Global Poker Index: David Peters Earns 2016 GPI Player of the Year

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Jan 05, 2017 4 min read

Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player's results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list, visit the official GPI website.

Down below find the overall rankings as of January 4, but first let’s review the final results of the 2016 Global Poker Index Player of the Year.

2016 GPI Player of the Year

Thanks to a late push highlighted by a third-place showing in the European Poker Tour Prague Main Event, David Peters finished the year atop the Global Poker Index Player of the Year rankings, having barely eclipsed Fedor Holz at the finish after Holz had held the lead for more than six months.

Peters bests a previous No. 5 finish in the 2013 GPI POY race to join an exclusive group of GPI Players of the Year that includes Byron Kaverman (2015), Dan Colman (2014), Ole Schemion (2013), and Dan Smith (2012).

While Holz’s lengthy heater garnered him many headlines throughout 2016, Peters steadily collected more than two dozen cashes including numerous high roller scores on his way to earning more than $7.5 million in live tournament cashes.

The GPI has also announced numerous other player-of-the-year honors based on performances during the calendar year:

According to the GPI, this marks the second year in a row Holz has earned GPI European Player of the Year, and the fifth year in a row a German has taken the honor with Marvin Rettenmaier doing so in 2012 and Ole Schemion in both 2013 and 2014. It’s also the third year running that Liv Boeree has claimed GPI Female European Player of the Year.

GPI 300 Top 10

Holz unsurprisingly starts the new year on top of the overall GPI rankings, making it 30 weeks in a row at No. 1 for him and extending his record for the longest-ever stint on top of the rankings.

Most of the top 10 remained the same, with Bryn Kenney making a big move from No. 21 to No. 10 this week after placing fourth in one of those end-of-year $25,000 ARIA High Roller events.

Welcome to the GPI Top 300

There were 15 new names in this week’s GPI top 300, all coming in to claim spots in the lower sixth of the list. 2015 November Niner Zvi Stern is the highest-ranked of the group after moving up from No. 309 to No. 260.

Biggest Gains

Looking at players in the top 300 who made the biggest upward moves over the last seven days, Rafael Moraes jumped the most after going from No. 252 all of the way to No. 119.

Biggest Drops

Finally, looking only at players inside the current top 300, Adrien Allain suffered the steepest fall over the last week after dipping from No. 128 to No. 227.

Daniel Negreanu also took a tumble from No. 178 to No. 248, his first time outside the GPI top 200 since the rankings began back in 2011. In fact, Negreanu only slipped out of the top 100 for the first time in mid-December. His highest GPI ranking has been No. 1, achieved most recently in April 2014.

What to Expect Next Week

The poker world’s attention turns to the Bahamas this week with the start of the PokerStars Championship Bahamas festival getting underway on Friday.

As always, the PokerNews Live Reporting team will be on hand to cover numerous events from the Atlantis Resort & Casino, including the $100,000 Super High Roller, the $50,000 Single-Day High Roller, the $25,000 High Roller, the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller, and the $5,300 Main Event.

Meanwhile the 2017 Aussie Millions Poker Championship again helps kick off the new year for tournament poker players, with its first events happening next Wednesday, January 11.

To view the GPI overall rankings in their entirety, visit the official GPI website. While you're at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

• Tags Global Poker Index David Peters Fedor Holz Cate Hall Liv Boeree Ivan Luca Yang Zhang Bryn Kenney Zvi Stern Rafael Moraes Adrien Allain Daniel Negreanu
• Related Players Daniel NegreanuLiv BoereeAdrien AllainBryn KenneyDavid PetersRafael Moraes