2015 Card Player Player of the Year Update -- Jason Mercier and Paul Volpe Make Moves Inside The Top Five

The Card Player Player of the Year race underwent a big shake up this week following the climax of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open tournament series. Here is a look at the events that made the biggest impact on the 2015 POY standings over the past seven days:

2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $5 Million Guaranteed Main Event

A total of 907 players posted the $5,250 buy-in in the $5 million guaranteed 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open no-limit hold’em main event, falling short of the guarantee by $601,050 for a sizable overlay.

The event featured a freezeout format for the first time in it’s three-year history. The previous two years allowed re-entries and featured a $10 million guarantee, a mark which was surpassed in 2013 but missed by $2.5 million in 2014.

Being a $5,000 buy-in with nearly a thousand entries means that this event awarded some serious Card Player Player of the Year points. Eventual champion Omar Zazay earned 1,824 points along with his $1,000,000 payday for the win, enough to catapult him into 50th place in the Player of the Year standings on the merits of this score alone.

2014 champion of this event Daniel Colman together an incredible run in his attempt to defend his title, eventually finishing third for $310,000 and 1,216 points. Colman won the 2014 Player of the Year award, and with this score is now in 32nd place in the standings again with 2,096 points and $1,854,121 in year-to-date earnings. This was his second final table of the year, having finished third in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop at the World Series of Poker for $1,544,121 and 880 points.

Paul Volpe finished eighth in this event for $100,000 and 304 POY points. This was his ninth final table finish of the year. Volpe has won two smaller prelim events this year, but his two largest scores were back-to-back runner-up finishes in WSOP events, the $10,000 heads-up no-limit hold’em championship and the $10,000 pot-limit hold’em championship. With this latest big score he climbed into fifth place in the overall standings with 3,275 points and $1,003,036 in year-to-date earnings.

2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $5 Million Guaranteed Main Event

The other event at the SHRPO that had a huge impact on the POY race was the $25,400 no-limit hold’em high roller $1 million guarantee. A total of 83 entries were made in the event to double the guaranteed prize pool.

In the end Jason Mercier emerged victorious, capturing his second title of the year to win $652,800 and 672 Player of the Year points.

The 28-year-old Florida-based poker pro has made six final tables this year, including winning his third gold bracelet in the World Series of Poker $5,000 six-max no-limit hold’em event for $633,357 and 1,680 points. He also finished second in the WSOP $10,000 pot-limit Omaha championship for $572,989 and 1,250 points.

With three other small prelim final tables to his name this year as well Mercier has been propelled into second place in the Player of the Year standings with 4,192 total points and year-to-date earnings of $2,022,006. Mercier has finished eleventh (2014), seventh (2009) and sixth (2011) in the POY race and is looking likely to put together another great finish this year.

David Peters finished ninth for $57,500 and 56 POY points. This was his fifth final table finish of the year, enough to move him into 30th place in the overall standings with 2,118 and $2,318,680 in year-to-date earnings. Peters finished fifth in the $500,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl for $1,505,000.

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

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