2016 Card Player Player of the Year Race Update -- Chance Kornuth Into Second Place

The past seven days saw several big changes made to the top of the leader board in the 2016 Card Player Player of the Year race. Here is a look at the tournaments that made the biggest impact on the standings over the last week:

EPT Grand Final €10,000 High Roller

The €10,300 buy-in single re-entry no-limit hold’em high roller event attracted 214 entries to build a prize pool of €2,075,800 ($2,354,995 USD).

In the end Chance Kornuth emerged victorious, capturing his second title of the year at his fifth final table of 2016. The American poker pro earned €351,108 ($398,771 USD) for the win after making a deal between the final three players. At the time of the agreement Kornuth held 5,625,000 of the roughly 11 million chips in play, with Philipp Gruissem and Sergey Lebedev essentially tied for second in chips. The deal saw them lock up €292,750 and €291,162 respectively.

In addition to the title and the money Kornuth also scored 900 POY points. This was his fifth final table and second title of the year, having taken down the $25,000 AUD high roller at the Aussie Millions. With 2,706 total points and year-to-date earnings of $1,558,475 Kornuth has shot into second place in the standings, just under 400 points behind current leader Ari Engel.

Fedor Holz finished fourth for €169,000 ($191,942 USD) and 450 points. This was his fourth final table of year.

EPT Grand Final €100,000 High Roller

Ole Schemion has emerged victorious in the 2016 European Poker Tour Grand Final €100,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em super high roller. The 23-year-old German poker pro topped a field of 61 total entries to capture his 12th live tournament title and the top payout of €1,597,800 ($1,829,002 USD).

Schemion came into the final table in fourth chip position, but was able to survive to heads-up play against 25-year-old Italian tournament superstar Mustapha Kanit, who won the €25,750 EPT Dublin high roller earlier this year. Schemion began with nearly 9 million in chips to Kanit’s 6.3 million. The two struck a deal that saw Schemion lock up €1,547,800 while Kanit would receive at least €1,462,000. That left €50,000 and the trophy to play for.

In the end Kanit was sent to the rail as the runner up, taking home the previously mentioned massive sum as well as 600 POY points. This was Kanit’s third final table of the year and as a result he has moved into 25th place in the overall standings.

Eighth-place finisher Ivan Luca also jumped in the rankings as a result of making this final table. The 120 points he earned at his seventh final table of the year where enough to see him climb to the number eight spot on the leader board.

EPT Grand Final €50,000 ‘Single-Day’ High Roller

Fabian Quoss won the €50,000 buy-in ‘single-day’ high roller event at the 2016 European Poker Tour Grand Final, outlasting a field of 70 entries to win €849,059 ($967,927 USD).

The event was scheduled to be completed in one day, but the conclusion was pushed back after play was halted at 5:30 AM local time with just Quoss and recent EPT Grand Final €100,000 super high roller champion Ole Schemion remaining to battle for the title and the top prize.

At the resumption of play the two agreed upon an ICM-based deal that saw Schemion lock up €857,241 as a result of starting with nearly a 3-to-2 chip advantage while Quoss secured at least €799,059. That left €50,000 and the title to play for.

Quoss ended up the victor, sending Schemion to the rail just short of winning two massive high roller events in the span of a few days. In addition to the title and the money Quoss also earned 714 POY points. This was his third final table and second title of the year, having also taken down the $100,000 high roller at the Aussie Millions in January. With 1,614 total points and year-to-date earnings of $2,650,290 Quoss has moved into 27th place in the overall standings.

Schemion, who was at his fourth final table of the year, now has 1,695 points and $2,853,675 in 2016 earnings to his name, enough to see him climb to 24th on the leaderboard.

POY contenders Fedor Holz and David Peters also cashed in this event, adding 298 and 119 points respectively. Holz now occupies the 25th spot in the rankings while Peters sits in seventh place. Peters has now made eight final tables this year, cashing for $3,846,662 along the way.

EPT Grand Final French Poker Series €2,200 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller

Walter Treccarichi has made two final tables in 2016, and in both events he emerged victorious with the title.

In January he won a Aussie Millions $2,500 AUD no-limit hold’em six-max event for $98,805 and 612 points.

This week in Monte Carlo he took down a €2,200 French Poker Series no-limit hold’em high roller, defeating a field of 575 players to earn $215,289 and 1,260 points.

As a result of these two wins the Italian has been catapulted into 16th place in the standings with 1,872 points and year-to-date earnings of $314,094. He now has career lifetime live earnings of $783,783.

Germany’s Dominik Nitsche finished eighth for $27,223 and 210 points. This was his fourth final table of the year and he moved into 39th place on the leader board as a result.

Aria April High Rollers

The Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas’ monthly back-to-back high roller events wrapped up this past weekend. The $25,000 buy-in Aria High Roller XXX, drew 19 total entries to build a prize pool of $456,000. In the end Cary Katz emerged victorious, defeating Sam Soverel heads-up to capture his 10th live tournament title and the $264,480 first-place prize.

Katz also earned 420 points for the win while Soverel was awarded 350 points and $136,800. Soverel has made four final tables this year, including a win in a previous Aria high roller and a fourth-place finish in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic main event. With 2,180 total points and $872,997 in year-to-date earnings he has moved into eighth place in the overall POY rankings.

2010 Card Player Player of the Year winner Tom Marchese finished third in the event for $54,720 and 280 points. This was his sixth final table finish in 2016 and he climbed to 13th in the standings as a result.

The second event of the weekend attracted a field of 22 entries to create a $528,000 prize pool. Jake Schindler came out on top, defeating Vitaliy Rizhkov heads-up to secure the title, the $264,000 top prize and 420 POY points.

Fresh off his win the day before Cary Katz made another deep run in this tournament, ultimately finishing fourth for another $42,240 and 210 points. This was his sixth POY-qualified cash of the year and it was enough to see him take over the 45th-place spot on the leader board.

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

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