Don’t look now, but last year’s Card Player Online Player of the Year (OPOY) winner Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron has stormed up the leader board to make his first appearance of the year in the top 10 standings. Baron’s 1,552 points are good for ninth place, and he’s still a long way from the impressive 8,304 he put up last year to claim the title, but just seven weeks into this year's race his number is on pace to eclipse that mark. He has been consistent, picking up points with five final tables in OPOY-qualifying events so far this year and also pocketing about $118,000 along the way.
Currently atop the leader board is Russell “rdcrsn” Carson, with 2,066 points. Carson picked up most of his points in one day when he finished third in the Full Tilt $1 million-guaranteed tournament and second in the Sunday Second Chance on PokerStars. A week later, he padded his lead with a win in the PokerStars $200 rebuy, putting his OPOY earnings at nearly $167,000.
Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins is no stranger to the OPOY, having finished in the top 100 last year. This year, most of his damage has been done with a win in the PokerStars Sunday Million, but two other final tables have given him 1,940 points and put him squarely in second place.
Yesterday, unknown player gautchos won event No. 10 of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series VII (FTOPS) to vault himself into third place, and, more importantly, take home nearly $330,000. Event No. 10, which was a $1,000 buy-in shorthanded no-limit hold’em event, has been a key component in the standing thus far, putting the top three finishers in the top 10 of the OPOY.
The mystery player in the top 10 has been ElMastermind, whose two wins and nine OPOY-qualifying cashes make him the most consistent player thus far in the year. His 1,816 points are good enough for fourth place.
Roosterbill has to be the most disappointed player on the leader board, as his two qualifying cashes are both second-place finishes, most notably in the Sunday Million (the one won by Hawkins). His 2008 earnings of $156,000 are a nice consolation prize, however.
Tomgus456 is perhaps one tournament away from an almost impossible feat: that is, getting to play heads up on every Sunday major across the sites. This week, tomgus456 won the Sunday Million, a few weeks ago he won the Bodog $100,000-guaranteed, and last November he finished second in the UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed tournament.
Corey “muchaka” Cheresnick gained most of his 1,668 points by finishing third in last night’s big FTOPS event, but a couple of deep finishes in the $100 rebuys on PokerStars haven’t hurt the former University of Florida student, either. The former World Poker Tour final tablist sits in seventh place. Another beneficiary of last night’s large prize pool was Jonathan “fish_luvr” Schwartz, the second-place finisher, who currently resides in the eighth-place spot.
Rounding out the leader board is Mr.Wrong, whose Sunday Million win makes up most of his points, but two scores in $100 rebuys on PokerStars helped his cause to squeak him into the top 10.
There is a six-way tie for 12th place at the moment among players with big wins but not much else on their résumés. The most notable of the pack is Erick Lindgren, who made history by becoming the first Full Tilt pro to win an event he was hosting. Lindgren pocketed nearly $292,000 and 1,440 points for his win, but his placing in the standings is sure to be temporary, given the lack of online volume the live professional plays.
Here are the current rankings:
| Rank |
Name |
OPOY points |
2008 OPOY winnings |
| 1 |
Russell “rdcrsn” Carson
|
2,066 |
$166,757 |
| 2 |
Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins |
1,940 |
$287,136 |
| 3 |
gautchos |
1,920 |
$329,800 |
| 4 |
ElMastermind |
1,816 |
$142,408 |
| 5 |
roosterbill |
1,700 |
$156,399 |
| 6 |
tomgus456 |
1,692 |
$245,565 |
| 7 |
Corey “muchaka” Cheresnick |
1,668 |
$176,970 |
| 8 |
Jonathan “fish_lovr” Schwartz |
1,600 |
$211,539 |
| 9 |
Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron |
1,552 |
$118,376 |
| 10 |
Mr.Wrong |
1,464 |
$211,539 |
