[SS] “Happy New Year!” Stan the Stat exclaimed.

[LL] “More importantly, good riddance to 2017!” Leroy the Lion insisted.

[SS] “You said the same thing last year.”

[LL] “I didn’t expect 2017 to be so much worse than 2016.”

[SS] “Well, you may not have had a great year, but Spaniard Adrian Mateos, at a mere 23 years old, certainly did. As did American Bryn Kenney, whom he edged out for Card Player Player of the Year honors in the closest race ever.¹ Kenney tied the record of 5 titles and set the record with 23 final tables, one more than Mateos, and even won a year-high $8,201,128, over $2.5 million more than Mateos, who notably became the first non-American to win the title.²

Kudos also to Fedor Holz who followed a runner-up finish last year with third place this year.”

Card Player Player of the Year – 1997 to 2003

Year	Winner
1997	Men Nguyen
1998	T.J. Cloutier
1999	Tony Ma
2000	David Pham
2001	Men Nguyen
2002	T.J. Cloutier
2003	Men Nguyen

Card Player Player of the Year – 2004 to Present

Year	Winner	Points	Runner-Up	Points	Margin
2004	Daniel Negreanu	8,764	David Pham	7,068	19.4%
2005	Men Nguyen	5,204	John Phan	4,428	14.9%
2006	Michael Mizrachi	5,989	Nam Le	5,215	12.9%
2007	David Pham	6,562	J.C. Tran	5,748	12.4%
2008	John Phan	6,704	David Pham	6,022	10.2%
2009	Eric Baldwin	6,994	Cornel Cimpan	5,934	15.2%
2010	Tom Marchese	6,738	Dwyte Pilgrim	5,576	17.2%
2011	Ben Lamb	6,036	Chris Moorman	5,875	2.7%
2012	Greg Merson	5,100	Dan Smith	5,040	1.2%
2013	Daniel Negreanu	5,140	Paul Volpe	4,298	16.4%
2014	Daniel Colman	5,498	Ami Barer	5,042	8.3%
2015	Anthony Zinno	6,632	Joe Kuether	6,070	8.5%
2016	David Peters	8,601	Fedor Holz	7,058	17.9%
2017	Adrian Mateos	7,220	Bryn Kenney	7,173	0.7%

Notes:

• Men Nguyen won the award a record four times (1997, 2001, 2003, and 2005).
• T.J. Cloutier (1998 and 2002), David Pham (2000 and 2007), and Daniel Negreanu (2004 and 2013) have won twice each.
• Negreanu outpointed second place by the largest (2004) and third largest (2013) margins. Merson (2012) eked by with the smallest margin. { January 4, 2018 update: Mateos edged Kenney by a mere 47 points (0.7%) for the 2017 crown. Fedor Holz finished third for a second consecutive medal finish. }

Here are the all-time records for Points, Titles, and Final Tables with data going back to the rule changes of 2004.

Most Player of the Year Points

Rank	Year	Player	Points	Titles	Final Tables	Winnings
1	2004	Daniel Negreanu	8,764	4	11	$4,420,221
2	2016	David Peters	8,601	5	22	$7,370,255
3	2017	Adrian Mateos	7,220	4	22	$5,664,635
4	2017	Bryn Kenney	7,173	5	23	$8,201,128
5	2004	David Pham	7,068	5	15	$1,533,268
6	2016	Fedor Holz	7,058	6	15	$16,288,714
7	2009	Eric Baldwin	6,994	4	17	$1,494,494
8	2010	Tom Marchese	6,738	2	11	$2,068,658
9	2008	John Phan	6,704	3	8	$2,075,323
10	2015	Anthony Zinno	6,632	5	11	$3,442,769

Notes:

• David Pham was the first player to finish in the Top 10 three times (2004 [2nd], 2007 [1st], and 2008 [1st]). Jason Mercier matched him in 2015 and Justin Bonomo and David Peters in 2016. Many players (16 through 2017) have done it twice.
• Erik Seidel and Jason Mercier are the only players to finish in the Top 25 five times. Phan, Peters, Dan Smith, Daniel Negreanu, J.C. Tran, John Juanda, Steve O’Dwyer, Erick Lindgren, and Joseph Mckeehen have each done it four times.
• Vanessa Selbst is the only women to finish in the Top 25, which she had done three times with two Top 10 finishes before retiring at the start of 2018.

Most Titles

Rank	Year	Player	Points	Titles	Final Tables	Winnings
1	2005	John Hoang	3,267	6	17	$492,817
	2008	Men Nguyen	3,662		10	$776,832
	2012	Dan Smith	5,040		9	$3,673,806
4	2017	Bryn Kenney	7,173	5	23	$8,201,128
	2016	David Peters	8,601		22	$7,370,255
	2005	Men Nguyen	5,204		17	$1,004,718
	2004	David Pham	7,068		15	$1,533,268
	2010	Dwyte Pilgrim	5,576		13	$1,074,997
	2004	Can Kim Hua	4,495		12	$785,779
	2015	Anthony Zinno	6,632		11	$3,442,769
	2014	Joseph Mckeehen	3,266		11	$1,223,852
	2004	John Phan	3,080		10	$677,045
	2009	Jason Mercier	4,130		9	$1,245,876

Most Final Tables

Rank	Year	Player	Points	Titles	Final Tables	Winnings
1	2017	Bryn Kenney	7,173	5	23	$8,201,128
2	2016	David Peters	8,601	5	22	$7,370,255
	2017	Adrian Mateos	7,220			$5,664,635
	2004	Gioi Luong	5,006			$504,004
5	2004	John Cernuto	3,631	3	19	$460,789
6	2005	John Hoang	3,267	6	17	$492,817
	2005	Men Nguyen	5,204	5		$1,004,718
	2009	Eric Baldwin	6,994	4		$1,494,494
10	2010	Sorel Mizzi	4,851	4	16	$1,524,371

Notes:

• Luong tops this list but is hardly a household name. The Californian has never won a WSOP bracelet, and his biggest cash was $290,792 for a runner-up finish in a WSOP circuit event in 2007.
• While it seems obvious to have another list with the top ten in Winnings, it’s a rather uninteresting list topped by the 2014 and 2012 One Drop winners followed by eight WSOP Main Event champs.

Footnotes:

1. In 2012, Greg Merson beat Dan Smith by 60 points (5,100 to 5,040) for a 1.18% margin, while Mateos overcame Kenney by just 57 points and a mere 0.65%.
2. Mateos first made a name for himself by winning the 2013 WSOP Europe Main Event in 2013 when he was just 19.

Related Links:

• See Card Player Player of the Year for sortable tables.