2016 Card Player Player of the Year -- David Yan Joins Top Twenty

The focus of the poker world is on the small Mediterranean nation of Malta this week, as the country plays host to the 2016 European Poker Tour Malta poker festival. The main event is still ongoing, but a number of big side events have already wrapped up and made some changes to the top of the 2016 Card Player Player of the Year race leader board. Here is a look at the tournaments that most impacted the standings this week:

EPT Malta €25,750 High Roller

David Yan has won the 2016 European Poker Tour Malta €25,750 no-limit hold’em high roller event, topping a field of 65 total entries to win the title and the first-place prize of €465,800 ($507,722 USD).

The 23-year-old poker pro from New Zealand also earned 504 POY points for the win. This was his sixth final table finish and his third title run of this year, having taken down a €1,650 WSOP International Circuit event earlier this month and a $1,150 AUD buy-in six-max no-limit hold’em event at the Aussie Millions.

With 3,234 POY points and $1,579,397 in year-to-date earnings Yan has climbed into 19th place in the Player of the Year standings.

Other big names who made the money include Adrian Mateos Diaz (9th – $50,336), Davidi Kitai (7th – $85,075), Ole Schemion (6th – $107,627), Max Silver (4th – $178,793) and Oleksii Koroshenin (3rd – $236,966).

EPT Malta €10,300 High Roller

A total of 60 entries were made in the 2016 EPT Malta €10,300 no-limit hold’em high roller kickoff event, building a prize pool in excess of $630,000 USD.

In the end German poker pro Dietrich Fast emerged victorious, defeating Viacheslav Buldygin ehads-up to secure the title and the top prize of €174,600 ($190,314 USD).

The 31-year-old also earned 360 POY points. This was his fourth final table and second title of 2016, having won this year’s World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 main event for $1,000,800 and 2,100 points.

With 2,858 points and $1,256,263 in year-to-date earnings Fast has climbed to 33rd place in the POY rankings.

Third-place finisher Dario Sammartino climbed to 87th place in the standings as a result of the $88,813 and 240 points he added, while fourth-place finisher Pratyush Biddiga moved into 84th place with $67,242 and 180 earned.

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

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