By Sean Chaffin
While not only awarding a nice payday, WPT Maryland was also important for the Hublot Player of the Year race. WPT Borgata Poker Open winner Erkut Yilmaz finished 41st in Maryland for $7,910, which earned him 50 points and briefly moved him into first place with 1,250 points.
However, Tony Ruberto’s big win of $344,755 gave him a nice lead in the race. He now sits in first place with 1,800 points. Yilmaz remains in second, and both players plan to be in Jacksonville to play the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble.
Hublot Season XVII WPT Player of the Year Top 10 (as of September 26, 2018)
1st: Tony Ruberto – 1,800 points
2nd: Erkut Yilmaz – 1,250 points
3rd: Simon Lam– 1,200 points
4th: Brady Holiman – 1,200 points
5th: Men Nguyen – 1,100 points
6th: TK Miles – 1,000 points
7th: Jake Schindler – 1,000 points
8th: Viet Vo – 1,000 points
9th: Oleg Shnaider – 900 points
10th: Christopher Smith – 900 points
Click here for full standings.
Just behind Yilmaz are WPT Gardens Poker Festival winner Simon Lam (1,200 points, $565,055) and WPT Choctaw winner Brady Holiman (1,200 points, $469,185). Men “The Master” Nguyen slides down to fourth place with 1,100 points after finishing third at the Gardens and 11th at Choctaw.
Beyond the top five are some familiar names. TK Miles, Jake Schindler, and Viet Vo, all have 1,000 points. Miles took second in the WPT Borgata Poker Open ($383,399). Schindler was runner-up at the Gardens ($366,740), and Vo was runner-up at Choctaw ($302,725).
Closing out the Top-10 are Oleg Shnaider (third at Borgata for $283,341) and Christopher Smith (third at Choctaw for $223,370), both with 900 points each. WPT Maryland runner-up Shankar Pillai moves into 11th place, followed by Austin Wentling, and Craig Varnell. They all have 800 points, but Pillai leads in cash total.
What Can You Win in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year Race?
As the official timekeeper and official watch of the World Poker Tour, Hublot is once again the presenting sponsor of the WPT Player of the Year award and will be awarding a custom Hublot timepiece to the winner of the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race. Additionally, the Season XVII winner will receive $15,000 in WPT tournament buy-in credits and complimentary accommodations at all WPT Main Tour events in Season XVIII.
Prizes have been added for the second- and third-place finishers in the race, too. The runner-up will receive $7,500 in WPT tournament buy-in credits and third place will receive $2,500 in WPT tournament buy-in credits. WPT tournament buy-in credits can be used in any global WPT event, including the WPT Main Tour, WPTDeepStacks, WPT500, and WPT Special Events.
WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble Up Next Stop on WPT Main Tour
The Main Tour rolls into Jacksonville, FL for the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble running October 19-23. The tournament features a $5,000 buy-in and $1 million guaranteed prize pool. The bounty scramble format also offers a chance at some extra bucks ($2,500) by eliminating notables in the field. It should make for a great event and plenty of fun.
After that, the WPT Montreal at the Playground Poker Club runs October 28 through November 4 as part of the tour’s new four-year partnership with partypoker to produce tournaments in Canada and Europe. The event features a C$5,300 buy-in and C$5 million guaranteed prize pool. The tour visits Florida again in November, with the WPT Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open set for November 23-28. The $3,500 event features a $2 million guaranteed prize pool.
Make plans to get in on these upcoming events.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and host of the True Gambling Stories podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @PokerTraditions.
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