Rossiter, Yan, Kuo, Kihara Highlight National Asia/Pacific PoY Winners

With the 2013 poker season in the books, we take a look at some of the GPI National Players of the Year in the Asia-Pacific region …

AUSTRALIA  |  JEFFREY ROSSITER

2013 was certainly a breakout season on the live tournament circuit for Australian pro Jeffrey Rossiter (GPI#14), who picks up the GPI National Australia Player of the Year title. Rossiter’s season was highlighted by his second place finish at the PokerStars GuangDong Asia Millions (GDAM), his fifth place finish at EPT London and his fourth place score in the High Roller event at the Asia Championship of Poker; one year after winning the ACOP Main Event and finishing second in the High Roller.

Speaking of breakout performances, Daniel Laidlaw (GPI#72) kept Rossiter company at the top of the Australian rankings with his strong 2013 campaign.

1. Jeffrey Rossiter 857.45
2. Daniel Laidlaw 697.07
3. Gary Benson 471.45
4. Grany Levy 440.44
5. Jeff Lisandro 426.18

CHINA  |  HUI “KITTY” CHEN-KUO

Kitty Kuo (GPI#60) continued her rise on the live tournament circuit with a successful 2013 campaign, earnings GPI National China Player of the Year honours.

Incredibly, she cashed in nine major events in 2013, including EPT Main Event cashes in Berlin, Barcelona, London and Prague. After three cashes at the Aussie Millions in 2013 – including a 17th place finish in the Main Event – Kuo will be looking for more success Down Under in the coming weeks.

1. Hui “Kitty” Chen-Kuo 643.91
2. Sixiao Li 212.06
3. Alvan Yifan Zheng 211.40
4. Devan Tang 192.14
5. Kenneth Leong Yuen Kiong 170.39

NEW ZEALAND  |  DAVID YAN

One of the young guns of poker, David Yan (GPI#106) won the GPI National New Zealand Player of the Year title, putting the close on a very successful 2013 season.

Yan would start the year by finishing sixth at the Aussie Millions and would accumulate a total of six other Top 10 scores throughout the 2013 campaign.

1. David Yan 631.72
2. Jan Suchanek 277.25
3. Daryl Hussey 158.99
4. Slade Fisher 110.12
5. Xiao Yu Jia 107.15

JAPAN  |  NAOYA KIHARA

Naoya Kihara (GPI#364) continued his dominance in Japan by capturing the GPI National Japan Player of the Year crown. After winning Japan’s very first bracelet at the 2012 WSOP, Kihara earned three cashes in his return to the Rio this past summer, including two cashes in 2-7 Lowball events.

Kihara didn’t run away with the title, however, as Iori Yogo (GPI#454), who’s 2013 season included a runner-up finish in the ANZPT Repechage in Melbourne, pushed Kihara to the brink, finishing just 17 points behind him in the race.

1. Naoya Kihara 430.64
2. Iori Yogo 423.34
3. Makoto Yoshimichi 335.07
4. Kosei Ichinose 314.19
5. Yosuke Sekiya 261.45

OTHER ASIA/PACIFIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS

HONG KONG:
1. Nick Wong 361.12
2. Jennette “Jay” Tran 303.60
3. Kenneth Wong 228.21

INDONESIA: 
1. John Juanda 305.13

MALAYSIA:
1. Mervin Chan 216.44
2. Wai Kin Yong 208.74
3. Raiden Kan 116.55

SOUTH KOREA:
1. Jae Kyung Sim 391.64
2. Sunny Jung 167.44
3. Kevin Song 156.10

THAILAND:
1. Chane Kampanatsanyakorn 369.84
2. Jordan Westmorland 292.27
3. Pakinai Lisawad 200.03