May 07 2015, by Eric Danis

Current, former World #1’s enjoying their time in Monte Carlo

World #1 Scott Seiver and several other former #1’s are trending in Monte Carlo…

SEIVER, SCHEMION GOING DEEP

Scott Seiver GPI

As another successful season is set to conclude on Friday, the EPT Grand Final Festival in Monte Carlo has certainly been very good to a number of players who have held the #1 rank on the GPI World Poker Rankings, including current World #1 Scott Seiver who is “doing work” in the Monacan capital:

Seiver won his first event of the season in PLO Event #43, besting the 46-player field on way to a €75,900 score. Prior to binking the PLO, Seiver collected a pair of Top 10 finishes in €100,000 and €50,000 buy-in High Roller events. Seiver has just survived the money bubble in the €25,000 event, allowing his to score in a trio of High Roller events in Monte Carlo, despite holding one of the shorter stacks on the bubble.

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The man whom Seiver replaced at #1, Ole Schemion (GPI#3), isn’t about to let Seiver pad his lead without giving him a run for his money. Schemion, who recently made history by becoming the first-ever player to be ranked #1 for 18 consecutive weeks, has final tabled the Main Event in Monte Carlo and that result will certainly go a long way towards helping the young German return to the top of the GPI. The final seven players will return and play down to a winner on Friday.

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BIG WINS FOR SMITH, SEIDEL

Dan Smith GPIDan Smith (GPI#20) is no stranger to winning €5,000 buy-in events in Monte Carlo. Three years after winning back-to-back-to-back 5K events at the EPT Grand Final, Smith would add another one earlier this week, taking down the Midnight Hyperturbo event for his first win since last August.

Smith and Schemion had dominated at the top of the GPI World Poker Rankings before Seiver took over last week, each player spending significant time at #1, establishing personal best streaks.

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Not to be outdone, poker legend Erik Seidel (GPI#15), who was last ranked #1 near the start of the 2012 season, continued to score big in Super High Roller events, defeating the red-hot Dzmitry Urbanovich (GPI#68) in the €100,000 SHR, to push his career winnings past the $24M USD mark! Seidel, who already has two wins on tour this season, has crossed the million dollar mark for the third straight season and for the sixth time of his amazing 25+ year career.

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The very first player to be ranked #1 on the GPI, Jason Mercier (GPI#5) was certainly hoping for a better result as he was enjoying a deep run in the Main Event. Mercier, who final tabled this event in 2013, will have to settle for a 28th place finish this time around.

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A LITTLE LOVE FOR THE TWOS

Philipp Gruissem GPIA pair of former World #2’s have also found some success in Monte Carlo:

Philipp Gruissem (GPI#275) found his way back into the winner’s circle earlier in the week, collecting the W in 5K No-Limit Hold’em Event #51, earning his biggest score – and first win – since his victory at the EPT Grand Final last year where he took home over $1M USD winning the High Roller event.

The win was very much needed for the German star. Schemion was about to exit the GPI300 for the very first time of his career on the live tournament circuit.

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Canadian Mike “SirWatts” Watson (GPI#50), who was last ranked #2 in the World back in June 2013, was runner-up to Mustapha Kanit (GPI#10), who made his debut inside the GPI World Top 10 this week, in the €50,000 buy-in Super High Roller event.

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›› Cover picture courtesy of Neil Stoddart/PokerStars/European Poker Tour

 

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About the author

Eric Danis’ passion for poker came at a very early age but it’s when writing about and covering the game he loves that Danis is most in his element. Danis is better known for creating www.PTPRpoker.com where he spent a few years covering poker events. Danis is also known for having worked on the poker shows Poker Eh! and The Pulse on the Quad Jacks Network.