As the $10,000 Main Event is currently running at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, this year’s edition of the World Series of Poker is entering its closing stage. For the second year, the WSOP and the GPI have joined forces to honor the player who emerges as the leader of the GPI WSOP Player of the Year ranking once all gold bracelet events to take place over the course of 2016 are completed.
The WSOP has long been considered the world’s most popular and highly anticipated poker festival to take place on an annual basis. It distributes the largest amounts of money to both poker professionals and recreational players who travel to Las Vegas to bask into the excitement and thrill that the city has been offering for years now. Apart from the large prize pools, tournament entries are also offered the chance to win shiny gold bracelets, known to be the most coveted non-monetary prizes in poker.
Players now have yet another incentive to enter WSOP events – they can contend for the GPI WSOP Player of the Year award, which is a great honor in itself.
As the WSOP is progressing towards its end, there is a player that is quite ahead of the other contenders in the GPI WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard and his name is actually well-known in the world of poker. With a total of 2121.69 points, five-time gold bracelet winner Jason Mercier has made himself comfortable at the ranking’s top.
The player has cashed in as many as ten WSOP events this summer. Mercier has also won two of his gold bracelets during this year’s edition of the Series. He won his first gold piece this summer for taking down the $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship. His victory also secured him with a top prize of $273,335 and 366.26 points for the GPI WSOP PoY leaderboard.
Bracelet number two came a little less than a week later as Mercier triumphed in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship for $422,874 and 434.24 points. Between his two wins, he also finished 2nd in the $10,000 Seven Card Razz Championship. His second-place finish secured him with a payout of $168,936. The player also added 287.70 points to his GPI WSOP PoY score.
This year’s WSOP schedule includes 69 gold bracelet events. Of these, 67 have already been completed. The $10,000 Main Event kicked off on July 9. Aside from it, players have one more chance to win a gold bracelet this summer – by entering Event #69: $1,000 + $111 Little One for ONE DROP. The last tournament on the 2016 WSOP schedule is slated to start today, July 12, at 3 pm local time.
Here it is important to note that the GPI WSOP Player of the Year race is still underway and final results are to be announced after all gold bracelet events scheduled to take place this year are completed.
