[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:
- 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%.
- 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.
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