The 2022 World Series of Poker Player of the year is Dan Zack. Zack tops a list of players that are primarily high roller regulars.
The player of the year race favors these players because the formula is partly (though not linearly) weighted by buy-in. But the main reason for the prevalence of high-roller pros on the list is that these players can put in volume in small field events. Making a final table by chance is much easier in a fifty-player sit'n'go like the $250k high roller than in a large field $1,500 event.
So we see names like Koray Aldemir, David Peters, Brian Rast, and Alex Foxen from the high roller circuit There are also big-name pros like Shaun Deeb and Zack himself.
Yueqi Zhu acquitted himself impressively in yet another WSOP, passing 150 lifetime WSOP cashes this year on his way to 6th place on the POY leaderboard.
There are two Joaos in the top ten from opposite ends of the globe. Joao Vieira hails from Portugal and Joao Simao Peres from Brazil. Along with Koray Aldemir who lives in Austria, the Joaos are it for overseas representation. The other seven top ten finalists are residents in the U.S., if not actually living in Vegas itself.
Zack took the lead by the middle of the series and kept it till the end. He had 16 cashes at this year's WSOP, converting four of them into final tables, and two of those into bracelets. He beat second-place finisher, Daniel Weinman, by a handy 4,531 points to 4,040.
2022 WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard top ten
| Position | Player Name | Leaderboard points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dan Zack | 4,530.64 |
| 2nd | Daniel Weinman | 4,040.20 |
| 3rd | Koray Aldemir | 3,275.02 |
| 4th | Shaun Deeb | 3,197.65 |
| 5th | David Peters | 2,982.08 |
| 6th | Yueqi Zhu | 2,766.27 |
| 7th | Joao Vieira | 2,752.88 |
| 8th | Joao Simao Peres | 2,735.76 |
| 9th | Alex Foxen | 2,458.47 |
Dan Zack's 2022 WSOP results
Featured image source: PokerGO
