well, with only Tom Marchese making a move in points, up 62 from last week. Next week, though, there is a good chance the top ten will change. At the time of writing this article, Seidel, Mercier and Katchalov are still battling among the 18 remaining players in the inaugural Epic Poker League event. With a big enough finish, all players have a chance to add to their Period 1 results (the heaviest part of the rankings weighing).

There was very little movement just outside the top ten, as well; however, McLean Karr did jump up two places, from 17th to 15th. He took down a 20-entrant High-Roller tournament in Macau to slightly increase his point total.

Welcome to the GPI

Seven new players cracked the GPI rankings this week, and deep tournament runs were a key reason why. What will a win at the Main Event of the European Poker Tour Tallinn do for you? Well, in Ronny Kaiser’s case, it resulted in a $395,740 payday and a ranking of #167 on the GPI. Sami Kelopuro took seventh in the same tournament, and coupled with two nice finishes at the WSOP, his Period 1 scores have helped boost him to 182nd place. Luca Pagano won the Main Event of the Italian Poker Tour San Remo to grab a spot on the GPI, as well.

Among those who fell off the GPI this week are Scott Clements, Micah Raskin, Tyler Smith, and Joao Barbosa.

New Additions

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank

Ronny Kaiser	1,272.846	167th
Luca Pagano	1,251.102	175th
Sami Kelopuro	1,244.287	182nd
Robert Mizrachi	1,082.707	266th
Martin Kabrhel	1,048.701	288th
Kimmo Matias Kurko	1,036.589	291st
Lari Sihvo	1,033.153	298th

Ups and Downs

The biggest mover of the week was John O’Shea, who jumped 90 spots from 280th to 190th. Thanks to a 29th-place finish in the EPT Tallinn Main Event, O’Shea has three cashes in the last six months to help boost his numbers in Period 1. Jani Sointula had the next biggest gain and that also came as a result of his finish (fourth place) at the EPT Tallinn Main Event.

Biggest Gains

RankPlayerTotal ScoreChange in Rank From Last Week

52nd	Andrew Lichtenberger	1,626.770	+30
57th	Alessio Isaia	1,590.886	+36
117th	Praz Bansi	1,370.936	+48
139th	David Vamplew	1,318.476	+45
145th	Jani Sointula	1,308.630	+59
152nd	Tristan Wade	1,298.881	+30
157th	Benjamin Pollak	1,294.020	+37
161st	Salvatore Bonavena	1,282.289	+29
185th	Mike Beasley	1,232.855	+45
190th	John O’Shea	1,217.023	+90

On the flip side, the biggest drop this week belongs to Jose “Nacho” Barbero. It hasn’t been a strong six months for Barbero. He now was only two cashes that qualify for Period 1 since a third cash has slipped to Period 2, the significant reason for his drop this week. Jeff Madsen also fell substantially this week. His biggest score since his amazing 2006 WSOP came in early February 2010 at the Borgata Winter Open in Atlantic City. He took first-place for more than $625,000, but that score now falls in Period 4, rather than Period 3, and isn’t weighted as heavily.

Biggest Drops

RankPlayerTotal ScoreChange in Rank From Last Week

91st	Alexander Kravchenko	1,468.285	-26
177th	Dragan Galic	1,250.085	-22
203rd	Jose “Nacho” Barbero	1,191.119	-78
228th	Jeff Madsen	1,157.064	-47
254th	Steve Brecher	1,107.403	-33
273rd	Adrien Allain	1,068.676	-54
297th	Nicolas Cardyn	1,035.227	-41

What’s In Store?

With the inaugural Epic Poker League event wrapping up on Friday, the rankings will almost certainly see some changes next week. Could this be Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier’s last week at the top? It very well might be. Who will take his place? It’s too early to tell, but there is no doubt that Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, and Eugene Katchalov, are all very worthy of holding down the fort at the top.

As a reminder, for a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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July 28 2011, Mickey Doft

Earlier this month, Federated Sports & Gaming (FS+G) introduced the poker world to the Global Poker Index (GPI), a revolutionary ranking system that sought to answer the question: “Who are the best live tournament poker players in the world today?” Each week the GPI releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world, so we here at PokerNews are going to see who and what stands out each time the rankings are released.

Here’s a look at this week’s GPI top ten. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.

