With a month left in Season X, the race for WPT Player of the Year has turned into the quintessential nail-bitter. Much to the chagrin of many East Coast pros and poker fans, Will Failla is no longer at the head of the pack. For the first time since before the start of the Legends of Poker in August 2011, “The Thrill” has been dethroned atop the leaderboard.
The recent WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown tectonically shook up the WPT Player of the Year standings. Borgata Poker Open final tablist Fred Goldberg made another deep run, this time in Florida. With an eighth place cash of $69,600, Goldberg picked up 400 important POY points and jumped into a tie for fourth place in the close race. Two-time WPT Champion Tommy Vedes also shot into contention with his recent win. Coupled with an earlier Season X cash, Vedes now sits tied for eighth place.
However the biggest mover of the tournament was Joe Serock. Back-to-back televised WPT final tables, more specifically back-to-back 3rd place finishes has launched the young pro into pole position for the prestigious honor.
Winning WPT Player of the Year is the premier honor in poker. Each winner must perform with exceptional skill and determination on the felt, and the acclaimed list of those who have attained this award is daunting. These players are titans of the game, with past winners including Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Jonathan Little, Gavin Smith and Daniel Negreanu. For full list, click here.
Only two WPT Main Events remain in the historic WPT Season X: tomorrow’s WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open and the upcoming WPT World Championship. Points are awarded based on the total prize pool of each tournament. Players must finish in the money to earn POY points and all players who cash will automatically receive the minimum 50 points. For the complete POY points system, click here.
Over the past five WPT Seasons, four WPT Players of the Year have claimed victory by 200 points or less. Defending WPT Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger claimed the honor on the penultimate day of Season IX, winning by only 100 points. Currently, Joe Serock leads Will “The Thrill” Failla by only 150 points and six total players are within 400 points or less.
The race to become the acclaimed tenth WPT Player of the Year will come down to the wire. Follow the action from every upcoming WPT Main Event with WPT Live Updates and tune into each WPT Final Table on WPT Live Streaming. Season X of the World Poker Tour airs on Fox Sports Net (FSN) in the U.S., with new episodes premiering every Sunday night at 8pm and 11pm local time. Check your local TV listings
WPT Trivia: Did you know that GUS HANSEN has finished SECOND, FOURTH and FIFTH in the WPT Player of the Year race (Seasons I, II and VI respectively)?!?
See the full and current WPT POY standings below:
| Rank | |Player Name | |Season X Player of the Year |
| 1 | Joe Serock | 1,800 |
| 2 | Will Failla | 1,650 |
| 3 | Vitor Coelho | 1,500 |
| 4 | Bobby Oboodi | 1,400 |
| 4 | Fred Goldberg | 1,400 |
| 4 | James Dempsey | 1,400 |
| 4 | Sean Jazayeri | 1,400 |
| 8 | Soi Nguyen | 1,250 |
| 8 | Tommy Vedes | 1,250 |
| 10 | Andrey Pateychuk | 1,200 |
| 10 | David Sands | 1,200 |
| 10 | Jin Hwang | 1,200 |
| 10 | Matt Waxman | 1,200 |
| 10 | Moon Kim | 1,200 |
| 10 | Vanessa Selbst | 1,200 |
| 16 | Daniel Buzgon | 1,150 |