Scott Seiver Moves to Top of GPI RankingsÂ

May 2nd, 2015 | by Kaycee James

Scott Seiver is now the top player in the GPI rankings for the first time. (Image: World Poker Tour)

Scott Seiver is clearly one of the world’s top poker players, and nobody needs an official ranking list to tell them that.

With over $15.1 million in career live tournament earnings, few players have resumes that can match Seiver’s, and the Las Vegas-based pro doesn’t seem like he’ll be slowing down any time soon.

Still, it’s always nice to get a little recognition, and on at least one important list, Seiver is now officially the best tournament poker player in the world.

Scott Seiver is now the number one ranked player on the Global Poker Index, ending a record-long 18-week reign by Germany’s Ole Schemion at the top of the list.

On the latest rankings, released Wednesday, Seiver overtook Schemion for the top spot, making Seiver the ninth player ever to occupy the number one ranking in the GPI standings.

“Reaching #1 is a huge honor,” Seiver told GPI officials while preparing to play at the European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo. “The GPI is a system that has always seemed to accurately portray the best players at any time, and to be #1, and to look back and understand what that means for my sustained success, is humbling.”

Seiver Has Long Been Near Top Position in Rankings

Seiver has been a constant presence in the top ten of the GPI rankings, and has been getting close to the top spot in recent weeks: he was ranked second in the world on six of the seven most recent lists.

But it wasn’t anything Seiver did that vaulted him to the top of the rankings; rather, it was just the passage of time that worked in his favor.

That’s not to say that Seiver’s impressively consistent results didn’t get him to the top. But ultimately, it was the fact that some of Schemion’s best results are now a little more than a year into the past, meaning they are weighted less heavily, that allowed Seiver to overtake him for the top spot.

Last Apri, Schemion won an EPT High Roller event and then reached the final table of a Super High Roller, and also scored three other cashes in EPT events.

Consistent Big Cashes Help Propel Seiver to Number One

Seiver hasn’t cashed since February, so it wasn’t any one event that has put him over the top. However, his plethora of deep runs in big tournaments is what put him in position to grab the lead.

Last summer, he final tabled both the Poker Players Championship and the Big One for One Drop at the World Series of Poker, and has since added five more six-figure cashes to his resume.

“I feel I have a very good grasp on the current player field that plays most big tournaments, and I take enough breaks that I never feel burnt out on poker,” Seiver said.

“I vary what I play and when I play so much that when I’m competing I’m always close to my A game. Poker isn’t about who has the best A game, but rather who can play their B game the most, and I think this something I’ve gotten quite good at it over the years.”

While Seiver is now on top of the GPI rankings, it’s only by a hair over Schemion and Davidi Katai, each of whom are less than 100 points back in the standings.

That means things could change very quickly at the top of the list, particularly with the World Series of Poker starting in less than a month.