Art Papazyan Earns More Points Toward WPT Hublot Player of the Year

By Matt Clark

The Season XVI WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship field is in the money and current Hublot WPT Player of the Year points leader Art Papazyan is in the thick of the action again.

Papazyan has two cashes in Season XVI and successfully parlayed them both into wins at WPT Legends of Poker and WPT Maryland.

The trip to South Florida by Papazyan came as a surprise to most of the field and many following the World Poker Tour this season. Papazyan stuck to Los Angeles cash games for all of 2018 up to this point, with the exception of a last-minute entry into the WPT L.A. Poker Classic Main Event. Miami, along with the tournament, doubled as a vacation for Papazyan, who used Day 1b as a chance to drive down to South Beach after he bagged a double-average stack on Day 1a.

“I wanted to play this tournament because I’ve been grinding the cash games so hard lately,” Papazyan said. “Playing this tournament and being out in Miami is like a treat for me.”

Papazyan’s rise to becoming a poker star hit a new surge this year. Following his two WPT victories in 2017, Papazyan’s YouTube hits from Live at the Bike along with his upcoming appearance in the WPT Rockstar Energy Cash Game have only heightened his celebrity.

When Papazyan won WPT Maryland, he made it clear that the Hublot WPT Player of the Year title was a priority for him, but he was not going to fly to every Season XVI stop to chase it. After all, he did have an extremely comfortable lead.

Stakes on Live at the Bike reach as high as $100-$200 and Papazyan recently booked a win of more than $200,000 on the show. The money in cash games is tough to walk away from for the 25-year-old.

Hublot WPT Player of the Year is a clear once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, though, and that recognition brought Papazyan out from his cash cave sooner than expected. Papazyan is proud of the strides made in his tournament game and Hublot WPT Player of the Year is a testament to his accomplishments.

“Wanting to win [Hublot WPT] Player of the Year has always been a goal that I set out for myself to motivate me to play more tournaments and to improve my game,” Papazyan told WPT.com. “Actually winning the POY award won’t have any effect on my life, it’s the journey that matters.”

After entering the day with a double-average stack, Papazyan has been sliding as of late. He was on the shorter side as the field approached the money, and when some might fold into the money and pick up the 50 points reserved for anything worse than a 27th-place finish in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Papazyan is still fighting hard and looking to improve his chances of a third WPT title.

“I’m going to try and play each hand as best as I can,” Papazyan said. “I don’t think the EV of getting points toward POY shouldn’t change my decision for any one particular hand.”

Papazyan battled a below-average chip stack that may have hamstrung him on the bubble, but he is in the money and earning more points in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race. That fact, along with a powerful table of Joe McKeehen, Joe Kuether, Joseph Cheong, and Aaron Mermelstein are on the mind of Papazyan near Day 4.

Papazyan’s travel plans are undetermined for the remainder of Season XVI. A single result in Florida does nothing to influence them. The idea of playing the WPT Bellagio Elite Poker Championship and WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic have an appeal, but not enough to levy any commitment.

“I might change my mind in the days leading up to the event,” Papazyan said on the chance of him making either trip to Las Vegas.

With the third cash of Papazyan’s season following the two prior that turned into victories, Papazyan’s run in Season XVI is historic and he’s adding to his young legacy this week.

Click here for more coverage from the Season XVI WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship.

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