By Sean Chaffin
With the end of the Season XVII WPT Choctaw, winner Brady Holiman moves into a points tie in the Hublot Player of the Year race after he collected 1,200 points from defeating a field of 755 entries at Choctaw Casino & Resort. Although Holiman has the same amount of points as WPT Gardens Poker Festival winner Simon Lam, he’s in second place due to the first tiebreaker of money won. Men “The Master” Nguyen is hot on their trail in third place with 1,100 points.
Hublot Season XVII WPT Player of the Year Top 10 (as of August 9, 2018)
1st: Simon Lam – 1,200 points
2nd: Brady Holiman – 1,200 points
3rd: Men Nguyen – 1,100 points
4th: Jake Schindler – 1,000 points
5th: Viet Vo – 1,000 points
6th: Christopher Smith – 900 points
7th: Craig Varnell – 800 points
8th: Tony Ruberto – 800 points
9th: Saya Ono – 700 points
10th: Anthony Zinno – 700 points
Click here for full standings.
Winning the Hublot WPT Player of the Year award may not be in the cards for Holiman, who has a full-time job and may not be playing many more tournaments after his big win at Choctaw. That said, there’s still a very long season to go. After his win at Choctaw, Holiman told WPT.com, “This definitely gives some options for me.”
After just missing a second straight final table in Choctaw, Nguyen moves just behind Lam and Holiman. Nguyen opened up Season XVII of the WPT Main Tour with a third-place finish in the WPT Gardens Poker Festival Main Event and then placed 11th in the WPT Choctaw Championship to earn his points. Nguyen told WPT.com that he now lives in Vietnam, but plans on playing at least one more WPT event, the WPT Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open, which runs November 23-28 in Hollywood, Florida.
Formerly in second place after finishing runner-up to Lam, Jake Schindler slid down two spots to fourth, where he’s now in a points tie with Choctaw runner-up Viet Vo. Like Lam, Schindler holds the tiebreaker in his deadlock. Chris Smith, who finished third in the WPT Choctaw Championship moved into the sixth-place spot, and Craig Varnell dropped in the standings from fourth to seventh.
After also making the WPT Choctaw final table, two WPT champions moved into the top 10 of the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race. WPT Champions Club member Tony Ruberto vaulted into the eighth-place spot after a fourth-place finish. Three-time champion Anthony Zinno came close to adding a fourth World Poker Tour title, finishing fifth in Oklahoma for $125,630. He won the Hublot WPT Player of the Year in Season XIII and now sits in 10th place after two events this season.
There should be plenty more movement in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year standings with two stops in September, first at Borgata in Atlantic City and then at Live! Casino in Maryland.
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.
In addition to the winner’s prizes, the second- and third-place finishers in the race will earn something, 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.
For more information on all WPT Player of the Year prizing, click here.
WPT Borgata Poker Open and WPT Maryland Up Next
The World Poker Tour rolls into Atlantic City for the next WPT Main Tour stop at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. The WPT Borgata Poker Open runs September 16-21, 2018, and features a $3,500 buy-in and $3 million guaranteed prize pool for the Season XVII WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship. Borgata is celebrating its 15th anniversary and it should be a special event.
After Borgata, the tour heads to Live! Casino & Hotel in Maryland for WPT Maryland September 21-25. The $3,500 event features a $1.5 million guaranteed prize pool.
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.