There comes a moment in poker where the money stops the blinking and the winking.
Legacy.
When you dedicate yourself piously to poker; when every last chip leaves the table – it’s essential that the best of the best leave something behind, and as we head into the screaming depths of December, that something is the Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year accolade.
Two events, occurring nine thousand miles apart, will determine who was the most perfect of poker professionals in 2019. The European Poker Tour (EPT) in Prague, and the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas.
Coming into those two events, Kahle Burns led the GPI PoY leaderboard. Still, as Eric Danis, President of the GPI and The Hendon Mob (THM), explained, anyone within a 15-space radius had the opportunity to overtake him.
“Mathematically, the race for GPI PoY is as wide open as it’s ever been this late into the season,” Danis told me via email. “Anyone in the Top six can easily take over the #1 spot with a solid result. A major victory at EPT Prague or the WPT Five Diamond could see someone ranked as low as 12th jump up to #1. A strong end to the season, with multiple results, could see players currently ranked in the Top 25 make a move, it’s that open.”
One of those players is Bryn Kenney. The winner of the biggest prize in poker history ($20.5m at Triton Million, London), and the current THM All-Time Money Leader sat in ninth place coming into this hotbed of action, and Danis had an inkling he may be the jack in the box.
Writing in the November GPI review, Danis had this to say of Kenney:
“Currently sitting ninth in the PoY, Bryn Kenney has a serious advantage over his opponents in the race. Kenney is the only player ranked in the PoY Top 20 that hasn’t scored in 13 qualifying events this season. In other words, whenever Kenney scores next, he’s going to receive full points in the race… a big score and Kenney could be in the pole position.
“The only issue remains Bryn’s schedule. The former American Player of the Year has played a limited schedule so far in 2019 – we’ll have to see if he decides to put in a full effort down the stretch, or if he decides to continue to live life to the fullest, off the felt.”
The effort is being applied.
Bryn Kenney Leads the GPI PoY
After doing whatever Bryn Kenney does after pocketing his share of $20.5m, the lone wolf of poker headed to the WPT Seminole Hard Rock & Roll Open in Florida where he took down the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) High Roller for $354,565, and, more crucially, 316.67 GPI points.
Kenney then flew to Prague, and after a sterling display, overtook, Burns, to lead the GPI PoY race. Kenney collected a further 386.32 GPI points for finishing fourth in a €25,000 NLHE event (180.66), and 42/1154 in the Main Event (205.66).
Burns didn’t stand idly by while Kenney mopped up. Burns also added 213.83 points to his schedule, after finishing runner-up to Tsugunari Toma in a 41-entrant €10,200 NLHE event, leaving him a mere 0.47 points behind Kenney.
“Burns’ rise to #1 is quite amazing,” said Danis. “His first registered result of 2019 came in May – and his second result didn’t come until late June at the WSOP! He’s picked up the pace in the second half of the season. I can say the same for players like Bryn Kenney (3rd) and Stephen Chidwick (4th), who have both played reduced schedules in 2019 and yet are still very much in the thick of things in the race.”
On Chidwick, the current GPI World #1 also had a terrific time in Prague, earning 314.10 points thanks to his victory in the €50,000 NLHE Super High Roller.
News From The Bellagio
So, what’s the right play here?
If you’re gunning for GPI PoY gold, do you head to Prague or Las Vegas?
Danis thinks you should attend both.
“Both series are going to offer plenty of opportunities to earn a lot of points, both have full schedules so players will be able to jump into events all the time,” said Danis. “There is a way to play both, and many players will do just that. Players who start at EPT Prague should see larger fields, which allows players to accumulate more points.
“The Prague Main Event starts on December 11 and ends on the 17th. If players make a super deep run in the Main, they fight for as many points as possible, if the Prague dream ends early, a quick trip to Vegas will have the players registered on time for the Five Diamond Main, which should have a ton of entries again this year.”
And there is a swathe of chunky side events at The Bellagio to whet PoY front-runner appetites.
One man who has a fantastic chance of winning the GPI PoY award, despite smudging the name ‘Prague’ off his itinerary is Sean Winter. Given that Winter’s partner is expecting a baby, forcing him to put in less volume, it’s been another impressive year for the man with the ice-cold stare.
Winter finished 6/60 in a $10,000 NLHE High Roller at the Bellagio during the WPT Five Diamond. THM shows his 165.33 points haul as ‘excluded’, but they’ve been added to his GPI score, keeping him close to the heels of Kenney and Burns. I’ve reached out to Danis for a double-check on that one.
Anthony Zinno is another player who could snatch it at the death. Zinno finished runner-up to James Carroll in a 43-entrant $10,000 NLHE High Roller for 211.97 points and remains in with a shout.
So who would Danis put his money in as we start to run out of runway?
“It’s impossible to place a bet on just one player at this point,” said Danis. “Kahle Burns is the leader at the moment {prior to EPT Prague}, so placing a bet on him makes obvious senses. That said, I don’t believe he can win if he doesn’t score any more points; there are too many threats behind him.
“It’s hard to overlook players that are willing to travel from one end of the world to the other. That’s why if I get better odds since they’re ranked 5th, 6th and 7th at the moment, the trio of Manig Loeser, Rainer Kempe and Anthony Zinno is pretty intriguing; the winner could very well come out of that group.”
Loeser and Kempe are yet to score in either Prague or The Bellagio, but the gate remains open in both.
Who will sit at the top after the final stampede?
We’ll find out soon.