The winner of the WSOP Player of the Year gets a banner to hang alongside the main event winners in The Rio – It will be decided at the WSOPE in October, but these are the players in pole position
- Mike Gorodinsky – 2,157.19
- Brian Hastings – 1,961.82
- Anthony Zinno – 1,942.72
- Paul Volpe – 1,889.46
- Shaun Deeb – 1,803.99
- Ismael Bojang -1,563.32
- Ralph Porter -1,548.79
- Stephen Chidwick -1,541.79
- Phil Hellmuth – 1,543.33
- Stuart Rutter – 1,446.98
1. Mike Gorodinsky (USA)
A well-respected mixed-game veteran, Mike ‘Gordo’ Gorodinksy won his first title – an 8 Game Championship – at the 2010 PCA. He beat Jean-Robert Bellande heads-up. It was groundhog day for JRB as Gordo beat him in the 2015 $50k Poker Players Championship. It was his second bracelet and the biggest of seven cashes at this year’s series, including a second (to Phil Hellmuth), a third and a ninth.
2. Brian Hastings (USA)
Hastings has had a summer to forget away from the WSOP, amid accusations of multi- accounting, but it hasn’t affected his game. In seven cashes at the Rio this summer he bubbled one final table, made another two and won them both to secure his second and third bracelets. He also made deep runs in the Main Event and the $111,111k ONE DROP High Roller, finishing 11th for his biggest cash of $332,593
3. Anthony Zinno (USA)
Wow! Zinno’s record this year is incredible. He won back-to-back WPT titles in February, and at the WSOP he cashed in five events, final tabled all of them and won one – the $25k PLO for $1.12m. He will be seriously unlucky if he loses out on the banner in the Rio.
4.Paul Volpe (USA)
Volpe was the early pace setter but has to settle for a podium finish again… Volpe recorded two second place finishes at the Rio this summer in the $10k Heads-Up Championship and the $10k Pot Limit Hold’em Championship, along with two more final tables.
5. Shaun Deeb (USA)
Before this series Shaun Deeb as heading a list of best players never to have won at the WSOP. He buried this stat early on, winning the first event he cashed in, the $10k Pot Limit Hold’em, for $318,857. Deeb went on to make a further five cashes including two eighths in the $10k and $25k PLO events, and ninth in the $10k Razz.
6. Ismael Bojang (DEU)
Bojang is still looking for his first major title but he’s been a consistent casher on the circuit for six years. After 13 cashes at the 2014 World Series, six is a modest haul, but he did enjoy his biggest career cash – $187,571 for a sixth-pace finish in the $25k Omaha. You can expect him to make more of a mark at the WSOPE in Berlin later this year, which could make him an outside bet for the top spot.
7. Ralph Porter (USA)
Porter came 12th in the 2013 Main Event for his best career cash and nearly secured his third bracelet this summer. From seven cashes he made the final table in his first and finished runner-up in his last, the $10k Dealers Choice.
8. Stephen Chidwick (UK)
Chidwick might still be on the hunt for his first WSOP bracelet, but he’s been the Uk’s most consistent performer over the past 12 months, and the only Uk player to make inroads into the GPI Top 10. He carried this cracking form into the WSOP this summer, cashing seven times, including a six-figure score for a runner-up finish at the $10k Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split Championship. His time will surely come.
9. Phil Hellmuth (USA)
What can you say about this man? He added six more cashes at the 2015 WSOP, making 114 in total. His closest rival is Erik Seidel with 92. He also added bracelet 14 in the $10k Razz and threatened another in the $111,111 ONE DROP where he ended finishing sixth for $696k. With Phil Ivey not showing much appetite for bracelets, we’re going out on a limb to say no-one is catching him in our lifetime.
10. Stuart Rutter (UK)
The second player from the Uk to make the top ten enjoyed eight cashes over the summer, but gave his best performance at the start when he finished fifth in the $1k Turbo event for $67,248. He couldn’t match his 59th place finish in the 2014 Main Event but he did cash, going out in 544th place for $19,500.
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