Home / Poker News January 2013 / Dan Smith Named GPI Player of the Year
Dan Smith Named GPI Player of the Year
Posted by: Randy Williams - Thu, 2013-01-10 05:24
The GPI Player of the Year race has stolen quite a few headlines last year, and we’re relieved to say it’s finally over. Dan Smith is the man. Having just edged out Marvin Rettenmaier over the home stretch, he has been awarded the more or less prestigious title, based on his 2012 live
poker tournament accomplishments. Even through Smith has lead the PoY race for quite a few consecutive months, in the end it all came down to a handful of GPI points: Smith ended up with 1,158 points, while Rettenmaier finished the year with 1,077. Although Smith looked like a lock for the title for the majority of 2012, in December, Rettenmaier mounted an unexpected rally which at one point saw him pull within 20 points of Smith. That moment occurred after Rettenmaier’s win in the
EPT Prague’s High Roller. Smith didn’t rest on his laurels in the wake of his opponent’s success though: he countered by shooting to the top of a $5k EPT Prague side-event, only a day later.
Smith’s 2012 was quite an amazing poker year for several reasons. He won no fewer than 6 live poker tournaments, amassing cash finishes worth a rather staggering $3.8 million.
The Aussie Millions saw Smith record his biggest single 2012 cash. In the $100k Challenge, he bested a starting field of 22 to take down a $1,012,000 prize. During the EPT’s Monte Carlo stop, he quite possibly set a new record, winning three $5k side events in just 4 days.
At one point during the year, Rettenmaier actually had the GPI PoY lead. It happened after his WPT Merit Cyprus Classic win, which saw him become the first ever back-to-back WPT champion. He only held the lead for about a week though. His 2012 live tournament winnings topped the $2.5 million mark.
