Card Player Player of the Year Update: Katchalov and Failla Climb

Here is a look at the Card Player Player of the Year movement from August 31-September 7th. Be sure to check back each Wednesday for another update from the world of tournament poker.

WPT Legends of Poker

Will Failla, known as “The Thrill” at the tables for his talkative and energetic presence, had built up more than $2 million in lifetime earnings heading into the $3,700 buy-in WPT Legends of Poker main event. Despite his years of experience on the tournament circuit, he still lacked a marquee win.

All of that changed when he took down the this massive WPT title for a career-best $758,085. Failla topped the 757-player field and a final table that featured World Series of Poker bracelet winners Ken Aldridge and Owais Ahmed. Notable pros http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/523-ray-henson, James Carroll and David Daneshgar also made deep runs, but fell just short of the six handed final table.

After the win Failla jumped into 16th place in Card Player’s 2011 Player of the Year race with 3,046 points. So far this year Failla has made five final tables, cashing for $1,117,295. Ahmed also climbed the leader board as a result of his sixth-place finish, adding to an already stellar year with a World Series of Poker bracelet win this summer in a $2,500 Omaha eight-or-better and seven-card stud eight-or-better event and a fourth-place finish in the $50,000 Players Championship, now sits in 26th place with 2,412 POY points and $816,154 in earnings for the year.

Here are the final table results and POY points awarded:

1. Will Failla – $758,085 (1440 points)
2. Ken Aldridge – $365,800 (1200 points)
3. Jeff Vertes – $186,400 (960 points)
4. Joshua Pollock – $128,500 (720 points)
5. Adam Aronson – $102,800 (600 points)
6. Owais Ahmed – $77,100 (480 points)

EPT Barcelona

The European Poker Tour Barcelona main event set the record for the largest poker tournament in Spain with 811 players putting up the €5,300 buy-in. With a €4,055,000 prize pool and tons of POY points of for grabs, plenty of big names turned out. Martin Schleich was the eventual champion, earning himself 1,920 POY points in addition to the trophy, the title, and the first prize of €850,000.

The win catapulted him into 57th place on the POY leader board. The biggest story behind the record setting field and the eventual champion was undoubtedly the third place finish of one of 2011’s strongest performers, Eugene Katchalov. The Ukrainian born pro finished third, cashing for €315,000 and jumping from 22nd place on the POY leader board with 2,768 all the way up to third place, behind PokerStars Caribbean Adventure champ Galen Hall and current leader Sam Stein.

Katchalov’s third place finish was yet another great accomplishment in an already impressive year. He has now made six final tables in 2011, including wins in the PCA $100,000 Super High Roller and in a World Series of Poker $1,500 seven-card stud event for his first gold bracelet. Heading into the Barcelona event Katchalov had cashed for already cashed for an incredible $1,996,730 and was in 22nd place on the POY leader board with 2,768 points, and the 1,280 points he earned brought his total to 4,048 and moved him into third place and bringing his earnings for the year to $2,450,542.

Here are the final table results and POY points awarded:

1. Martin Schleich — €850,000 (1,920 points)
2. Dragan Kostic — €532,000 (1,600 points)
3. Eugene Katchalov — €315,000 (1,280 points)
4. Raul Mestre — €244,000 (960 points)
5. Tomeu Gomila — €185,000 (800 points)
6. Saar Wilf — €145,000 (640 points)
7. Juan Manuel Perez — €105,000 (480 points)
8. Isabel Baltazar — €73,000 (320 points)

Gulf Coast Poker Championship

The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi played host to the 2011 Gulf Coast Poker Championship, including it’s $3,150 main event. 175 players entered, creating a prize pool of $509,250. Eventual champion Ali Alawadhi took home $168,048 and 648 POY points for the win, moving him into 587th place in the Player of the Year race.

Looking Ahead

There are a number of tournaments around the world this week that will be awarding Player of the Year points. In Las Vegas the second Epic Poker League main event is now underway with 97 players, building a $2,301,200 prize pool. The winner will take home $762,410 and 600 POY points.

Across the pond in France, the WPT Grand Prix de Paris is also going on. The main event featured a €7,500 buy-in, and it attracted 312 entrants, with a first place prize of €500,000. Also going on this week is the UK and Ireland Poker Tour Dublin, featuring a €560 main event that starts on the 8th and a €1,620 high roller event starting on the 10th.

Here’s a Look at the Standings

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