2012 Player of the Year Top Ten Countdown -- 7 Through 5A Look At The 2012 Successes Of Antonio Esfandiari, Joseph Cheong and Ole Schemion |
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As 2013 rapidly approaches, Card Player is taking a closer look at the top ten finishers in the 2012 Player of the Year race in this top-ten countdown. Here is an in-depth examination of the 7th, 6th and 5th place finisher’s years:
7th – Antonio Esfandiari
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Total Points: 3,330
Titles: 2
Final Tables: 4
Money Won: $18,990,987
Antonio Esfandiari has long been one of poker’s most popular figures, combining flashy play with an affable table presence. While he has had numerous tournament successes before, nothing can compare to the unbelievable, record-breaking year he has had in 2012.
In the past twelve months, Esfandiari has earned nearly $19 million in poker tournaments, setting a record for the most earnings in one year largely as a result of winning the $1 million buy-in Big One For One Drop, earning the largest first-place prize in the history of poker: $18,346,673. Esfandiari currently has a more-than $6 million lead on the all-time earnings list.
But the 34-year-old was far from a one-trick pony. He also won his third WSOP bracelet in the €1,000 no-limit hold’em event at the WSOP Europe, finished third in a WSOP $3,000 no-limit hold’em shootout event and made the final table of the World Poker Tour Five Diamond Poker Classic for the third year in a row.
6th – Joseph Cheong
Total Points: 3,590
Titles: 0
Final Tables: 7
Money Won: $1,062,822
Joseph Cheong was thrust into the poker limelight when he made the 2010 World Series of Poker final table, finishing third. Since then he has been a regular on the tournament circuit around the globe, and in 2012 the former November Niner has had a standout year, making seven final tables and cashing for more than a million dollars.
Despite all of his success, he did not win a title this year. But that does not mean he is without big scores: He finished fourth in the WSOP Europe main event for $380,571and also came runner-up for a bracelet in the $5,000 mixed-max no-limit hold’em at the WSOP_, earning $296,956. He also made an impressive run at the P_okerStars Asian Championship of Poker Macau festival, making back-to-back final tables for nearly $240,000.
5th – Ole Schemion
Total Points: 3,676
Titles: 3
Final Tables: 6
Money Won: $2,032,454
German poker professional Ole Schemion cut his teeth as an online player, but made his presence felt on the live circuit with a breakout performance in 2012. Schemion biggest win of the year came at the Partouche Poker Tour main event in September, where he outlasted a field of 573 to earn $1,474,671 and 2,100 POY points.
He had already won a side event at the EPT Berlin, but it was his third title that truly threw him into contention in the POY race. Schemion topped a field of 212 players in the Master Classics of Poker €5,000 main event, earning $368,895 and 720 POY points.
Be sure to check back on Sunday for more of the POY top ten.
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