Global Poker Index: Phil Ivey Falls From Top 300

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Live Reporter
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Phil Ivey

Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world using a formula that calculates a player's best three results over six half-year periods. That first sentence is imperative to remember because, arguably, the best player in the game slipped from the GPI this week. We'll get into that later. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.

The Top 10 as of September 26, 2011

RankPlayerTotal ScoreChange in Rank from Last Week
1Erik Seidel2,604.550
2Jason Mercier2,584.980
3Eugene Katchalov2,505.060
4Bertrand ��ElkY�� Grospellier2,486.000
5Sorel Mizzi2,348.580
6Fabrice Soulier2,234.250
7Tom Marchese2,146.220
8Scott Seiver2,056.290
9Juha Helppi2,004.50+11
10Shawn Buchanan1,986.960

New to the top ten this week is Finnish pro Juha Helppi. With his 15th-place finish in the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event, Helppi boasts very solid Period 1 results. Helppi replaced Daniel Negreanu in the No. 9 spot, and with a loss of points this week, Negreanu slipped to No. 11. A fifth-place showing in the ��10,000 High-Roller Heads-Up Tournament at the 2010 WSOPE had previously been a part of his Period 2 standings, but now falls into Period 3.

Another slight change in the top ten is that Erik Seidel's lead over Jason Mercier increased from a tiny .07 to about 20. An eighth-place result in a ��5,000 PLO Event from the 2008 WSOPE dropped from Mercier's Period 6 calculations and was replaced by a lesser finish.

Welcome to the GPI

There are ten new additions to the GPI this week. Among them is 2011 WSOP November Niner Matt Giannetti, who is fresh off a win at the 2011 WPT Malta. Also joining the GPI is 2011 WSOP bracelet winner Oleksii Kovalchuk. With a ninth-place result in the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event, Kovalchuk has a very strong Period 1 to counter his other periods, with only one score in Period 2 to round out his entire GPI total.

New Additions

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank
Ville Haavisto1,279.56152nd
Oleksii Kovalchuk1,189.40196th
Matt Giannetti1,144.48223rd
Ilan Boujenah1,138.38228th
Simon Ravnsbaek1,105.91247th
Matt Perrins1,075.41275th
Eddy Sabat1,061.67284th
Mustapha Kanit1,040.83296th
Jonathan Karamalikis1,037.19299th
Sebastian Ruthenberg1,036.84300th

The ten that fell from the GPI this week are Chris Tryba, Darren Woods, Govert Metaal, Jonathan Jaffe, Kristijonas Andrulis, Martin Kabrhel, Russell Carson, Zach Clark, Ronald Lee, and Phil Ivey.

Wait, what? Yes, you read that correctly. Phil Ivey is no longer in the top 300 of the GPI. Clearly, nobody is going to argue that Phil Ivey isn't among the top 300 tournament players, but the fact is, is that the GPI requires players to actively and consistently post results. As unlikely as it seems, Ivey has no Period 1 scores. None. His last GPI-counting tournament cash, in fact, came in December 2010.

It isn't that Ivey has been running cold lately. He simply has not been playing, for obvious reasons. In addition, his two WSOPE cashes from 2010 fell out of Period 2. Only one of those cashes was picked up into his Period 3 calculations, since his 2010 WSOP bracelet win and third-place WPT Bellagio Cup VI result already are counted in Period 3. When Ivey gets back on the tournament circuit, it won't be long before he vaults back up the GPI.

Ups and Downs

The biggest rise of the week belonged to Frederik Jensen. Even though his 34th-place finish in the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event isn't what you would call amazing, it offset his Period 1 results when his 14th-place finish at the the 2011 WPT Vienna dropped into Period 2. With the boost to his Period 2 results without losing ground in Period 1, Jensen saw a nice rise up the GPI ladder.

Biggest Gains

RankPlayerTotal ScoreChange in Rank From Last Week
32ndSam Trickett1,761.84+54
36thRoger Hairabedian1,703.76+54
75thLudovic Lacay1,550.15+127
96thAlexander Dovzhenko1,465.66+113
111thGiuseppe Pantaleo1,397.63+114
116thEric Haik1,383.07+73
137thStephane Benadiba1,321.26+62
138thSalman Behbehani1,321.03+75
143rdTristan Clemencon1,305.35+74
144thDmitry Vitkind1,302.27+105
164thFrederik Jensen1,250.59+126

Italian Nicolo Calia suffered the biggest hit this week. His third-place result in the High Roller event at the 2011 WPT Vienna fell from Period 1 to Period 2, leaving Calia with just one Period 1 score. Also falling was Yevgeniy Timoshenko. His drop was result of his cashes in the WSOPE Main Events from both 2009 and 2010 falling into lesser Periods.

Biggest Drops

RankPlayerTotal ScoreChange in Rank From Last Week
190thMarc Inizan1,206.17-74
202ndSaar Wilf1,168.04-74
206thYevgeniy Timoshenko1,161.04-83
235thMaurizio Sepede1,121.58-50
242ndKevin Eyster1,111.68-56
253rdMen Nguyen1,099.17-57
267thLuca Pagano1,084.62-77
276thNicolo Calia1,072.76-134
278thBolivar Palacios1,070.04-72
282ndDragan Galic1,064.39-105

What's In Store?

This week is the calm before the storm because October will provide plenty of action overseas. The 2011 EPT London is set to kick off on Friday. The following Friday will see the 2011 WSOPE begin, as well.

Which players are due for a fall next week? Unless she scores big in London and Cannes in October, Vanessa Selbst is going to drop fast from her current No. 24 spot on the GPI. Her last two six-figure scores are going to fall into previous periods. Next week, her fourth-place finish at the 2010 EPT London ��20,000 High Roller Event will slip from Period 2 to Period 3. The following week (most likely, but not for sure because of the cutoff date), her win at the 2011 NAPT Mohegan will drop from Period 1 to Period 2.

To look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. While you're at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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