Schemion, Bilokur and Kanit Lead European National PoY Races

The first 4 1/2 months of the poker season are in the books. With a little break in the action as the planet prepares for the World Series of Poker, we take a look at some of the National Player of the Races in Europe …

SCHEMION SURGES

It’s usually one of the closest and the highest scoring race each year. But Ole Schemion (GPI#1) has done his part to separate himself from the pack in Germany, holding a HUGE lead atop the GPI National Germany Player of the Year standings. Schemion won the 2013 GPI Player of the Year race with 1,163.14 points last season, he’s a little over 350 points away from surpassing that score.

Schemion’s fantastic start to 2014 saw him pickup EPT Season 10 Player of the Year honours earlier this month as well as GPI Player of the Month honours for the month of April. Surprisingly, the second ranked player in Germany isn’t Gruissem, Rettenmaier, Finger or Nitsche, it’s Artur Koren (GPI#177), who’s nine cashes on the EPT in 2014 see him move ahead of some of the world’s best.

GPI National Germany Player of the Year Race:

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THE HEAT IS ON IN RUSSIA

Alex Bilokur (GPI#17) has certainly enjoyed his time on the European Poker Tour so far in 2014. He finished second only to Ole Schemion in the EPT Season 10 Player of the Year race and currently sits third on the 2014 GPI Player of the Year leaderboard.

Two other Russians are contending in the GPI Player of the Year race so Bilokur better not think he’s sitting pretty. Alexander Denisov (GPI#486) and Anatoly Filatov (GPI#148) have each already crossed the 500-point mark already this season and should prove to be strong opponents to Bilokur for Russia’s PoY crown.

GPI National Russia Player of the Year Race:

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KANIT SEPARATES HIMSELF FROM PACK

A very strong start to 2014 sees Mustapha Kanit (GPI#109) take the lead in the Italian Player of the Year race. Kanit’s two prelim event victories at the Aussie Millions had him on top right from the get-go. He currently holds a 174-point lead at the top.

Two of Italy’s top players, Andrea Dato (GPI#139) and Dario Sammartino (GPI#43) are certainly still in the race, although they will need to kick things into high-gear in order to catch up to Kanit. Dato won the National race in 2012 and Sammartino won the title in 2013.

GPI National Italy Player of the Year Race:

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SALTER, HALL LEAD HEATED UK RACE

Defending GPI National UK Player of the Year Stephen Chidwick (GPI#8) is thriving on the GPI300. Surprisingly, Chidwick sits in sixth in the 2014 UK PoY race at the moment.

The battle for UK #1 is currently set between EPT Grand Final Main Event runner-up Jack Salter (GPI#46) and Tom Hall (GPI#104), who holds four Top 10 finishes so far this season. Salter holds a minuscule 36-point lead on Hall and with the WSOP coming up, you can bet that the UK points totals are about to spike. It will certainly be interesting to see what the UK standings look like once the final card at the WSOP is dealt in July.

GPI National UK Player of the Year Race:

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21 CASHES SO FAR FOR BIG ROGER!

Roger Hairabedian (GPI#45) has 21 cashes so far in 2014? Huge … or as the French would say “Énorme!”. Good news for the rest of the field, the GPI caps the number of cashes at 13 for the Player of the Year so we still have a race on our hands in France!

PMU pro Erwann Pecheux (GPI#78) is certainly doing his best to stay within striking distance of Big Roger. Pecheux’s 2014 season includes a trio of fine performances on the WPT National circuit. A few deep runs including a 4th place finish at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic sees international singing sensation and accomplished poker player Patrick Bruel (GPI#693) enter the French PoY National race.

GPI National France Player of the Year Race:

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ADRIAN MATEOS DIAZ AT IT AGAIN!

He won the GPI National Spain Player of the Year in 2013 and Adrian Mateos Diaz (GPI#64) is well on his way to doing it again this year. The defending GPI European Rookie of the Year is only 160 points away from eclipsing his 2013 mark, sitting 20th overall on the GPI Player of the Year race.

Although familiar faces like Sergio Aido (GPI#108) and Ana Marquez (GPI#62) can be found in the Top 5, it’s relative unknown Inaki Santos (GPI#xx) that finds himself in 2nd position following a strong start to 2014 that includes a victory in a side event at EPT Deauville and a recent runner-up finish at APT Philippines.

GPI National Spain Player of the Year Race:

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ELSEWHERE IN EUROPE

There are plenty of other races ongoing in Europe, here is a look at the top player in other countries on the old continent:

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