Card Player POY Update -- Seidel and Mercier Crack Top TenErik Seidel and Jason Mercier Break Into Top Ten |
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Here is a look at the Card Player Player of the Year movement from August 7-17. Be sure to check back each Wednesday for another update from the world of tournament poker.
Epic Poker League Main Event
The inaugural Epic Poker League $20,000 main event was guaranteed to have a notable final table filled with some of the best poker minds in the game, but the eventual final standings were actually more reflective of 2011’s usual suspects, having a big effect on the Player of the Year leaderboard.
It may seem like we are spinning a broken record, but Erik Seidel managed to final table yet another big buy-in tournament, finishing second to Chino Rheem at the Palms Resort and Casino for $604,330. Incredibly, this is Seidel’s eighth six-figure score of the year, bringing his 2011 total winnings to $6,091,537.
The 51-year-old now has a $2 million lead on Daniel Negreanu for the top spot on the all-time tournament earnings leaderboard with $16,586,704. The runner-up finish netted him 700 POY points, bringing his total to 3,567, good for seventh place overall.
Seidel wasn’t the only player who benefited from the EPL main event, however, as third-place finisher Jason Mercier also added to his already stellar year by pocketing $360,970. Mercier has made six final tables this year and has two wins, including his second career WSOP bracelet for total earnings of $1,433,488.
The 560 points he picked up moved him into fifth place overall just ahead of November Nine member Ben Lamb, who bubbled the EPL event. Eugene Katchalov, who finished eighth for $70,960, earned 182 points to move himself into 21st place overall.
PokerStars European Poker Tour Tallinn
While the states were buzzing with the action in Las Vegas, the European poker world turned their attention to the recent EPT event in Tallinn, Estonia.
The €4,000 buy-in main event attracted 282 runners and was won by 21-year-old Ronny Kaiser for €275,000. In addition to the cash, Kaiser picked up 1,344 POY points. Combined with the 120 points he earned for final tabling the WPT Vienna High Roller event, Kaiser now sits in 116th place overall.
Borgata Deep Stack Double Play
The Borgata recently wrapped up a four-day $1,500 no-limit hold’em event that drew 400 total entrants, creating a total prize pool of $600,000. Russell Crane emerged as the winner, taking home $148,704 and 960 POY points.
Crane has put together a solid year, racking up $471,980 in earnings along with 3,016 points. He has so far excelled in the northeast, winning an event at Foxwoods along with another Borgata event. His total is good enough for 15th place overall.
Looking Ahead
There are many locations all over the United States where players can earn POY points this week, starting with the preliminary events taking place at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, which is gearing up for it’s annual WPT Legends of Poker.
The rest of the prelim schedule features tournament buy-ins ranging from $300 to $1,000 before the main event kicks off next week.
At the same time is the Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge, a 16-event series in Connecticut that will feature seven POY qualifying tournaments and a $1,200 main event.
Over in Bensalem, Pennsylvania is the Parx Open Poker Classic, a 15-event poker series highlighted by a $2,000 main event. A total of 11 events will be eligible for POY points.
A Look At The Standings
| Rank | Player Name | POY Points | 2011 Winnings |
| 1 | Sam Stein | 4,334 | $1,784,380 |
| 2 | Galen Hall | 4,284 | $3,004,198 |
| 3 | Maxim Lykov | 3,876 | $1,543,680 |
| 4 | Chris Moorman | 3,875 | $1,187,674 |
| 5 | Jason Mercier | 3,749 | $1,433,488 |
| 6 | Ben Lamb | 3,636 | $1,331,832 |
| 7 | Erik Seidel | 3,567 | $6,091,537 |
| 8 | Taylor von Kriegenbergh | 3,560 | $1,306,340 |
| 9 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 3,520 | $519,888 |
| 10 | Anton Ionel | 3,500 | $1,778,140 |
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