GPI Player of the Year History: Looking Back at 2012-2016

We’re a quarter of the way through 2026, and the Global Poker Index Player of the Year rankings are starting to take shape.

While this year’s race is ongoing, we thought we’d take a look back at previous POY winners and what it took to top the leaderboard.

In this edition, we’re taking a look from 2012 to 2016, with big names such as Dan Smith, Ole Schemion and Byron Kaverman securing titles, while Fedor Holz and Daniel Negreanu were forced to look on from the sidelines.

2012: Dan Smith Dominates to Best “MadMarvin”

2012 GPI Player of the Year Top 10

Every high roller poker player has to start somewhere. Nowadays, Dan Smith‘s best live cash is over $8.7 million rose to seventh on the all-time money list, but back in 2012 he recorded his first even-figure payday at the Aussie Millions, winning the $100,000 Challenge for $1,041,828.

And what a tournament to do it in! Defeating Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey to win the $100,000 Challenge for $1,041,828.

He followed this up with three EPT Monte-Carlo side event wins in the space of a week, and added the EPT Barcelona €50,000 title for €962,925 in the summer.

This saw him narrowly beat out Marvin Rettenmaier to the 2012 GPI Player of the Year title. Rettenmaier had a banner year himself, winning the WPT World Championship in May and becoming the tour’s first back-to-back champion with victory in the World Poker Tour Merit Cyprus Classic.

2013: Negreanu Denied By German Wonderkid Schemion

2013 GPI Player of the Year Top 10

Ole Schemion has won more than $21 million over the course of his career, with 2013 a banner year for the German.

Two final tables at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, narrowly missing out on an Aussie Millions ring and three EPT Grand Final side event wins set him on his way. He rounded out the year finishing fifth in the EPT Prague Main Event to be named Player of the Year.

His 18 cashes across the year saw him record a live cash in every single month, except June and July. And that’s primarily because he wasn’t yet old enough to play the WSOP in 2013!

Daniel Negreanu also enjoyed success in 2013, winning the WSOP APAC Main Event, finishing fourth in the EPT Monte-Carlo Grand Final and final-tabling the WPT World Championship. He also won another WSOP bracelet in the €25,000 High Roller at WSOPE Enghien-les-Bains.

2014: Big One for One Drop Fuels Colman’s POY

2014 GPI Player of the Year Top 10

Taking a look at the POY races, Ole Schemion was the only player from the top 10 of the 2013 GPI POY race to make it back to the top 10 in 2014. In the end, it was Daniel Colman who took over the top spot in the POY race in early November, moving ahead of Dan Smith, who had led for the previous nine weeks. Then, the Massachusetts native remained in first position despite several late challenges from others in December.

Colman enjoyed massive success in 2014, famously winning the Big One for One Drop at the WSOP in Las Vegas, along with the EPT Grand Final Super High Roller, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open and an Alpha 8 title for combined cashes of $22.4 million.

2015: Kaverman Wins US-Heavy POY Contest

2015 GPI Player of the Year Top 10

Seven of the top 10 in the 2015 GPI Player of the Year race were American, signalling a shift in the global poker powers, with Byron Kaverman beating compatriot Anthony Zinno to top honours.

Kaverman won $3.5 million in 2015 alone, a year after finishing runner-up in the WPT World Championship. Kaverman won two Aria High Rollers on back-to-back days in March, and won a WSOP bracelet that summer in the $10,000 Six-Handed Championship for $657,351.

He added an EPT Malta €10,000 High Roller title in October, finishing the year on top for a ninth straight week.

2016: Peters Pips Holz to POY Title

2016 GPI Player of the Year Top 10

Fedor Holz will be left ruing EPT Prague after David Peters pipped him to the POY title in 2016. Holz’ once-in-a-lifetime heater meant he led for more than six months, only for Peters’ late push to deny the young German.

Peters finished third in the EPT Prague Main Event for €397,300, earning enough points to overtake Holz.

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor.

He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.