2015 Card Player Player of the Year -- Javier Zarco Climbs To Thirteenth

It was an eventful week in the Card Player Player of the Year race.Here is a look at the tournaments that most effected the 2015 POY standings over the past seven days:

2015 WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club

A total of 393 entries turned out for the 2015 World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club $1,650 no-limit hold’em main event to generate a $589,500 prize pool.

In the end Peter Vitantonio emerged victorious, earning his first gold WSOP Circuit ring and the $129,685 first-place prize.

Vitantonio defeated Javier Zarco heads-up for the title. Zarco earned $80,143 and 500 Card Player Player of the Year points for the runner-up finish. This was his sixth final table finish of the year, including a second-place finish in the World Series of Poker Millionaire Maker $1,500 no-limit hold’em event for $791,690 and 1,100 points.

All told Zarco has accumulated 2,960 POY points and $1,069,382 in year-to-date earnings, enough to move him into 13th place in the overall standings.

2015 World Poker Tour Maryland Live! Main Event

Aaron Mermelstein topped a field of 337 players to win the inaugural World Poker Tour Maryland Live! $3,500 no-limit hold’em main event. For the win he earned $250,222 and 720 POY points.

This was Mermelstein’s second WPT title of the year, having won the $3,500 buy-in WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open main event in January for $712,305 and 1,368 points. He has made a total of four final tables this year, including a third win in a smaller $1,100 no-limit hold’em prelim at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open.

With this most recent victory Mermelstein has risen to 25th in the overall Player of the Year rankings, with 2,458 points and year-to-date earnings of $1,010,562.

Mermelstein overcame a tough final table en route to the win, outlasting Andjelko Andrejevic (3rd – $105,981) and Greg Merson (4th – $78,449).

Merson is of course the 2012 World Series of Poker main event champ and that year’s Card Player Player of the Year winner. This was his third POY-qualified final table of 2014, including a fourth-place finish in a $5,000 no-limit hold’em event at the WSOP for $152,126 and 720 points. He currently occupies the 139th-place spot on the POT leaderboard.

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

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