Rankings Roundup: Ali Imsirovic, Phil Ivey Coming Up Big; Darren Elias Stalking WPT Top Spot 

The poker world’s attention soon shifts to the World Series of Poker with the festival beginning in just under four weeks. With so much live poker recently and much more on the horizon, USPoker takes a look at some players making waves.

Rankings Roundup once again offers a glimpse into some of the players leading the pack in various tours and events, both live and online.

Global Poker Index

The GPI runs several leaderboards throughout the year including regularly updating the world’s top players. As of Thursday, Ali Imsirovic remains the No. 1-ranked player in the world and also sits in the top spot for GPI Player of the Year.

These rankings come after earning the 2021 GPI player of the year title. Imsirovic’s success this year hasn’t come without some controversy. In April, fellow high stakes pro Alex Foxen accused him of cheating by looking at another player’s cards in the recent US Poker Open.

Foxen also charged him with collusion and multi-accounting while playing online. Imsirovic hasn’t responded to the charges.

In April, Imsirovic scored two wins and a third-place finish in Aria High Rollers for a total of $336,498. Jeremy Ausmus and Shannon Shorr sit behind Imsirovic in second and third. Here’s a look at the current standings.

GPI rankings

1. Ali Imsirovic – 3,298.58 points
2. Jeremy Ausmus – 3,154.46 points
3. Shannon Shorr – 3,075.55 points
4. Chance Kornuth – 3,027.26 points
5. Sean Perry – 2,875.78 points

GPI Player of the Year

1. Ali Imsirovic – 3,049.11 points
2. Jeremy Ausmus – 2,962.74 points
3. Shannon Shorr – 2,421.48 points
4. Brock Wilson – 2,276.88 points
5. Sean Perry – 2,158.74 points

On the female side of the GPI player of the year race, Jessica “Lilith” Vierling is now in the top spot. She produced several cashes in March and April including finishing third in a $500 event at The Orleans in Las Vegas for $16,077.

In the mid-major POY race, India’s Ankit Ahuja currently holds the first-place position. In March, he won a $2,500 event at the Venetian for $189,013. Some other nice cashes followed in March.

Vierling also finds the second-place slot in the mid-major race as well. Here’s a look at the mid-major and female player standings.

GPI Female POY

1. Jessica Vierling – 1,571.78 points
2. Christina Gollins – 1,390.98 points
3. Kristen Nyman – 1,208.08 points
4. Elanit Hasas – 1,105.56 points
5. Valerie Novak – 908.68 points

GPI Mid-Major POY

1. Ankit Ahuja – 1,626.63 points
2. Jessica “Lilith” Vierling – 1,571.78 points
3. Brett Apter – 1,518.89 points
4. Aaron “Padilla” Massey – 1,506.84 points
5. #Scott Baumstein – 1,497.91 points

PokerGO Tour

This tour looks to crown the top players at high roller events around the world. As on the GPI rankings, Imsirovic rises to the top in the PokerGO rankings as well.

Another familiar name finds the No. 2 spot – Phil Ivey. The poker legend recently produced some big results at the Super High Roller Series in Cyprus. He scored three wins and a runner-up finish during the series. That helped lead to a total haul of $3.8 million during the stop in Cyprus.

Y’all hear me when I said Phil Ivey is back?

The GOAT returns with 5 final tables this week and two wins.

I’ve played against most all the top players in the world.

No better all around player than Ivey IMO.

🐐 🐐 🐐 https://t.co/ebWay0KCXN

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) April 11, 2022

This year’s action also includes a new winner-take-all PokerGO Tour Championship. The winner in that event scores an extra $500,000 with the 21 players’ starting chip stacks based on leaderboard points. Here’s a look at the current standings.

PokerGO Tour standings

1. Ali Imsirovic – 2,176 points
2. Phil Ivey – 1,725 points
3. Jake Schindler – 1,472 points
4. Isaac Kempton – 1,375 points
5. Alex Foxen – 1,295 points

World Poker Tour

Alexander Yen remains on top in the WPT player of the year standings after taking down the Lucky Hearts Poker Open in January. However, the standings could see some serious changes in the coming weeks.

A familiar name looms large. Darren Elias is the tour’s leading winner with four titles and leads the remaining six players in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. Thet final table plays out on May 25 in Las Vegas, giving the New Jersey poker pro the chance to make it five tour titles.

“It feels amazing to be back at a WPT final table,” Elias recently told USPoker. “There haven’t been a ton of events since COVID so there are not a lot of opportunities. This event in particular is a good one to make with the size of the field.”

Take a look at @DarrenElias’s stack from bag last night at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Main Event @hardrockholly.

Elias will take over 30% of the chips in play to the final table which will be streamed and recorded for television at @HyperXArena on May 25th. pic.twitter.com/pFlbjXdOaR

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) April 13, 2022

The Showdown was only the second event of the season. Should Elias win, he’ll earn 1,400 points to move into No. 1. He and Yen would be tied in points, but the Showdown pays out $1 million. That would lift him over Yen by about $25,000.

Even a top three finish by Elias would move him into the top three, making him a contender for the award. The success for Elias continued in April with a runner-up finish in the PokerGO Heads-Up Showdown for $200,000. 

The WPT player of the year earns a $15,000 WPT Passport with second and third earning $10,000 and $5,000. The next tour stop is set for May 13-16 at the Choctaw in Oklahoma followed by WPT Venetian in Las Vegas from July 12-17. Here’s a look at the current POY standings.

WPT Player of the Year

1. Alexander Yen – 1,400 points, $975,240
2. Anton Wigg – 1,150 points, $650,180
3. Daniel Lazrus – 900  points, $482,380
4. Nicholas Verderamo – 700 points, $361,130
5. Josh Kay – 650 points, $279,930

WSOP.com

In the online area, WSOP.com recognizes a player of the year on the city’s shared liquidity platform in New Jersey and Nevada. Adrian “sacakewalk” Sacher leads the field through early May. The Las Vegas grinder is a regular at the online tables and has had a nice year so far. 

Another online poker crusher rounds out this top five. Mike “BrockLesnar” Holtz won the 2021 POY title and now sits in fifth.

The WSOP.com POY scores $10,000 in cash, a winner’s ring, and $1,500 in online tournament tickets. Here’s a look at the standings.

WSOP.com POY (Nevada and New Jersey)

1. Adrian “sacakewalk” Sacher – 25,222.68 points
2. Jack “011POKERDR” Pan – 24077.29 points
3. Ryan “WhosYourDodd” Dodd – 22933.58 points
4. Alex “RIP_Neiko” Rocha – 18523.60 points
5. Mike “BrockLesnar” Holtz – 16382.51 points