The number crunchers at the Global Poker Index (GPI) have plunged their fingertips into a nice ice bath, and confirmation is through. Not only is Alex Foxen, sitting atop the Global Poker Index (GPI) 2019 Player of the Year (PoY) rankings, but he’s also shifted Stephen Chidwick from the throne that sits on the summit of the GPI, proper.
Coming into the final stretch, results at the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Prague, and the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas were always going to critical in what GPI President, Eric Danis, referred to as the tightest PoY race in history.
Kahle Burns led the way, but as many as 12 people could win. Sitting in that 12th position with the unlikeliest shot of them all was Alex Foxen, the man who won the title in 2018.
From There to Here: The Prague Story
Since April 2018, Stephen Chidwick and Alex Foxen have swapped the GPI World #1 status like a hot chicken nugget. The person to hold it before these two rose to the top of the GPI pass the parcel food chain was Adrian Mateos. While the Spaniard was never in the running to be the 2019 GPI PoY, he was pushing hard to reclaim the GPI World #1 he held for 20-weeks before Chidwick and Foxen took over.
Mateos flew to Prague after winning a $25,500 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event, and the $10,300 NLHE Main Event at the partypoker MILLIONS World in the Bahamas. More than $1.4m flew down the maze of wires en route to the Spaniard’s bank account, along with more than 1.1k GPI points. Another 500+ came in Prague where Mateos won a €10,300 NLHE event and finished third in a €50,000. These results see Mateos move into #3 in the GPI World Rankings.
Next, the imposing presence of Bryn Kenney came into view with a 4th place finish in the €25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO), before running deep in the €5,300 Main Event securing a 42nd place finish. Kenney picked up close to 400 GPI points, enough to replace Burns as the new GPI PoY leader.
Then Chidwick reminded everyone why he was the boss, winning the €50,000 NLHE for €725,710, and 314.10 GPI pts. It wasn’t enough for him to catch Kenney in the PoY race, but it did extend his lead at the top of the GPI World Rankings.
From There to Here: The Vegas Story
Next came Las Vegas, and the Bellagio where Alex Foxen came from nowhere to finish in the money (ITM) in six events, gathering more than 1.1k GPI Pts, and banking more than $2m.
Here is his wrap sheet.
$10k NLHE – 5th for $35k
$10k NLHE – 3rd for $43k
$10k NLHE – 2nd for $120k
$5k NLHE – 5th for $42k
$25k NLHE – 3rd for $185k
$10k NLHE Main Event – 1st for $1.6m
In response, Chidwick finished 5th in a $25k NLHE event, but the finish didn’t carry GPI points. The man leading the GPI PoY race before Prague and the Five Diamond, Kahle Burns, picked up zero points in both but did snag 242.74 PoY points for his 12th place finish in the $5,300 NLHE Championship at the Wynn Winter Classic. It wasn’t enough. The other front-runner was Sean Winter, and the Floridian picked up a further 297.76 points for winning a $25k NLHE, and that also failed to trip up Foxen as he clambered back to the top of the rankings.
Foxen was living in dreamland; his competitors were like birds nesting in old chimney tops ignored by Dick Van Dyk.
Today, it’s Dec 26, so there are still five days left of tournament poker for someone to deny Foxen the defence of his title, and for Chidwick, Mateos and co., to replace him at the head of the GPI World Rankings. Given the upmarket flagstones, these guys tread on and looking at the remaining competitions; you have to assume that nothing will change this side of 2019, and Foxen will once again be the top dog.
GPI POY 2019 Leaderboard
- Alex Foxen – 3,806.09
- Sean Winter – 3,679.19
- Bryn Kenney – 3,647.81
- Kahle Burns – 3,641.63
- Stephen Chidwick – 3,637.94
- Rainer Kempe – 3,499.77
- Sam Greenwood – 3,487.10
- Manig Loeser – 3,434.91
- Timothy Adams – 3,377.88
- Ali Imsirovic – 3,377.59
GPI Leaderboard
- Alex Foxen – 4,017.12
- Stephen Chidwick – 3,679.39
- Adrian Mateos – 3,457.51
- Anthony Zinno – 3,430.10
- Sean Winter – 3,356.05
- Manig Loeser – 3,332.12
- Rainer Kempe – 3,311.60
- Jeremy Ausmus – 3,311.50
- Joseph Cheong – 3,296.35
- Dario Sammartino – 3,259.98