Player of the Year: Thomas Marchese Closes in on Dwyte Pilgrim in Player of the Year Race

Considering how often current Card Player 2010 Player of the Year (POY) leader Dwyte Pilgrim and the player chasing him, Thomas Marchese, are cashing, this could be one of the most competitive POY races ever. These two players show no signs of slowing down in the final months of the year.

Pilgrim recently won his first major title, the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open main event, to open up an 810-point lead on Marchese. But Pilgrim didn’t play in any of the major London events that transpired during the last half of September and early October, and Marchese capitalized on the opportunity. He finished seventh out of a record field of 848 players in the £5,250 no-limit hold’em main event at the PokerStars European Poker Tour London festival of poker.

That final-table cash was good for 480 points, and gave Marchese a grand total of 5,246 points. There are now just 330 points separating the two players for the top spot in the race.

John Juanda Joins the Top Five After a Strong London Showing

Although EPT London champion David Vamplew tallied 1,920 points for his first major win in the main event, it was John Juanda, who grabbed 1,600 points as the runner-up, who made the biggest move in the POY race.

Juanda now sits in fifth place in the standings with 3,717 points. His previous 2010 POY scores all came at the World Series of Poker, where he made four final tables and accumulated 2,117 points.

Jose Barbero Joins the Top 10 in London

It is safe to say that Team PokerStars pro Jose Barbero is having a good year. Most players are lucky to win three tournament titles during the course of their careers, and he has won that many since February. He won the PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour main event in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and followed that up with another LAPT main-event tournament title in Lima, Peru, in June.

His latest triumph came in the £20,000 high-roller no-limit hold’em event at the PokerStars EPT London festival of poker. The tournament attracted a very talented group of 77 players, and the large price tag created a huge prize pool of £1,524,600. All of the prize money went to the eight final-table contestants, but it was Barbero who claimed the top prize of £556,000.

With all of those tournament victories, Barbero has become a factor in the POY race. His recent win gave him 576 points, and he now has 3,220 points, which puts him in 10th place in the standings. ♠