Player of the Year

The World Series of Poker is the marquee event of the poker year. Thousands of poker players from all over the world have converged upon the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and the Card Player 2009 Player of the Year (POY) race will never be the same. The first stretch of the summer produced a new leader in Cornel Cimpan, and now there are seven new challengers for the throne. The 2009 WSOP has seen a lot of repeat successes from players. Brock Parker, Jeffrey Lisandro, and Phil Ivey have won two bracelets each, and 15 players have made multiple final-table appearances. Here is a quick rundown of the seven new players in the POY top 10:

Brock Parker (second place – 3,132 points): Parker won his first gold bracelet in event No. 14, a $2,500 six-handed limit hold’em tournament, and took home $223,688 along with 1,332 points. He entered the very next event that he could, a $2,500 six-handed no-limit hold’em tournament (event No. 19), and promptly won his second bracelet and $552,745. He added another 1,800 points to his total with the win, and now sits in second place overall, just 318 points out of first place.

Eric Baldwin (fourth place – 2,940 points): Baldwin picked up 1,440 points for winning event No. 34, defeating a field of 2,095 players to win $521,932. It was the second tournament win of the year for him, as he also won a $2,500 no-limit hold’em event at The Venetian’s Deep-Stack Extravaganza II in April. He also made two final-table appearances in the preliminaries at the Five-Star World Poker Classic at Bellagio in April.

James Van Alstyne (sixth place – 2,756 points): This veteran professional is one of three players to make three final tables at the 2009 WSOP. His first appearance was a sixth-place finish in event No. 12, where he cashed for $79,181 and earned 380 POY points. His second appearance was a second-place finish in event No. 21 ($3,000 H.O.R.S.E.), in which he won $192,866 and 1,200 points. His third final-table appearance came in the very next H.O.R.S.E. event, which had a $1,500 buy-in. This time, Van Alstyne won his first bracelet, $247,033, and 960 points.

Chris Moore (seventh place – 2,710 points): Moore finished in fourth place in event No. 14, adding 600 points and $82,322 to his early success in 2009. He made the final table of the Bay 101 WPT Shooting Star $10,000 no-limit hold’em championship, for $291,500 and 1,560 points in March. He also finished second in the $10,000 heads-up no-limit hold’em championship at the L.A. Poker Classic in February, earning $190,000 and 550 points.

Angel Guillen (eighth place – 2,700 points): Guillen finished one spot short of winning two bracelets at the 2009 WSOP. He won his first in event No. 32 ($2,500 no-limit hold’em), which was good for $520,548 and 1,200 points. He finished runner-up in event No. 12 ($2,500 no-limit hold’em), banking $312,800 and 1,500 points.

Panayote “Pete” Vilandos (ninth place – 2,640 points): Vilandos has had a summer similar to Guillen’s, in that he too finished one spot shy of winning two bracelets. He finished second in the popular $1,000 no-limit hold’em event to take home $473,283 and 1,200 points. His first bracelet of the summer and second of his career came in a $1,500 no-limit hold’em event, where he walked away with $607,256 and 1,440 points for the win.

Martin Jacobson (10th place – 2,608 points): Jacobson has made four final tables in 2009. His largest score came in the WPT Venice event in May, where he finished second and won $319,518 and 1,600 points. He found success this summer when he cashed in eighth place in event No. 34 at the WSOP, good for $65,487 and 240 points. His other final-table appearances came in a preliminary six-handed no-limit hold’em event at the European Poker Tour Grand Final in May, and the Mega Stack $1,000 championship event at Caesars in February, where he finished second. He tallied 768 points for these two scores.

Each World Series event has the potential to shake up the Player of the Year race. For up-to-the-minute results and standings, check out CardPlayer.com.