GPI300: Dan Smith is the undisputed king!

They don’t call him King Dan for nothing – Dan Smith stands atop the GPI300, GPI PoY leaderboards …

VIEW FROM THE TOP

“King Dan” Dan Smith (GPI#1, -) is the undisputed king of the rankings this week. A week after taking over from Ole Schemion (GPI#2, -) atop the GPI World Poker Rankings, Smith has also taken over the 2014 GPI Player of the Year race following another successful run at EPT Barcelona. Smith won the inaugural GPI Player of the Year title back two years ago.

Smith’s current 4,112.52 score on the GPI is the highest in Global Poker Index history. He is one of only three players to have ever scored over 4,000 points – Schemion and Daniel Negreanu (GPI#3, -) are the other two.

With Jason Mercier’s (GPI#4, +2) move to #4 in the World, his highest ranking since April, all members of the Top 4 have each spent significant time ranked atop the GPI World Poker Rankings at some point in their career.

Stephen Chidwick’s (GPI#8, +5) return to the Top 10 means that another former #1, Erik Seidel (GPI#12, -2) drops out of the Top 10 for the first time in a month. Seidel’s last score on the live circuit came in July when he finished 4th in the Bellagio 100K Super High Roller event.

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SWIMMING UPSTREAM

Following a very quiet summer, Benjamin Spindler (GPI#119, +142) came back with a vengeance at EPT Barcelona, earning two scores, including a 22nd place finish in the 10K High Roller event. The former Top 25 ranked player in the World earns his best ranking in almost two and a half years.

Meanwhile, it’s a return to the Top 100 for four of the top players in the world: Salman Behbehani (GPI#67, +101), Andrea Dato (GPI#72, +84), Benjamin Pollak (GPI#64, +81) and PokerStars Team Online Pro Marc-Andre Ladouceur (GPI#65, +75)

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DOWN THE LADDER

Taking the biggest fall back this week is UK pro Steve Watts (GPI#271, -87). Watts is one of the players expected to take part in the partypoker WPT Merit Classic North Cyprus Main Event which starts on Friday, he will have a perfect opportunity to recoup the points he’s recently lost.

Others moving down include 2013 WPT Legends of Poker Champion Jordan Cristos (GPI#185, -50) and circuit veteran David “ODB” Baker, although Baker is expected to gain some of his lost points in next week’s rankings update. Baker earned a Top 10 finish in the 2014 River Poker Series Main Event which ended last night.

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IN-N-OUT

A win in the 10K High Roller event at EPT Barcelona sees Ihar Soika (GPI#152 CB) make his debut on the GPI300. His big win in Barcelona sees him cross the million-dollar mark for the very first time in his poker career. EPT Champs Dominik Panka (GPI#236) and Kent Lundmark (GPI#287) as well as WPT Champions Club member Rocco Palumbo (GPI#230) all make a return to the 300 this week.

On the flip side 2013 EPT Barcelona winner Tom Middleton (GPI#329) falls out of the 300 for the first time since July. Others falling out of the 300 this week include EPT/WPT winner Roberto Romanello (GPI#303) and one of the most recognizable names in the game, Phil Laak (GPI#350).

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ON THE BUBBLE

On the bubble this week is UK pro Matthew Davenport. Davenport made his debut on the GPI300 just a few short weeks ago. His current ranking remains one of the best of his career, but, he will need to accumulate points soon should he wish to remain near the 300 cutoff.