With the WPT Seminole Rock 'N' Roll Open in the bag, there's only one more stop between Bin Weng and the 2023 Player of the Year. And it's going to take a Christmas miracle now for anyone to get between him, the first prize (a $15,000 WPT Passport) and the prestige.
Weng has had quite the year. In the space of a week back in April, he won the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $1,128,250 before coming fourth at WPT Choctaw for $143,000. He also won the WPT Everyone for One Drop for $2,227,054 (although he didn't get any PotY points for that), and he just finished 22nd in the WPT bestbet Scramble Jacksonville.
Weng has also enjoyed another seven-figure score (winning a $5,300 at the Borgata in January) and five other six-figure hauls.
Weng is on 2050 points and a country mile (and almost $3 million) ahead of Istvan Briski, in second with 1300 points. Briski is putting in a late charge with a win at the recent WPT Seminole Rock 'N' Roll Open. A top-three finish in the WPT Prime Championship (starting December 7) or a top-four finish in the World Championship would see him scrape into the lead if Weng doesn't cash in either.
It's still possible for a few of the others on the leaderboard to pip Weng, but it will take a super-deep finish in the season-closers and a win at the World Championship for some.
WPT Season XXI – Player of the Year standings
| Position | Player | Points | WPT cashes |
| 1 | Bin Weng | 2050 | $3,511,204 |
| 2 | Istvan Briski | 1300 | $647,300 |
| 3 | Scott Eskenazi | 1175 | $384,460 |
| 4 | Sri Sangannagari | 1150 | $745,000 |
| 5 | Richard Lee | 1100 | $550,267 |
| 6 | Jared Jaffee | 1100 | $426,100 |
| 7 | Frederic Normand | 1075 | $359,450 |
| 8 | Rayan Chamas | 1050 | $600,000 |
| 9 | Ky Nguyen | 1000 | $376,030 |
| 10 | Sandy Sanchez | 950 | $374,750 |
WPT World Championship festival – cards in the air
The WPT World Championship Festival has started already with an all-star meet-up game playing out today at Wynn Las Vegas. The $1/$3 and $2/$5 games boast some of the biggest players in the world, including Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen, along with PokerOrg's own Conrad Simpson.
We'll be roaming the tournament floor from December 7 all the way through to the crowning of the WPT World Champion on December 21. You can access our Instant feed directly from the PokerOrg homepage, where you'll find all the biggest moments and a live stream of the action.
