2015 CarbonPoker Card Player Player of the Year Update -- WPT Championship, EPT Grand Final Shift Top 20

The WPT Championship wrapped up while the EPT Grand Final got underway last week and both series have had a huge impact on the 2015 Card Player Player of the Year race, sponsored by CarbonPoker. Here’s a look at the events that have shaken up the POY standings over the past seven days:

WPT Championship

The 2015 WPT Championship $15,000 no-limit hold’em main event attracted a total of 239 entries the Borgata Casino Hotel and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Brooklyn-based poker pro Asher Conniff battled his way through the field to capture the prestigious title, the $973,683 first-place prize and 1,152 POY points.

Just two weeks earlier Conniff had taken down the $1 million guaranteed $560 buy-in kickoff event at the Borgata Spring Poker Open, outlasting a field of 2,408 entries to win $203,231 and 540 POY points. As a result of these two title runs Conniff has climbed into 15th place in the overall Player of the Year race standings with 1,692 total points and $1,176,914 in year-to-date earnings.

According to the World Poker Tour’s reporters Conniff never intended to play the $15,000 buy-in main event. Under the screen name “misclick” on a regulated New Jersey poker site he accidentally registered for a satellite into the WPT Championship while attempting to play a weekly Sunday event with a similar buy-in. When he won a seat into the WPT championship he had to cancel a vacation he had planned with his family.

It all worked out for the best, though, as Conniff made his way through the field and came into the televised final table of six players in second chip position. He was up against several top players, including Ray Qartomy, three-time WPT winner and all-time WPT money leader Carlos Mortensen, former WPT champion Tony Dunst (who final tabled this same event last year) and two-time WSOP bracelet winner Brian Yoon. Keven Stammen, who won this event in 2014, finished ninth for $69,549 this year, coming incredibly close to defending his title.

EPT Grand Final €100,000 Super High Roller

Erik Seidel topped a record field of 59 entries in the 2015 European Poker Tour Grand Final €100,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em super high roller, capturing his 28th career tournament title and the €2,015,000 ($2,250,999 USD) first-place prize in the process. Seidel was also awarded 600 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his second title run of the year, having won a $25,000 high roller at Aria in February.

The 55-year-old Poker Hall of Fame member has made a total of five final tables so far in 2015, including a sixth-place finish in the Aussie Millions $100,000 event for $388,450 and a fifth-place showing in the $250,000 challenge event down under for another $428,127. As a result of his consistent success this year Seidel has moved into 17th place in the overall POY rankings with 1,670 points and year-to-date earnings of $3,250,266.

Seidel defeated rising star Dzmitry Urbanovich heads-up for the title. The young Polish pro earned 500 POY points for his his eighth final table finish of the year. Among those scores he has captured four titles including the €25,500 high roller at EPT Malta. This second place score of $1,616,027 is the largest single cash of his career. It moved him into fifth place in the overall POY standings with 2,278 points and $2,455,639 in year-to-date earnings.

Scott Seiver, who came into this week in 15th place in the POY standings, climbed two spots as a result of an eighth-place finish in this event for $292,462 and 100 POY points. He was far from done in the prelims at the EPT Grand Final, though.

EPT Grand Final €50,000 High Roller

Seiver also finished ninth in the EPT Grand Final €50,000 no-limit hold’em high roller, eeking into the money to earn $103,075. The event was played eight-handed though, so his cash did not earn him any POY points as he did not make the official final table. Seiver also won a €5,300 pot-limit Omaha side event that just failed to qualify for POY points due to insufficient number of entries. Seiver did earn $84,249 for the win.

In the end Mustapha Kanit emerged victorious in this single-day high roller event, topping the field of 66 entries to win $1,039,515 and 612 points. The Italian pro finished fourth in last year’s POY race, and is looking to continue his impressive run in 2015. He has made four final table this year, with this latest score moving him into 51st place in the standings with 1,160 points and $1,131,748 in cahses so far.

Martin Finger finished third for $485,070 and 408 points. This was his third final table showing, including a runner-up finish in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventue LAPT main event for $223,900 and 1,140 points. Finger now sits in 19th place overall with 1,660 points and $795,952 in year-to-date earnings.

Here is a look at the current top 20 in the POY standings:

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