GPI300: Kitai continues charge, Busquet makes Top 10 debut

Belgium’s best keep on truckin’ while Busquet also hits a career-best …

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Dan Smith (GPI#1, -) continues to rule the poker world. Smith begins his fourth straight week at the top of the GPI World Poker Rankings and continues to lead the GPI Player of the Year race.

The Top 6 remains intact this week continuing the trend of very little movement at the top in September.

One player who continues to shake things up is three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner – and Triple Crown member – Davidi Kitai (GPI#7 CB, +2), who moves up to a career-best #7 this week, four weeks after making his Top 10 debut. “Kitbul” finished 5th in the High Roller event at WPT North Cyprus last week.

Speaking of debuts inside the Top 10, we welcome American star Olivier Busquet (GPI#10 CB, +1) to the Top 10 for the very first time. A recent Super High Roller victory at EPT Barcelona was key to giving Busquet that last push needed to enter the elite group.

[table id=1288 /]

SWIMMING UPSTREAM

After dropping close to 40 spots and moving dangerously closer to the GPI300 cut-off last week, Alexander Lakhov (GPI#128, +145) wasted no time in pushing his way back into the safety zone with a win at the partypoker WPT Merit Classic North Cyprus. The win was Lakhov’s second WPT-branded North Cyprus event in the last few months; he won WPT National North Cyprus in July.

Other notable gaining ground this week include Toby Lewis (GPI#71, +29) who, like Lakhov, final tabled WPT North Cyprus and WPT and WSOP winner Andy Frankenberger (GPI#260, +30).

[table id=1289 /]

DOWN THE LADDER

Defending WPT Borgata Poker Open Champion Anthony Zinno (GPI#124, -30) is one of the name players to take a hit this week. Zinno, however, is still in the hunt heading into Day 3 play in this year’s WPT Borgata Main. Zinno will be looking to makeup some of those lost points with a cash in Atlantic City.

2011 World Series of Poker bracelet winner David Diaz (GPI#249, -32) and Dutch pro Paul Berende (GPI#187, -31), a six-time winner on the live tournament circuit, are two other players moving down the charts this week.

[table id=1290 /]

IN-N-OUT

A pair of Russian pros, Andrey Shatilov (GPI#176) and Andrey Pateychuk (GPI#255), continued their recent run of success in North Cyprus. Each player earned multiple cashes during the WPT Merit Classic North Cyprus series, allowing each player to make a return to the 300 this week.

Meanwhile, those leaving the GPI300 this week include former EPT Champion Kent Lundmark (GPI#325) and German star Fabian Quoss (GPI#318), who drops out of the Top 300 for the first time since December 2012.

[table id=1291 /]

ON THE BUBBLE

A recent Main Event cash at WSOP Circuit Connecticut at Foxwoods wasn’t enough to keep crowd favorite Tom Dobrilovic (GPI#301) ranked inside the 300. Dobrilovic, who turned heads this past spring with an 8th place finish in the WPT World Championship, has been finding his way in and out of the 300 since May.