We check in on the latest standings in the WSOP POY race and speculate on how many points are needed to win it in 2024.
There is always at least one double bracelet winner at the World Series of Poker and in 2024 the first one was Scott Seiver. In doing so he went clear in the Player of the Year race.
With the new scoring system, it might be possible that he could take the rest of the summer off. The new system awards points for the best five results, not every result. It is no longer about volume, it is about, as the WSOP calls it, ‘quality’.
That means in theory, Seiver might have already had the best WSOP anyone will have in 2024. This is how things stand at the time of writing:
| RANK | NAME | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Seiver | 2,566.73 |
| 2 | Nick Schulman | 1,890.12 |
| 3 | Phil Ivey | 1,755.26 |
| 4 | John Racener | 1,655.68 |
| 5 | Sean Troha | 1,646.44 |
| 6 | Dylan Weisman | 1,575.39 |
| 7 | Shaun Deeb | 1,561.73 |
| 8 | Malcolm Trayner | 1,530.24 |
| 9 | Daniel Sepiol | 1,515.05 |
| 10 | Calvin Anderson | 1,489.37 |
Is the benchmark 3,166 points?
The interesting thing is we have a benchmark to compare it to. If the new scoring system had been in place in 2023, Chris Brewer would have won it, rather than Ian Matakis.
Brewer’s best score would have been 3,166 points under the new system in 2023. Seiver currently sits with 2,566, so he has a shot. One more final table and I’d say Seiver should take it down.
Brewer would have won the POY in 2023 based on his results in High Roller events. He took down the $10,000 2-7 Single Draw Championship and $250,000 Super High Roller. This would suggest that the new system favours small-field, big buy-in, events.
Interestingly, we have two of those this week. The $100,000 Super High Roller and $250,000 Super High Roller both happen this week. So while I don’t think the POY has been decided yet by a long shot, if anyone already in contention has a good result in those, it could be sewn up by next week.
I was very critical of the changes this year but the one thing I do like is that it opens it up to more people. In that respect, the 2024 Player of the Year may not have even arrived in Vegas yet.
Who will win in 2024? Let us know in the comments: