By Sean Chaffin
The upper ranks of the Hublot WPT Player of the Year Race added a new name in early November with Patrick Serda moving into the third-place slot with 1,200 points after winning the WPT Montreal. After the conclusion of the WPT Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open, Tony Ruberto (pictured) and Erkut Yilmaz remain in the top spots.
Hublot Season XVII WPT Player of the Year Top 10 (as of November 29, 2018)
1st: Tony Ruberto – 1,800 points
2nd: Erkut Yilmaz – 1,300 points
3rd: Patrick Serda – 1,200 points
4th: Simon Lam – 1,200 points
5th: Pavel Plesuv – 1,200 points
6th: Brady Holiman – 1,200 points
7th: Viet Vo – 1,100 points
8th: Men Nguyen – 1,100 points
9th: Tony Tran – 1,050 points
10th: Ema Zajmovic – 1,000 points
Click here for full standings.
Ruberto remains the leader with 1,800 points after his win of $344,755 at WPT Maryland in September and a fourth-place finish in August at WPT Choctaw.
Yilmaz added 50 more points to his total with a cash at the Seminole Hard Rock, finishing 43rd for $11,250.
Right behind Serda is WPT Gardens Poker Festival winner Simon Lam (1,200 points, $565,055) in fourth. After his win for $504,820 at the WPT Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open, Pavel Plesuv moves into the fifth-place spot with 1,200 points. WPT Choctaw winner Brady Holiman (1,200 points, $469,185) drops to sixth place.
After two straight cashes at WPT Montreal and at the Seminole Hard Rock, Viet Vo has moved up a few spots to seventh. Men “The Master” Nguyen slides to eighth place with 1,100 points after finishing third at the Gardens and 11th at Choctaw.
WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble winner Tony Tran sits in ninth place with 1,050 points.
Four players occupy the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th spots, all with 1,000 points. Sitting in 10th is Ema Zajmovic, who finished runner-up in Montreal for $424,893. T.K. Miles sits in 11th for his runner-up finish at the Borgata for $383,399. Just behind him is Jake Schindler, who finished runner-up at the Gardens for $366,740.
After finishing runner-up at the Seminole Hard Rock in the WPT Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open, Jim Gilbert also has 1,000 points and is in 13th place after winning $326,565.
For the complete Hublot Player of the Year standings, click here.
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.
Five Diamond Arrives
Next, the Main Tour is back in Las Vegas with the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio. That event features a $10,400 buy-in and runs from Dec 11-15 and has become one of the most prestigious events in poker. Plenty of big names should be out, hoping for a shot at a title.
If the total prize pool reaches $4 million, the number of Player of the Year points up top to first place will hit 1,400.
The tour returns to the Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens, Calif., for the $10,000 WPT Gardens Poker Championships. The event runs January 12-16 and will be the first tournament on the tour where final table players will return to Las Vegas to film the final table for television at the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor.
Two more WPT events await players in January. The WPT heads to Sochi, Russia, at the Casino Sochi from January 21-27. The $3,000 buy-in event is part of the partnership between the WPT and partypoker LIVE.
Players can qualify online on partypoker in legal jurisdictions. The tour then returns to Atlantic City from January 27 – 31 for the $3,500 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open. Final table players in this event will also return to Las Vegas to film the final table at the HyperX Esports Arena.
Book your plane tickets and make plans to join the WPT for 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.
Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.