2016 Card Player Player of the Year Race Update -- Steve O'Dwyer Takes The Lead

The 2016 Card Player Player of the year race is less than two weeks old and already there have been several gigantic events, each rewarding massive payouts and plenty of POY points. Here is a look at the tournaments that have had the biggest impact on the overall standings:

2016 WPT Philippines $200,000 Super High Roller

The first-ever running of the World Poker Tour Triton Super High Roller Cali Cup $200,000 buy-in event attracted 52 entries to the Solaire Resort Casino in Manila, building a prize pool of $10,039,120. German poker pro Fedor Holz was the eventual champion, earning the first major tournament title of 2016, the first-place prize of $3,463,500 and 600 POY points.

This huge win came roughly two weeks after Holz took down the WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas $100,000 super high roller at Bellagio for $1.5 million in late December. The 22-year-old now has more than $7.2 million in lifetime live tournament earnings.

His win in the Philippines is enough to move him inside the top ten for the time being in the Player of the Year standings. He has found incredible success in high roller events in recent months, and there are several big ones around the corner at the Aussie Million. It might not be long before Holz adds to his quickly expanding resume.

Other notables to make the final table of this event include runner-up David Peters (2nd – $2,309,000), Steve O’Dwyer (4th – $953,700), Phil Ivey (5th – $656,500) and Daniel Colman (6th – $502,000).

2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller

The next big event to get underway was the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 super high roller. A total of 58 entries were made to see the prize pool exceed $5.6 million.

After two prior third place finishes in this event in 2011 and 2015, American poker pro Bryn Kenney finally broke through to win it all, taking home $1,687,800 and 600 POY points for the win.

Just days after finishing second in the Philippines David Peters place fourth in this event, earning another $461,340 and 250 points. With $2,770,340 in year-to-date earnings and 750 points earned at two final tables, Peters currently occupies the fifth-place spot in the overall standings.

Isaac Haxton finished sixth in the event, and like Kenney, he was just a day away from another big score in a PCA high roller event.

2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $50,000 Single-Day High Roller

The 2016 PCA $50,000 single-day high roller featured shortened blind levels with the intent of starting and finishing a super high roller all on January 9th.In the past these events have sometimes run a bit over, but this time around the goal was indeed met. A total of 80 entries were made in this tournament, creating a $3,860,000 prize pool.

In the end Steve O’Dwyer emerged victorious, taking home his fourth super high roller title in a 14-month span. For the win he earned $945,495 and 816 POY points. When combined with the 300 points he earned with his deep run in the Philippines this means O’Dwyer has catapulted into the lead in the Player of the Year race, with 1,116 points and year-to-date earnings of $1,899,195.

Bryn Kenney, just a day removed from his win in the $100,000 event, finished seventh for $185,280 and 204 points, moving into third in the overall POY rankings as a result. Isaac Haxton also made back-to-back final tables, finishing fourth in this one for $380,200 and 408 points. He now sits in a tie for seventh place in the standings.

2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure LAPT Bahamas $2,200 Main Event

The final big prelim of the PCA to wrap up this past week was the 2016 PCA Latin American Poker Tour Bahamas $2,200 no-limit hold’em main event. The tournament drew 851 total entrants, building a prize pool of $1,650,940.

The event ran over three days, and when all was said and done only Georgios Sotiropoulos remained. The Greek pro earned $308,220 and 912 for the win, enough to move him into second place on the POY leaderboard.

Runner-up Taylor von Kriegenbergh was awarded $187,220 and 760 for his finish, climbing into fourth place in the overall rankings as a result.

Joe Kuether, who has finished inside the POY top 40 for four years in a row, with his best showing being 2nd place last year, is off to a good start again as a result of finishing fourth in this event for $99,060 and 456 points.

Here is a look at the current top 20 in the POY standings:

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