Player of the Year Update -- Oliver Speidel Takes The Lead

The Card Player Player of the Year race sponsored by Lock Poker has a new leader for the first time since mid-January. Australia’s Oliver Speidel took over the lead from John Dibella. Read on to find out more about Speidel’s big move into the top spot and all the other notable results from the past week.

ANZPT Sydney

The 2012 Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Sydney main event drew an impressive 461-player field, with each player’s $2,200 AUD buy-in coming together to build a $922,000 AUD total prizepool.

The eventual champion was Scotland’s Gordon Huntly, who earned $226,812 AUD and 720 POY points for his victory. But as far as the POY race is concerned, the biggest news was Oliver Speidel’s sixth-place finish, which netted him 240 points, bringing his year-to-date total to 2,740 and moving him into first place in the overall standings, 228 points ahead of former leader John Dibella.

The Melbourne native has had an impressive few months, cashing for $1,730,371 so far and making four final tables, all of them in his native Australia. Before this most recent sixth-place finish, which netted him $39,185 AUD, Speidel made quite a run at the 2012 Aussie Millions, finishing second in a $1,000 AUD no-limit hold’em shootout and sixth in a $1,500 AUD no-limit hold’em bounty before coming out on top of the 659-player field in the main event. For that massive victory, Speidel earned $1.6 million and 2,100 POY points.

WSOP Circuit Rincon

Joe Kuether has won the 2012 World Series of Poker Circuit Rincon $1,600 no-limit hold’em main event, topping a field of 332 entrants to earn his first WSOP Circuit gold ring, the $111,104 first-place prize and 480 POY points, bringing his total points for the year to 1,020 and moving him into 33rd place in the overall standings. The Las Vegas resident has made an impressive five final tables this year, with three titles already in 2012.

A number of notable players made the money including four-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Alexandru Masek, David Levi, and Brandon Cantu, a two-time WSOP bracelet winner who had won the tournament just prior to the main event. All of these players fell short of the final table, with Cantu finishing in 11th place for $8,449.

The biggest name to make it to the final nine was none other than 2012 WSOP Circuit at The Bike main event champion, Freddy Deeb, who entered the final table as the chip leader. Deeb took a number of hits to his stack as play continued, however, eventually hitting the rail in fourth place, earning $37,167 in prize money, and 240 POY points, catapulting him into 30th place in the overall standings.

A look at the Player of the Year leaderboard:

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