Colossus Winner Thomas Pomponio Leads WSOP POY Race

The World Series of Poker is two weeks old and with event numbers climbing through the twenties the Player of the Year race is heating up. Colossus winner Thomas Pomponio leads the race with 347.08 points but has several pros on his heels.

Aditya Agarwal cashed in six events already to land in third place with 307.56 points. Inside the top ten are John Racener, Fabrice Soulier, Ben Zamani and Bertrand Grospellier.

The POY race is sponsored by King’s Casino Rosvadoz and replace the previous GPI scoring system. The leader at the end of the Las Vegas Series earns a seat to WSOP Europe Main Event, where the overall POY race continues. The winner of 2017 POY earns a Main Event seat to the 2018 Las Vegas WSOP.

Bertrand Grospellier at the High Roller final table. (Photo: PokerPhotoArchive.com)
Grospellier finished runner-up in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop to earn $2.2 million – which you can watch the replay or highlights on PokerGO. Then he cashed in two large $1,500 events to land in eighth place overall.

Racener won his first bracelet in the $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship for $273,962. He’s cashed five times so far on the Series – 21st in the $3,000 Shootout and 66th in the $1,500 Limit Hold’em.

Fabrice Soulier is one of the most successful French WSOP players. (Photo: PokerPhotoArchive.com)
In the span of eight days Soulier cashed in the Colossus, final tabled the $10,000 Omaha HiLo Championship in fourth place for $118,340, cashed in the $565 Pot Limit Omaha and then finished in third place in the $1,500 Eight Game Mix event.

Daniel Negreanu finished third and second in two $10,000 events and somehow is in only 17th place. He followed those up by cashing in the $1,500 HORSE and finishing in 15th place in the $1,500 Eight Game Mix. 

Top 20 WSOP Player of the Year Standings (As of June 14)

1. Thomas Pomponio – 347.08
2. Taylor Black – 329.45
3. Aditya Agarwal – 307.56
4. John Racener – 301.14
5. Fabrice Soulier – 297.32
6. Ben Zamani – 291.74
7. Dario Sammartino – 289.40
8. Bertrand Grospellier – 288.21
9. Ryan Hughes – 283.00
10. James Obst – 277.43
11. John Monnette – 276.00
12. David Pham – 272.39
13. Mark Scacewater – 267.51
14. Barry Greenstein – 266.29
15. Matt Affleck – 259.06
16. John Hanna – 257.11
17. Daniel Negreanu – 254.64
18. Daniel Weinman – 245.90
19. Aron Dermer – 238.62
20. Mike Leah – 238.54