Player of the Year Update -- Dan Smith and Mohsin Charania Into Top Ten

Things are really heating up in the 2012 Card Player Player of the Year race sponsored by Lock Poker, with millions of dollars and thousands of points awarded, and three players joining the top 20 for the first time this year. Here are the most significant results from the week that was.

EPT Grand Final Main Event

The main catalyst for change on the leaderboard this week was the 2012 PokerStars and Monte Carlo Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final. The biggest climb was made by Mohsin Charania topped a field of 665-players in the €10,000 main event, topping a massive field to earn a first-place prize of €1.35 million ($1,785,780) and 2,100 POY points, moving him into ninth place in the overall standings.

This was Charania’s 13th career title, and by far his largest, bringing his lifetime earnings to nearly $4.8 million.

Charania defeated France’s Lucille Cailly heads-up for the massive title. The final hand ended up being the classic race situation, with Charania’s QQ up against Cailly’s AK, a massive flip for the €200,000 the players agreed to play for after locking up €1.15 million for Charania and €1,050,000 for Cailly. Cailly could not improve her hand, and was sent to the rail with more than a million euro and the distinction of being the first-ever female player to make the EPT Grand Final main event final table. She also earned 1,750 POY points, which were enough to move her into 15th place in the overall standings.

EPT Grand Final – Side Events

The Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Casino in Monaco played host to a total of 37 events in 2012, with buy-ins ranging from as low as €330 to as high as €100,000. A number of players strung together impressive runs while in the principality, but none more extraordinary than those of Dan Smith and Justin Bonomo.

Dan Smith won three separate €5,000 buy-in no limit hold’em events in the span of roughly a week, cashing for a total of $688,480 and 1,536 POY points. As a result of his Monte Carlo hat-trick and his win in the Aussie Millions $100,000 high roller, the American pro has moved into seventh place in the overall standings, with year-to-date earnings of $1,749,461. Smith has made four final tables this year and won each time.

Smith got his recent run off to a hot start when he topped a 101 player field in a €5,000 six-max turbo for $201,972 and 480 points. Two days later he found himself as the last man standing again, this time in a standard €5,000 no-limit hold’em event that drew 175 runners. For that win he earned $330,724 and 624 points. He rounded out his trifecta three days after that when he topped a €5,000 six-max 98 players, taking home $155,784 and 432 points.

Justin Bonomo also made a trio of deep runs this past week. He kicked things off in the best possible way when he won the €100,000 Super High Roller event, earning €1,640,000 ($2,167,588) and 600 POY points. A few days later, Bonomo finished 28th in the €10,000 main event for €35,000. He rounded out his incredible run with a fourth-place finish in the €25,000 high roller event, earning €266,000 and 462 points. All told, Bonomo cashed for $2,519,373 and earned 1,062 points, moving him into 49th place in the overall standings.

2012 APT – Philippines

Current Player of the Year forerunner Oliver Speidel increased his lead this week when he made his fifth final table of the year at the Asian Poker Tour Philippines main event. A total of 254 players put up the $2,700 buy-in to build a $615,950 prize pool. The last man standing was Divan Le Roux, who earned $197,000 and 612 points, while Speidel ultimately finished in fourth place for $37,000 and 306 points, increasing his year-to-date earnings to $1,767,371 and his point total to 3,046. The nearest competitor, John Dibella, is now 534 points back.

2012 Chad Brown Poker Challenge

A total of 258 players posted the $2,000 buy-in in the Chad Brown Poker Challenge main event at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, OK, building a $475,494 prize pool. In the end, AP Phahurat captured the title, defeating Seneca Easley heads-up to earn $116,449 and 408 POY points.

Here is a look at the Player of the Year leaderboard:

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