GPI 300 Update: The Poker Brat Continues His Climb; Phil Ivey Cracks Top Twenty

Phil Hellmuth broke into the GPI Top Ten in early October after winning his thirteenth bracelet in the World Series of Poker-Europe €10,000 NLHE Main Event. Since then he has spent most of his time holding steady at GPI#9, until last week when he reached his highest rank ever by becoming GPI#5. The jump in rank was thanks to three of his World Series of Poker scores moving into lower aging Periods. With the WSOP events continuing to age this week Hellmuth picks up an additional 116 points. As a result he moves up another spot to GPI#4. This makes Hellmuth one of only fifteen players in the world to reach a GPI ranking that high.

The aging of WSOP scores also benefits Phil Iveythis week. Ivey cashed seven times at this year’s WSOP providing him excess scores in Period 1. However, coming into this week he only had two Period 2 scores leaving him two empty slots in that Period. Those slots are now filled with the aging of two of his WSOP scores, his runner-up finish in the WSOP $10,000 PLHE and his cash in the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event. The runner-up finish is replaced in Period 1 by his score for cashing in the WSOP $2,500 Mixed HE event. While the aging events cause him to lose 214 points in Period 1 he gains 462 points in Period 2 for a net overall gain of 248 points. This moves Ivey up 26 spots and into the Top Twenty for the first time at GPI#19. Ivey could continue to gain momentum over time from the aging of his WSOP scores. He currently has no scores in Period 3 or Period 4. If he continues to produce new results as the WSOP events age into those Periods he will add to his total number of scores.

The aging of results was not such good news for Mike McDonald (GPI#27 -14) and Philipp Gruissem (GPI#11 -4). McDonald and Gruissem finished 2^nd and 3^rd in last year’s EPT Prague NLHE Re-entry event. That event ages into Period 3 this week costing them both points and dropping them down in the rankings. McDonald also cashed in the Main Event last year which also ages into Period 3 where it is excluded by the four cash cap. Gruissem’s score drops 184 points and McDonald’s drops 277 points. This ends a twenty-five week run at the top of the rankings for McDonald who has not been outside of the Top Twenty since June 25^th.

Some other notable drops in rank this week are taken by Matt Glantz (GPI#250 -100), Alessio Isaia (GPI#329 -79), and John Eames (GPI#428 -172). All three players, who at times have been ranked in the Top Twenty, fall to their lowest personal ranks this week and Isaia and Eames exit the GPI 300. This is only the fourth time since the inception of the Index that Glantz has been below GPI#200. Glantz spent three weeks in the Top Twenty early in the year but has been steadily slipping down the rankings since due to only having four GPI qualifying cashes this year. Two of those scores age into Period 2 this week, his 6^th place in the WSOP $5,000 LHE event and 7^th place in the WSOP $1,500 NLHE 6-Max. This leaves him with only one Period 1 score and costs him 96 points. Also aging this week is his score for cashing in the 2011 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic $10,000 Championship Event. It ages into Period 3 costing him an additional 185 points. For Eames this is his first time ever not to be among the GPI Elite 300 and for Isaia it will be only the third time. Like Glantz their drop in rank is due to aging scores, for them from the WSOP and the 2011 EPT Prague, and a lack of cashes in 2012 to replace them.

WPT Championship Reporting Next Week

While the aging of last year’s EPT Prague and WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic lowered the scores of players this week the reporting of this year’s results will raise scores for some of this year’s cashers next week. Look for the return of Ravi Raghavan to the GPI Elite following his win at the WPT Championship. With big names like Lichtenberger, Buchanan, and Esfandiarijoining him at the final table the top of the rankings could also see a shake up.