Dan Zack Back at No. 1 in 2019 WSOP Player of the Year Race

Poker action is in full swing at the Rio four weeks into the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP). A total of 56 bracelet winners have been crowned, with some players finally claiming their first gold bracelet.

The race for the Player of the Year title has also intensified, and latest standings show early leader Dan Zack moving back into the No.1 spot.

Zack began his 2019 WSOP journey with a bang after winning his first career bracelet in Event #6: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball.

The New Jersey native has collected 10 cashes so far this summer, including a recent fifth-place finish in Event #51: $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better which was won by Yuri Martins. Zack’s latest win earned him enough points to regain the top position, with online bracelet winner Jason Gooch following him at No. 2.

Current Top 10

Gooch has catapulted into the second spot of the POY leaderboard after taking down Event #55: $1,000 WSOP.com Online Double Stack No-Limit Hold’em last Sunday, outlasting 1,333 entries. Prior to that, Gooch came close to victory in Event #24: $600 WSOP.com ONLINE Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed, finishing as runner-up to Josh Pollock. 

Upeshka De Silva, the race leader last week, has slipped down to No. 3. Da Silva captured his third WSOP bracelet in Event #38: $600 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em Knockout Bounty. Occupying the No. 4 spot is Scott Clements, who recently made his third final table this summer in Event #54: $1,500 Razz won by Kevin Gerhart. Clements managed to win his third bracelet in Event #10: $1,500 Dealers Choice, ending a 12-year drought.

Apart from his victory in Event #11: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em, Daniel Strelitz went on to cash in six other events, giving him enough POY points to take the No. 5 position. Meanwhile, the 2018 WSOP Player of the Year Shaun Deeb is still in the race, holding the No. 6 spot. While Deeb has yet to win a bracelet this summer, he has scored a total of 11 WSOP cashes so far this year, including a runner-up finish in Event #35: $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship won by Adam Friedman. 

Robert Campbell sits at No. 7 after winning his maiden bracelet in Event #33: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw. He is followed by Ismael Bojang, the winner of Event #40: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, who has moved up to the No. 8 spot. 

Ari Engel‘s victory in Event #48: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em has placed him at No. 9, while Frankie O’Dell sits at the bottom of the Top 10 after winning his third gold in Event #18: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.