With the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe officially in the rearview, the point tallies for the first leg of the 2026 Player of the Year race are locked in.
Despite racking up 6 cashes across the 15-event schedule at WSOP Europe – including not one, but two runner-up finishes – reigning Player of the Year Shaun Deeb sits second on the leaderboard behind Marius Kudzmanas, whose €2M victory in the festival's Main Event netted him enough points to secure the top spot for the time being. Kudzmanas' Main Event win was his only cash of the series.
In late 2025, the WSOP announced a historic shakeup to its Player of the Year format. For the first time, the 2026 Player of the Year battle incorporates all three of the tour's major festivals – WSOP Europe, WSOP Las Vegas, and WSOP Paradise – into a unified, global contest for one of poker's most prestigious awards. The change in format comes complete with a revamped scoring system designed to recognize skill and consistency.
With one-third of the race completed, have the adjustments worked as intended? It appears not.
Kudzmanas' lone cash, while obviously impressive given the field size and competition in the Main Event, outweigh's Deeb's multitude of cashes and deep runs. If consistency and skill are truly to be the barometers for which Player of the Year is measured, several strong performances should logically outscore a single run that results in victory.
It's too early to make a sweeping indictment of the new system, but when we spoke with Deeb prior to the WSOP Europe series, he raised concerns about this very possibility.
Deeb sees 'flaw' in the system
When PokerOrg's Craig Tapscott spoke with Deeb in the lead-up to the WSOP Europe series, the two-time Player of the Year winner expressed doubts about the changes.
"It's too rewarding for big fields and not rewarding enough for high buy-in small fields, which are very tough," Deeb said at the time. "Whoever wins the Main, if they have 15 scores, they're just going to win POY.
"I think Player of the Year should be much more about multiple scores. It really shouldn't be about who does the best in the biggest tournament and then does okay in everything else. That's kind of my flaw with this system."
While the race is far from over, Deeb's prediction has held true through the first leg of the competition.
Marius Kudzmanas' victory in the WSOPE Main Event provided him with enough Player of the Year points to top the leaderboard. There's still plenty of point-awarding events to come throughout the remainder of the year, leaving Deeb – or any other contenders – with plenty of opportunities to catch Kudzmanas.
WSOP 2026 Player of the Year Leaderboard (Top 10)
| Place | Player | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marius Kudzmanas | Lithuania | 1,386.84 |
| 2 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 1,340.25 |
| 3 | Michael Leah | Canada | 1,075.95 |
| 4 | Pedro Faustino | Portugal | 1,072.30 |
| 5 | Nikolai Ogoltsov | Russia | 1,048.65 |
| 6 | Christopher Nam Nguyen | Germany | 1,018.54 |
| 7 | Corel Theuma | Canada | 994.88 |
| 8 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 994.54 |
| 9 | Christian Frimodt | Norway | 980.18 |
