Online Poker -- Steve "gboro780" Gross Wins 2009 Card Player Online Player of the Year (OPOY) AwardDavid 'SirSands' Sands Finishes Runner Up |
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Steve “gboro780” Gross (pictured right) had a bit of a sweat entering the final week of the 2009 Card Player Online Player of the Year (OPOY) race, but in the end, he really had nothing to worry about thanks to a strong December showing where he built up a large lead.
Gross had some pressure from runner-up finisher David “Sir Sands” Sands after he took down his second consecutive rebuy tournament last Sunday, but Sands was drawing dead by mid-week, with no more major qualifying tournaments remaining.
To top it off, Gross solidified his status as OPOY winner when he made a late final table of his own on Wednesday, picking up another score to bring his year-to-date earnings to $1,216,413. That total was only topped by two players, Daniel “djk123” Kelly (10th) and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko (22nd), who both made the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event final table.
Gross finished the year with 10,188 points, the highest ever accumulated in the three year history of the rankings. Runner-up Sands (pictured left) ended with 9,420 points, which would have been just four points shy of 2008 winner Alex “AJKHoosier1” Kamberis. Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron won the inaugural race in 2007 with 8,304 points.
Not only did Gross win in record-breaking fashion, but he did so on the heels of a runner-up performance in 2008. His two-year run of second, first is the best stretch of online tournament play in history. He is joined by Shaun “TedsFishFry” Deeb (Fifth) and Daniel “djk123” Kelly (10th) as the two other players who made the top 10 in consecutive years.
Kamberis (pictured right) vowed to take some time off from the game after winning it all, but still had a solid year, picking up an additional $576,808 and finishing in 37th place.
The rest of the top ten was rounded out by Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen (Third), Chris “Moorman1” Moorman, Joseph “hoodini10” Udine (Sixth), Jeremiah “Believer82” Vinsant (Seventh), Jonathan “shipitobv” Delong (Eighth) and Casey “bigdogpck5s” Jarzabek (Ninth).
The 2010 race begins today and anyone can compete. Simply play and go deep in any tournament that meets OPOY requirements. The tournament must have an average buy-in of at least $100, have a field of at least 100 players and a prize pool of at least $100,000.
Here’s a look at the final top ten standings for 2009.
| Rank | Player Name | OPOY Points | 2009 Winnings |
| 1 | Steve “gboro780” Gross | 10,188 | $1,216,413 |
| 2 | David “SirSands” Sands | 9,420 | $1,018,966 |
| 3 | Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen | 9,100 | $730,655 |
| 4 | Chris “Moorman1” Moorman | 8,464 | $957,710 |
| 5 | Shaun “TedsFishFry” Deeb | 8,290 | $788,451 |
| 6 | Joseph “hoodini10” Udine | 8,052 | $882,927 |
| 7 | Jeremiah “Believer82” Vinsant | 7,994 | $830,766 |
| 8 | Jonathan “shipitobv” Delong | 7,926 | $764,124 |
| 9 | Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek | 7,776 | $665,453 |
| 10 | Daniel “djk123” Kelly | 7,724 | $1,409,909 |
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