This week’s update of the GPI ranking saw quite a lot of movement mainly due to the season opening EPT Barcelona poker festival. Several players left top 30 of the popular leaderboard only to make room for their fellow poker pros who managed to cash in EPT or other qualifying events and gain GPI points.
A notable player to move up this week was Mike McDonald. The young Canadian climbed 46 positions in the week between August 28 and September 2 to take 23rd place in the ranking. The player has collected a total of 3,310.72 points since the beginning of the year. He also ranks 58th in the GPI Player of the Year leaderboard with 2,289.88 points.
McDonald cashed in 7 events over the past nine months. He appeared in the 2015 Aussie Millions Championship, the first-ever EPT Malta poker festival, and the EPT Season 12 Barcelona.
During this year’s edition of the Aussie Millions Championship, the 25-year-old poker pro from Waterloo, Ontario, cashed in two events. First, he finished 30th in the A$10,600 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for A$30,000 ($23,704). Then, he almost won the A$250,000 LK Boutique Challenge but was apparently a bit short of luck as he had to content himself with the runner-up finish and the amount of A$1,592,000 ($1,235,228).
It is interesting to note that the player finished 3rd in last year’s A$250,000 challenge to capture the amount of A$1,900,000 ($1,701,808), his best live cash so far.
During the inaugural EPT Season 11 Malta festival, McDonald took 11th place in the €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller event. His payout amounted to €52,100 ($57,035). Last but not least, the Canadian was spotted at the tables of EPT Season 12 Barcelona. He had four in-the-money finishes, capturing almost $500,000 over the course of the Barcelona poker festival.
He took 12th place in the €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller to collect the amount of €87,900 ($99,230). Then he finished 43rd in the €5,300 Main Event for a payout totaling €22,840 (25,999). A fifth-place finish in the €25,500 No-Limit High Roller 8 Max secured the player with €257,000 ($295,375). McDonald also scooped €60,900 ($68,776) from the €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller.
Overall, the player’s live tournament winnings amount to $11,916,395. In 2008, McDonald became the youngest player to ever win an EPT Main Event. At that time, he was only 18 years old. The Canadian topped the field of the EPT Season 4 Dortmund €8,000 Main Event and collected the amount of €933,600 ($1,370,161) for his triumph.
