Bryn Kenney and Ari Engel Lead 2017 Player of the Year Race

The 2017 GPI Player of the Year race is only 110 days old and players need over 1,000 points to crack the top 20 spots already. A busy tournament schedule, some outstanding performances and thousands of miles of travel have Bryn Kenney and Ari Engel battling for the top spot.

Kenney’s racked up 15 cashes for an incredible $1.76 million since the PokerStars Championship Bahamas debut. Eleven of those cashes were in $25,000 buy-in or higher events, requiring top six finishes most of the time against elite competition. Kenney made back-to-back final tables in ARIA High Rollers in March for $186,000 and $211,000 respectively. 

Engel also has 15 cashes on the year but he’s logged serious airmiles playing around the world. He began in Melbourne for the Aussie Millions, returned to the U.S. for stops in Milwaukee, West Palm Beach, Las Vegas and Sacramento before heading south to Panama. From there, he’s cashed in Tulsa, Hollywood, Florida and Milwaukee a second time.

Mustapha Kanit remains a cash or two out of the lead and crossed the $9 million-mark in career earnings. He’s first on the Italian all-time money list with more than twice the earnings of Dario Sammartino and Max Pescatori.

Kanit’s cashes span three continents as he made five North American final tables between PokerStars Championship Bahamas and Panama, cashed twice in the Aussie Millions and two cashes in Asia – Macau the Triton Series in Manila.

Darryll Fish broke into the top ten following his runner-up finish at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. Loni Harwood finished in third place in the $25,000 SHRPS High Roller for a $348,000 cash.

Dylan Wilkerson made the final table of the WPT Tournament of Champions for $57,225 but didn’t receive points as it’s not an open event. Still, Wilkerson won the WSOP Circuit Los Angeles Main Event for $216,790 and finished in 11th at the WSOPC Vegas Main Event after he had three cashes at the Aussie Millions in January.

Top 20 GPI POY Standings: (As of April 20th)

1. Bryn Kenney – 2,487.70
2. Ari Engel – 2,032.65
3. Mustapha Kanit – 1,970.27
4. Sergio Aido – 1,933.22
5. Byron Kaverman – 1,828.69
6. Manig Loeser – 1,752.38
7. Nick Petrangelo – 1,642.51
8. Koray Aldemir – 1,631.78
9. Anthony Spinella – 1,502.72
10. Darryll Fish – 1,475.40
11. Loni Harwood – 1,459.09
12. Ben Heath – 1,446.64
13. Dan Colman – 1,417.54
14. Daniel Dvoress – 1,411.21
15. Dylan Wilkerson – 1,377.82
16. Park Yu Cheung – 1,377.25
17. William Foxen – 1,373.26
18. Mikita Badziakouski – 1,338.87
19. Alan King Lun Lau – 1,302.52
20. Blake Bohn – 1,292.00