The Top 10 as of July 26, 2011

and Vanessa Selbst (who now sits in 11th place).

WSOP Main Event Cashers

Last week, only four new players made the GPI. This week, there are 20 new names on the list. The reason? Their cashing in the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event, combined with previous results, did the trick. Of the 20 who are making their debuts on the GPI, 16 cashed in the Main Event and are listed below.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI RankMain Event Finish

Stefan Huber	1,188.81	197	51st
Bolivar Palacios	1,182.50	202	88th
Lars Bonding	1,168	213	22nd
Tyler Bonkowski	1,164.91	218	60th
Sergei Altbregin	1,160.64	222	342nd
Steve Brecher	1,160.13	223	31st
Ruben Visser	1,133.38	240	44th
David Bach	1,133.27	241	45th
James Calderaro	1,128.14	246	260th
Darren Woods	1,112.04	252	442nd
Stephen O’Dwyer	1,094.35	261	626th
Sebastian Ruthenberg	1,086.01	269	55th
Guillaume Darcourt	1,072.57	275	35th
Steven van Zadelhoff	1,059.48	287	658th
Thomas Koral	1,046.90	298	47th
Vladimir Geshkenbein	1,036.79	300	106th

In addition, four others that were already in the GPI made massive jumps and vaulted more than 100 spots. Not coincidentally, they each made a deep run in the Main Event, as well. Joseph Cheong (gained 107 spots), Erick Lindgren (gained 132 spots), Frank Calo (gained 147 spots), and Max Heinzelmann (gained 123 spots) were the biggest movers of the week.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI RankMain Event Finish

Joseph Cheong	1,442.73	93	114th
Erick Lindgren	1,373.01	114	43rd
Frank Calo	1,314.71	139	90th
Max Heinzelmann	1,249.24	169	151st

Bellagio Cup VII

As for the other four new additions to the GPI this week, final-table finishes at Bellagio Cup VII played a key role for them. We already mentioned Stephen O’Dwyer for his WSOP Main Event cash. He also topped a field of 156 to win the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament for $259,452. Joe Elpayaa finished ninth in that event to make the GPI as well. The other three newcomers are Ted Forrest, Daniel Colman, and Brandon Cantu. They each final-tabled the $10,000 Main Event and took fifth, seventh, and ninth places respectively. Here is how they shape up on the GPI.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank

Joe Elpayaa	1,063.92	283
Daniel Colman	1,058.61	288
Brandon Cantu	1,057.84	290
Ted Forrest	1,054.16	292

Also making splashes at Bellagio Cup VII, as well as in the GPI, were Hafiz Khan (gained 93 spots), William Thorson (gained 30 spots), and Bryn Kenney (gained 37 spots). Each final-tabled the $10,000 Main Event, as well, finishing runner-up, third, and sixth, respectively.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank

Bryn Kenney	1,663.62	43
William Thorson	1,588.89	55
Hafiz Khan	1,326.52	133

Ups and Downs

Ben Lamb (gained 41 spots)

Thanks to what will be at worst a ninth-place finish in the WSOP Main Event, Lamb has replaced one six-figure WSOP finish with another and is now up to #50 on the GPI. Remember, the GPI only takes into account a player’s top three finishes during six six-month periods. Lamb’s amazing WSOP won’t be fully reflected until the middle of December, when his first 2011 WSOP cash will fall into the second six-month period, allowing for more of his summer’s successes to be weighted.

Antony Lellouche (dropped 44 spots)

Despite a solid summer that included five WSOP cashes, Lellouche had the biggest individual drop this week. Why? Call it bad luck. His biggest score in the last three years came in January 2010 at EPT Deauville. He took second place in a “20,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Event, but that score now factors in less because it now falls under the previous six-month period and is not weighted as heavily, dropping Lellouche to #259 on the GPI.

Hoyt Corkins (dropped 42 spots)

The “Alabama Cowboy” tumbled on the GPI this week for pretty much the same reason Lellouche did. Corkins’ largest score of the last three years came in late January of 2010. He won the WPT Southern Poker Championship for $713,986, but that score now falls under a previous six-month term and as a result, Corkins is now #88 on the GPI.

As a reminder, for a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. Also, be sure to check out Michael Craig’s write-up on the GPI rankings. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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