We're nearly six weeks into the action at the 2017 World Series of Poker, and with just two bracelet events remaining on the WSOP's summer schedule, John Monnette has moved to the top of the Kings Casino Rozvadov Player of the Year chase.
Monnette capped a solid week of results with a fifth-place finish in Event #72, $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship. That finish earned him 81.2 POY points, and combined with points earned in three other recent cashes, Monnette has climbed all the way to 865.21 points for the series, having garnered 14 cashes this summer, the largest of which was his bracelet win in Event #22: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship.
Monnette's lead is thin, however, as both John Racener and Chris Ferguson are less than 20 points behind. Racener has a series-leading and record-setting 17 cashes so far this summer, including his bracelet win back in Event #17: $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship.
The POY points Ferguson has earned from his 16 cashes this summer have him in third entering the final two bracelet events of the summer. Ferguson's narrow miss on a bracelet early this morning in the Event #72 final kept him from edging into the POY lead. Had he won the epic, six-hour duel against Mike Wattel, Ferguson would've earned just enough POY points to edge ahead of Monnette and Racener at the top of the standings.
Following Ferguson, it's less than 30 points down to this week's fourth-place player, Ryan Hughes. Hughes enjoyed a big week himself, including a final-table showing in Event #63: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Hughes earned 125.6 POY points in that event, bumping his series total to 820.71.
The top four in this week's standings have opened up a gap over the other POY leaders. Following Hughes, it's nearly 100 points down to this week's fifth-place player, Ray Henson. Henson earned over 100 POY points this week, but actually lost ground in the chase to the top four players. Among Henson's latest scores: a 28th-place finish in Event #71: $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em Championship, worth 56.2 POY points.
The Kings Casino Rozvadov Player of the Year race offers over $20,000 worth of prizes. The player who leads the POY chase after July's WSOP Main Event will receive a free buy-in into the €10,000 Main Event at 2017 WSOP Europe, to be held at King's Casino this fall. Just two events remain on the WSOP's summer slate to be included in the POY tallies: the ongoing Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship, and the upcoming Event #74: The Little One for One Drop - $1,000 +111 No-Limit Hold'em.
The overall 2017 POY winner, which won't be determined until WSOP Europe's 11 bracelet events are complete, then wins a $10,000 seat into the 2018 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.
All “open” WSOP events are included as part of the POY chase. Not part of the POY competition are this summer's Ladies, Casino Employees, Seniors, Super Seniors and Global Casino Championship events.
As we've previously noted, POY point totals remain unofficial and are subject to change. Listed totals may not reflect the entirety of POY points.
Current Player of the Year Top 10: