Global Poker Index: Kenney Still Tops While Chidwick, Aldemir Move Up

4 min read
Bryn Kenney (left), Stephen Chidwick (center), Koray Aldemir (right)

Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player's results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list, visit the official GPI website. Here's a look at the rankings as of August 30.

2017 GPI Player of the Year

RankPlayerGPI ScoreChange
1Bryn Kenney3284.93-
2Koray Aldemir3149.15-
3Nick Petrangelo3058.14+1
4Dario Sammartino2928.47-1
5Dan Smith2841.98-
6Sergio Aido2809.01-
7Pete Chen2781.40-
8Stephen Chidwick2778.51+11
9Ari Engel2769.06-
10David Peters2745.14-2

After reclaiming the lead in the 2017 Global Poker Index Player of the Year race last week, Bryn Kenney stays on top for a second week running with Koray Aldemir remaining his closest challenger in second position.

Nick Petrangelo moved up a spot to No. 3 in the POY rankings after a relatively deep run in the PokerStars Championship Barcelona Main Event. Petrangelo took 19th out of 1,682 in the event won by Sebastian Sorensson.

Stephen Chidwick also enjoyed a successful series in Barcelona. He won the first single-day �25,500 NL Hold'em 8-Handed Single Re-Entry event, then nearly won the second one as well, finishing third. Points earned from those results helped Childwick jump from No. 19 to No. 8 to join the current Top 10.

GPI 300 Top 10

RankPlayerGPI ScoreChange
1Bryn Kenney3415.63-
2Nick Petrangelo3307.33+1
3David Peters3262.53-1
4Justin Bonomo3230.84-
5Stephen Chidwick3209.76+2
6Adrian Mateos3203.92-1
7Ari Engel3127.74-1
8Dan Smith3076.69-
9Ankush Mandavia3053.09-
10Koray Aldemir3014.22+9

Kenney retained the No. 1 position in the overall global rankings again this week, too, his second week on top there as well.

Kenney knocked Petrangelo out of the top spot last week (after 20 weeks in first for Petrangelo). However that Main Event finish helped Petrangelo move back up from No. 3 to No. 2 this week and one spot closer to moving back in front.

Chidwick's twin scores in Barcelona moved him from No. 7 to No. 5 in the latest update. The British pro's highest previous ranking has been No. 3 (in June 2015).

Aldemir also moved up this week from No. 19 to No. 10 after he earned four cashes during the PSC Barcelona series, including three final tables. It's a career-high ranking for Aldemir who cracks the overall Top 10 for the first time.

Welcome to the GPI Top 300

RankPlayerTotal Score
173Alex Difelice2023.51
186Stefan Jedlicka1997.86
209Jeremy Meacham1974.28
217Govert Metaal1947.39
229Jake Cody1932.17
237Lander Lijo1919.24
242Aleksandr Gofman1913.92
253Jussi Nevanlinna1888.66
258John Juanda1883.18
266Andre Akkari1863.95
270Jan Bendik1858.97
274Matas Cimbolas1849.70
276Kyle Bowker1844.77
284Adam Owen1835.26
292Francois Billard1824.35
293Osmin Dardon1823.86
294Robert Hankins1821.68
295Anton Astapau1820.47
296Christoph Vogelsang1820.43
297Jens Lakemeier1819.83
300James Calderaro1817.71

There were no less than 21 new names in the GPI Top 300 this week, with Alex Difelice the highest ranked among the newcomers. Difelice made a huge upward move, going from No. 526 to No. 173 after cashing twice in Barcelona, including finishing 10th in the Main Event.

Three cashes in Barcelona helped Stefan Jedlicka move up from No. 329 to No. 186. Meanwhile Jeremy Meacham's victory in the World Series of Poker Circuit Foxwood Main Event earned him $156,735 for topping the 486-entry field and also elevated him from No. 369 to No. 209 in the GPI.

Biggest Gains

RankPlayerTotal GPI ScoreChange
173Alex Difelice2023.51+353
292Francois Billard1824.35+208
266Andre Akkari1863.95+177
209Jeremy Meacham1974.28+160
124Albert Daher2143.21+149

Difelice's leap was the largest of anyone in this week's GPI Top 300, with Francois Billard's move up from No. 500 to No. 292 the next biggest upward move. Billard had three cashes in Barcelona, including a runner-up in a �10K side event, to improve his ranking.

Andre Akkari also moved back into the Top 300 this week, enjoying the third-biggest gain of players on the list this week after finishing fifth in the PSC Barcelona Main Event. Akkari's previous career-high ranking was No. 111 in February 2016.

Biggest Drops

RankPlayerTotal GPI ScoreChange
271Artem Metalidi1857.25-110
155Ivan Luca2068.27-88
202Ilkin Savalan Amirov1980.93-71
213Dylan Linde1962.19-71
236[Removed:172]1919.37-61

Finally, only looking at those in the current GPI Top 300, Artem Metalidi endured the steepest slip since the last update after tumbling from No. 161 to No. 271.

What to Expect Next Week

The World Poker Tour Legends of Poker series at the Bicycle Casino comes to an exciting conclusion tonight with a six-handed final table featuring JC Tran, Marvin Rettenmaier, and Phil Hellmuth.

Meanwhile the Heartland Poker Tour is currently playing out a series at the Ameristar Casino in Chicago, the 2017 World Cup of Cards continues at the Playground Poker Club in Quebec, and the Brazilian Series of Poker gets started today in Foz do Igua?u, Pa, Brazil.

Also ongoing are the WPT Deepstacks Portugal series in Vilamoura, the WSOP International Circuit Rotterdam series in the Netherlands, and the partypoker Millions Russia series in Sochi.

To view the GPI overall rankings in their entirety, visit the official GPI website. While you're at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

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