Player of the Year

Sorel Mizzi Charges Into Player of the Year Top Three
Allan Baekke and Vanessa Selbst Join the Race

Sorel Mizzi entered the top three in the Card Player 2010 Player of the Year (POY) standings with a strong showing at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Snowfest tournament in the Austrian Alps. Mizzi was awarded $46,779 and 288 POY points when he won a no-limit hold’em rebuy preliminary event. This came just two days after he won another no-limit hold’em preliminary event for $95,524 and 552 points.

Mizzi has now made seven final tables in 2010, and has won three tournaments during the first three months of the year. He trails only the eight final-table appearances and four tournament wins booked by Dwyte Pilgrim. Pilgrim is currently in fourth place with 2,796 points, and Mizzi is third in the standings with 2,990 points.

Joining the top 10 in the POY standings in early April was EPT Snowfest main-event winner Allan Baekke. The Danish professional topped a field of 546 players to win $608,426 and 1,920 points. It was the second time this year that Baekke has cashed in a POY event. He finished second in a no-limit hold’em preliminary event at the EPT Berlin, for $132,239 and 840 points. He now has 2,760 points and is in fifth place in the standings.

Vanessa Selbst scored the second major-tournament win of her career in April when she won the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun $5,000 no-limit hold’em main event. She outlasted a field of 716 players and took home the top prize of $750,000 along with 1,920 points. It was her first POY cash in 2010, and it puts her in a five-way tie for 15th place in the standings. The prize money also took her career earnings to $1,672,855.

Look Out: Allan Baekke

Every once in a while, the player who performed the best during a major poker tournament will find himself on the right side of fate at the final table and win the event. That was certainly the case with Allan Baekke, the champion of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Snowfest main event. He took the chip lead in the tournament on day 3 and built that lead heading to the final table.

The real battle for the tournament title took place during three-handed play. Baekke traded blows with Team PokerStars pro Johannes Strassmann and American PokerStars qualifier Russell Carlson. Strassmann eventually fell in third place, and another lengthy battle ensued during heads-up play. In the end, it took 11 hours at the final table for Baekke to emerge with the win and $608,426. “I feel awesome,” said Baekke after the win. “It’s so big. It’s every poker player’s dream.”

Baekke went into the tournament looking for his first deep run in an EPT event after cashing previously in Copenhagen (season four) and Budapest (season five). His first EPT win gives the Danish professional more than a million dollars in career earnings. It’s a good start, but after the Snowfest main event concluded, Baekke admitted that he has his sights set on accomplishing more. “Actually, I always wanted to win two,” he said.

Players will have to look out for Baekke at live tournaments in the future as he searches for a second title, but they also will need to keep an eye out for him online. He plays on the virtual felt as “Sifosis,” and he has earned a reputation as a high-stakes heads-up specialist. He also has fared well in the PokerStars major online tournaments. He made two final tables in the Spring Championship of Online Poker last April, and one final table in the World Championship of Online Poker last September.

OPOY Spotlight: Casey ‘bigdogpckt5s’ Jarzabek

By Julio Rodriguez

The Card Player Online Player of the Year (OPOY) award honors the best tournament player across the major online sites in a given calendar year. Here, we take a look at one of the current top contenders.

In 2009, Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek accumulated 7,776 points in the Card Player Online Player of the Year (OPOY) race to finish in ninth place overall. We’re about 25 percent through the 2010 competition, and he has already racked up 5,058 points and has an impressive lead over the rest of the field.

Jarzabek has flat-out dominated Sundays. The Canadian took down the PokerStars Sunday Second Chance tournament for $55,836 on March 28, bringing his 2010 online winnings to $401,497.

Despite his comfortable lead, Jarzabek insists that the race is Steve “gboro780” Gross’ for the taking. “If Steve wants to win the Online Player of the Year race, there’s nothing I can do about it,” he said. “He’s simply the best [online] tournament poker player in the world. So, it’s kind of going to be up to him. I would love to win it, that would be fantastic, but unless he wants to give it up, there’s nothing anybody can do.”

His modesty aside, there’s no question that Jarzabek has been this year’s most consistent performer to date, with 18 OPOY-qualifying cashes, 11 final tables, and four wins.

You can check out more about the 2010 OPOY race and leader board by visiting http://www.CardPlayer.com/poker-players/online-player-of-the-year.