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Plenty Still on the Line in Hublot WPT Player of the Year Race at #WPTShowdown

Apr 23, 2021

Brian Altman

By Sean Chaffin

The WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown kicks off on Friday in South Florida, the final event of Season XVIII. Beyond the $2 million guarantee, plenty more will be on the line with the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race heating up.

Brian Altman (pictured) stands atop the standings with 2,900 points and $821,355 in winnings this season. Altman is in Florida hoping to pad his lead even more, but that won’t be his only opportunity to add more points.

Altman will also be seated at the final table of the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open when that event resumes in Las Vegas on May 16. The final tables of the WPT LA Poker Classic and WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown will be played on May 17 and 18, filmed for broadcast on Bally Sports at the PokerGO Studio.

All final table participants already have 800 points figured into their Player of the Year points. So Altman has a chance to add to his total significantly with a nice finish in the Showdown and in the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Players can win up to 1,400 points in the three remaining final tables. If Altman can reach 3,500, he’ll set the all-time record for points in a season.

Several players have a shot at the title, but Altman remains in an enviable position. If the two-time WPT champion can secure even third place in the Borgata final table, he’ll add an extra 300 points. A win would put his total out of reach for the remaining players. Adding points in Florida would only make it more difficult for competitors.

Which other players have a shot? Some of that depends on who can make it to Florida for the Showdown. It’s a good bet most of the North American-based players in contention will be in the field. The United Kingdom’s Jack Hardcastle is behind Altman with 2,200 points and $721,543 in winnings after taking down the WPT Montreal Online in January for $447,859. Hardcastle is expected to be in Florida looking to move up.

Qing Liu, winner of the WPT Venetian for $752,880, is in third place with 2,000 points. He also took sixth in the WPT Gardens Poker Championship for $111,795. Eric Afriat sits fourth in the standings with 1,700 points and $562,125 in winnings after topping the Fallsview Classic for $394,120. Afriat confirmed this week that he’ll be playing this weekend.

First place in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is expected to be worth 1,400 Player of the Year points.

Manig Loeser is tied with Afriat with 1,700 points, but it’s unknown if the German will play in Florida. In sixth is Ireland’s Toby Joyce with 1,675 points and $1.2 million in winnings. It’s also unknown if he’ll be playing this weekend. Both of these players have an outside chance at a POY title but could at least move into the top three if things work out.

Balakrishna Patur also has a nice shot vaulting upward. He sits in seventh place with 1,650 points and heads to Las Vegas as the chip leader in the WPT LA Poker Classic. Three other names to watch are further down the standings. James Carroll, Matas Cimbolas, and Upeshka De Silva should be in Florida and all return to the final table in the LAPC. A big run in the Showdown could vault them much higher in the standings with a POY title still possible. Most of these should be playing at the Seminole Hard Rock.

Check out the full standings here.

Other players at the Vegas final tables also have a shot to move up significantly, such as James Anderson, Veerab Zakarian, Bin Weng, Andrew Hanna, and Nathan Russler. Beyond these, other players in the standings still remain technically in contention but would need some things to really work out to get there.

It should be an interesting event and the POY race will be fun to watch. Stay tuned for more updates on the status of the race throughout the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. 

What’s on the line in the Hublot Player of the Year race?

Along with plenty of prestige, players in the top three earn some nice extras. First place adds a $15,000 WPT Passport. This can be used toward tournament buy-ins at any tour events. The prize package also includes:

Complimentary accommodations for Season XIX in a majority of WPT Main Tour events

Ground transportation for select WPT Main Tour events

Food and beverage credits in select WPT Main Tour events

Special Hublot WPT Player of the Year trophy

Hublot Watch valued at $15,000

Second- and third-place finishers also take home some prizes. The runner-up earns a $7,500 WPT Passport and third-place gets a $2,500 package.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.

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