2016 WSOP POY: Jason Mercier Holding Off Challengers Before Final Events
All but three of the 2016 World Series of Poker open bracelet events have been decided, which means opportunities for players to accumulate 2016 WSOP Player of the Year points are few. That’s good news for Jason Mercier, who after grabbing the early lead in the POY race now sits with an all-but insurmountable advantage. (Remember, only the events in Las Vegas count toward this year’s Player of the Year.)
Despite not adding any further cashes or points to his leading total this week, Mercier still sits comfortably in front with more than 550 POY points than his nearest challenger. Here’s a look at the current top 10 as reported by the GPI this morning:
| Position | Player | WSOP POY Points | Cashes | Highlights |
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 2121.69 | 10 | Won $10K 2-7 NL (#16); Won $10K H.O.R.S.E. (#24); 2nd in $10K Razz (#20); 8th in $10K Omaha Hi-Low (#32) |
| 2 | Paul Volpe | 1566.04 | 8 | Won $1,500 8-Game Mix (#15); 4th in $1,500 Dealer’s Choice (#5) |
| 3 | Benny Glaser | 1553.41 | 7 | Won $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low (#26); Won $10K Omaha Hi-Low (#32); 5th in $10K 2-7 NL (#16); 6th in $1K NLH Tag Team (#61) |
| 4 | Michael Mizrachi | 1535.82 | 12 | 4th in $50K Poker Players Championship (#55); 12th in $25K PLO High Roller (#62) |
| 5 | Justin Bonomo | 1515.94 | 6 | 2nd in $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. (#8); 2nd in $50K Poker Players Championship (#55); 3rd in $10K NLH 6-Max (#39); 3rd in $10K Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low (#43) |
| 6 | Robert Mizrachi | 1472.58 | 9 | Won $10K Seven-Card Stud (#3); 9th in $25K PLO High Roller (#62) |
| 7 | John Monnette | 1461.13 | 8 | 2nd in $1,500 NL 2-7 Draw (#7); 3rd in $10K Dealer’s Choice (#11); 3rd in $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low (#60) |
| 8 | Ryan Laplante | 1438.85 | 12 | Won $565 PLO (#12); 21st in $1,500 Limit Hold’em (#22) |
| 9 | Loren Klein | 1400.02 | 7 | Won $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO (#45); 2nd in $10K PLO (#51) |
| 10 | Brandon Shack-Harris | 1390.81 | 5 | Won $10K PLO (#51); 2nd in $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low (#60); 5th in $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low (#26) |
According to the Global Poker Index WSOP 2016 calculator (see below), a victory in the $10,000 Main Event would likely be worth enough for any of the players in the top 10 to jump ahead of Mercier, depending on the total number of entries. Similarly would very deep runs in both the Main and Event #69: $1,111 Little One for One Drop (starting tomorrow) make it possible for someone to catch Mercier, although that would be a hard-to-imagine feat for anyone to accomplish.
Whlie Mercier’s retained the top spot for another week, the rest of the WSOP POY top 10 saw a lot of movement, including Paul Volpe bolting up into second position after grabbing more recent cashes. Volpe slipped ahead of Benny Glaser who like Mercier has two bracelets this summer, with Michael Mizrachi’s two deep runs in the $50K Poker Players Championship and $25K Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller helping him move up into fourth place.
Mizrachi has 12 cashes total at the moment, which according to WSOP.com ties him for the current lead along with Ryan Laplante who sits in eighth in the current POY list. Naoya Kihara is next in line in the cashes counts with 11.
Justin Bonomo moved to fifth in the POY list after yet another near-miss this week in the $50K PPC where he took runner-up to Brian Rast. That’s two second-place finishes and two thirds for Bonomo among his six cashes this summer. Meanwhile, Michael’s brother Robert Mizrachi has nine cashes and one bracelet, helping him move up to sixth on the list, with John Monnette right behind him in seventh thanks to a runner-up and two third-place finishes among his eight cashes.
Rounding out the top 10 are two more recent bracelet winners, Loren Klein (in ninth) and Brandon Shack-Harris (in 10th). Klein very nearly denied Shack-Harris his win, finishing second to him in Event #51: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship. Shack-Harris very nearly won the WSOP Player of the Year two years ago when he barely lost a neck-and-neck battle to George Danzer for the honor.
Sitting just outside the top 10 as of this morning are Martin Kozlov (#11), Ismael Bojang (#12), Max Silver (#13), David Vamplew (#14), and Chris Ferguson (#15).
As mentioned, here’s that WSOP POY calculator powered by the GPI with which you can determine how many POY points players can earn in the remaining events:
Click here to follow the constantly-updated 2016 WSOP Player of the Year race on the GPI site.
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