By Sean Chaffin
With plenty of tournaments all around the world in recent weeks and three final tables playing out in HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, there has been plenty of movement in the Hublot Player of the Year race in recent weeks. After a second win this season, Erkut Yilmaz vaulted to the top of the standings with 2,300 points.
Yilmaz won the WPT Borgata Poker Open in September and then won the WPT Rolling Thunder on March 12, his fourth cash of Season XVII. He now has $898,192 in winnings this season.
Hublot Season XVII WPT Player of the Year Top 10 (as of March 18, 2019)
1st: Erkut Yilmaz – 2,300 points
2nd: Dylan Linde – 2,000 points
3rd: Ping Liu – 1,900 points
4th: Tony Ruberto – 1,800 points
5th: Jake Schwartz – 1,725 points
6th: Tony Tran – 1,500 points
7th: Vitalijs Zavorotnijs – 1,450 points
8th: David ODB Baker – 1,400 points
9th: Viny Lima – 1,400 points
10th: Steve Sung – 1,400 points
Click here for full standings.
WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic winner Dylan Lynde also moved up quite a bit in the standings after finishing fourth in Thunder Valley. He now has 2,000 points and $1.7 million in winnings after a massive score at Bellagio and an additional $95,350 from Thunder Valley.
The former top two players in the standings dropped as Ping Liu (1,900 points) fell from the top spot to third place after six cashes this season including two final table appearances. With a fourth-place finish at Choctaw in August and a title at Live! Casino and Hotel, Tony Ruberto remains in the fourth-place spot with 1,850 points and $530,692 in winnings.
Jake Schwartz is another player making some noise in the standings recently after taking fourth at Fallsview and then 14th at WPT Rolling Thunder. He sits in fifth with 1,725 points and $384,131 in winnings.
Players in spots 6-10 all made recent moves in Las Vegas or at several recent events including Fallsview, Thunder Valley, and Barcelona.
Sitting in sixth place is Tony Tran, winner of bestbet Jacksonville with 1,500 points ($456,961) after he had some deep runs at Commerce (11th) and Thunder Valley (25th). WPT Barcelona winner Vitalijs Zavorotnijs jumps up to seventh place thanks to his 1,400 points earned in Spain along with 50 points collected for cashing at WPT Russia in January.
Just behind him with 1,400 points is David “ODB” Baker after he won the WPT L.A. Poker Classic on March 11 in Las Vegas for just over $1 million and his first WPT title.
WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open champion Viny Lima (pictured) climbs to ninth in the standings as a result of his win on Wednesday night. Lima earned 1,400 points for his first cash of Season XVII.
In 10th place is Steve Sung with 1,400 points and $361,227 in winnings. Sung took third in the Gardens Poker Championship final table in Las Vegas for 900 points and $259,880, and now has six cashes this season.
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.
Next Stop on WPT Main Tour is WPT at Venetian
The WPT is back in Sin City as the action moves down the Strip to The Venetian Resort. The $3,500 WPT Venetian runs March 22-26 and offers players an opportunity to stay and play in one of Las Vegas’s most opulent resort casinos. The event features a $1 million guaranteed prize pool and should attract plenty of Vegas grinders looking for a nice payday as well as players from across the country and around the world. This will be the WPT’s first stop at this great property. For more information on the event, click here.
After that, join the tour in Florida for the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown from April 12-16. The event features a $3,500 buy-in and a massive $3 million guaranteed prize pool. That should bring in plenty of players and Seminole Hard Rock always offers a great atmosphere for poker. Spring in South Florida offers a great getaway, and some card playing on the WPT makes that even better.
Next, players can head back to Durant, Oklahoma, for the debut of a second WPT Choctaw tournament at the property. The $3,700 event offers players a chance to relax in the great pool scene and then to splash it around at the tables. The Choctaw has become a popular spot and should attract plenty of players from Texas, Oklahoma, and other parts of the Southwest.
It’s a busy time of year for the WPT, so mark your calendar and book those flights and hotel rooms so you can join the WPT for these upcoming events.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.
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