Right now. At this moment. The only moment. The fat from the meat is leaping from the pan to the silver sheen. The sunflowers wave at me through the kitchen window. The empty beer cans sit by the sink wondering what to do now they have no heart.
This moment.
Alex Foxen is the greatest live tournament poker player in the world. The algorithm never lies. Eric Danis and his overworked team, stuffed in a Maltese office have run the numbers.
4,095.52.
It’s a new record since the algorithm changed, only I can’t tell you when because I am in LA, Danis is in bed, and I don’t have time to wake him up to ask him.
The Global Poker Index (GPI) confirmed Foxen as the 2018 Player of the Year (PoY) while we were digging into our turkey curry. It was a close-run thing. With Stephen Chidwick finishing third in the Super High Roller Bowl V (SHRB), Foxen needed to finish in the top two spots to stop the English bulldog from sending the American a rejection letter.
Foxen finished second.
$2,1600,000
Kerching.
He doesn’t get a cup.
We won’t get to see his bronzed, bulging biceps holding anything in the air. And that’s ok by him. He knows it. I know it, and now you all know it. Alex Foxen is the business.
Here are the final standings:
The 2018 GPI Player of the Year Rankings
1. Alex Foxen – 4,095.52
2. Stephen Chidwick – 3,787.26
3. David Peters – 3,776.97
4. Justin Bonomo – 3,763.02
5. Jake Schindler – 3,716.07
6. Steve O’Dwyer – 3,596.30
7. Pavel Plesuv – 3,503.07
8. Adrian Mateos – 3,412.43
9. Michael Soyza – 3,389.65
10. Joe McKeehen – 3,381.56
Except for Pavel Plesuv, who had an incredible year, all of the Top 10 compete in $25k+ events across the globe on a regular basis. Foxen made 18 final tables, winning five of them, and accumulating an annual haul of $6,632,556 before every man, woman and dog had their cut.
It’s going to be fantastic to see if Foxen can continue the momentum and become a regular in the biggest games in the world throughout 2019 and beyond.
Foxen is currently dating Kristen Bicknell, and boy oh boy if those two decide to mix chromosomes you can expect the little one to come out of the womb flinging cards into all of that muck.
Bicknell won the 2018 GPI Female Player of the Year race, and it wasn’t even close. By my reckoning, the partypoker ambassador was the only female poker player to compete in a $100,000 buy-in event throughout 2018, and I hope that Foxen shares some of that bankroll so we get to see the Canadian competing more in the highest stakes events.
Kristen Bicknell Wins the Female 2018 GPI Player of the Year
1. Kristen Bicknell – 3,071.41
2. Maria Lampropulos – 2,418.28
3. Loni Harwood – 2,252.47
4. Maria Ho – 2,033.77
5. Maria Konnikova – 1,959.33
6. Gao Wenling – 1,957.20
7. Anna Antimony – 1,934.25
8. Wendy Freeman – 1,705.33
9. Kitty Kuo – 1,688.69
10. Nadya Magnus – 1,649.91
In other high rolling leaderboard news, Jake Schindler took down the 2018 Card Player PoY award. Chidwick had to settle for the bridesmaid role for the second time.
Schindler was the most consistent of all high rollers cashing an incredible 37 times, making 31 final tables, winning eight of them, and amassing $9,118,893 in prize money.
Foxen finished third in the Card Player rankings.
Here is the final league table.
2018 Card Player of the Year Rankings
1. Jake Schindler – 9,407
2. Stephen Chidwick – 8,845
3. Alex Foxen – 8.259
4. David Peters – 8,059
5. Justin Bonomo – 7,752
6. Adrian Mateos – 6,477
7. Rainer Kempe – 5,924
8. Jason Koon – 5,827
9. Steve O’Dwyer – 5,688
10. Pavel Plesuv – 5,626
One man who is missing from all three of those leaderboards is Sam Soverel, and that’s because he decided to play his poker a little closer to home.
Soverel cashed 28-times in 2018, with the vast majority of them coming in ARIA High Roller events, including victories across all three disciplines of No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha and Short-Deck.
His consistency earned him the title of Poker Central High Roller of the Year, and for a prize, he gets rake-free entry into every single ARIA High Roller event throughout 2019.
Here is the final leaderboard:
Poker Central High Roller of the Year Leaderboard
1. Sam Soverel – 1,765 pts ($2,615,907)
2. Isaac Haxton – 1,530 pts ($5,285,144)
3. David Peters – 1,430 pts ($4,914,208)
4. Jake Schindler – 1,325 pts ($3,251,546)
5. Cary Katz – 1,300 pts ($1,471,800)