GPI also launches “Mid-Major Player of the Year” rankings
With live poker alive and well in the U.S., one of the staples of the live tournament circuit makes its return this summer.
The Global Poker Index announced that it’s reinstating the GPI ranking points system, including a 2021 Player of the Year race. All GPI rankings have been frozen since December of last year, as COVID-19 eliminated much of the world’s live tournament economy.
All GPI rankings go back into effect on Wednesday, June 30, and will retroactively include all qualifying live tournament results from 2021. That means that all eligible tournaments from Jan. 1, 2021 and on count toward the GPI rankings.
It’s amazing to contemplate what the GPI website will look like in 24 hours, with rankings calculations from the past six months all coming together at once. The resumption of the GPI rankings means the GPI Global, Female, and National races are all back in play.
A Tuesday press release from the Global Poker Index announced the plans to resume the rankings, and also celebrates the 10-year mark for the GPI rankings system. Alex Foxen topped the GPI Top 100 when the rankings were frozen last December, followed by Anthony Zinno, Timothy Adams, Stephen Chidwick, and Farid Jattin.
While many of the world’s tournament circuits are still on pause in the COVID-19 era, a live poker boom emerged in the U.S. over the first half of 2021. The new 2021 rankings released by the GPI tomorrow will be based virtually entirely on U.S.-based events.
New Mid-Major Player of the Year race for 2021
The GPI will also introduce a new rankings list Wednesday, designed to encapsulate the mid-major tournament circuit. The GPI Mid-Major Player of the Year race will include eligible tournaments with buy-ins of $2,500 or less.
The GPI Mid-Major Player of the Year rankings will also retroactively include all events from 2021. That race should shape up as fierce competition, with mid-major tours like the Mid-States Poker Tour, RunGood Poker Series, and WPTDeepStacks hitting record attendance numbers in 2021.
“A new race will also get under way this week. The GPI celebrates the Mid-Major circuit at the Global Poker Awards and will now recognize the players who grind all the time on those circuits — announcing the 2021 Mid-Major Player of the Year race,” stated the GPI in the press release, with that quote tweeted by the RunGood Poker Series Twitter account.
Featured image source: Twitter
