In the race for the Player of the Year in poker, there has been one name that has dominated over the others: Brandon Wilson. On the CardPlayer Magazine POY, Wilson has been able to move out to a dominant lead, while the Global Poker Index POY rankings have his lead a bit smaller, but still impressive, only halfway through the year. The true test is on the way, however, as players prepare for the marathon that is the 2026 World Series of Poker, which begins at the end of this month.
Wilson Dominant on CardPlayer Board
Just how dominant has Wilson been on the CardPlayer rankings? Only four months into the tournament poker year, he has already accumulated 5,925 points, racking up three titles from the fourteen final tables he has made. Along with those stats, Wilson has earned over $5.2 million, predominantly from “high roller” tournaments that attract players with deep pockets.
Making a big leap up the ladder is Spain’s Jon Ander Vallinas. At the Triton One Jeju series, Vallinas made four final tables and earned nearly $2.5 million. Put it all together, and it still wasn’t enough to be able to get close to Wilson. For now, Vallinas will have to be satisfied with being the second-best on the CardPlayer POY, with 4,180 points.
The international nature of the poker world is demonstrated by the performance of China’s Quan Zhou. Zhou was another player who ran over the field in Jeju, winning a $25,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament and cashing in six other tournaments. He has cooled off a bit over the last six weeks, but Zhou’s Jeju dominance has resulted in him taking the third-place slot on the CardPlayer POY with 3,920 points.
As the world prepares to descend on Las Vegas for the 2026 WSOP, here is how the players sit on the CardPlayer Magazine leaderboard:
1. Brandon Wilson (Chicago, IL), 5,925 points
2. Jon Ander Vallinas (Spain), 4,180
3. Quan Zhou (Harbin, China), 3,920
4. Ren Lin (Augusta, GA), 3,488
5. Punnat Punsri (Bangkok, Thailand), 3,283
6. Aren Bezhanyan (Armenia), 3,079
7. Alex Foxen (Cold Spring Harbor, NY), 2,868
(tie) Matthias Eibinger (Graz, Austria), 2,868
9. Isaac Haxton (Syracuse, NY), 2,819
10. Klemens Roiter (Austria), 2,803
Wilson Tops GPI with Smaller Margin
While Wilson also sits atop the standings for the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race, the margin is much smaller. Perhaps because of the more compact point calculations, or perhaps because of the GPI’s thirteen-best tournament rules, Wilson has only been able to accumulate 3,588.36 points. That means that his pursuers are much closer to him, with a little shuffling among the contenders.
Zhou is currently in second place at this point before the start of the WSOP, with 3,450.25 points on the ledger. Lin pulls into the third slot on the standings, with 3,347.15 points. Another Wilson gets into the mix in fourth place, Brock Wilson, who was the overall champion of the 2026 U.S. Poker Open. Brock Wilson will be sitting in fourth place as May begins, with 2,921.46 points.
The rest of the Top Ten for the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race looks like this:
1. Brandon Wilson (Chicago, IL), 3,588.36 points
2. Quan Zhou (Harbin, China), 3,450.25
3. Ren Lin (Augusta, GA), 3,347.15
4. Brock Wilson (Ardsley, NY), 2,921.46
5. Alex Foxen (Cold Spring Harbor, NY), 2,910.90
6. Aren Bezhanyan (Armenia), 2,887.27
7. Mehdi Chaoui (Casablanca, Morocco), 2,870.91
8. Knoa Anh Ngo (Hanoi, Vietnam), 2,865.76
9. Punnat Punsri (Bangkok, Thailand), 2,798.49
10. Huu Dung Nguyen (Vietnam), 2,711.85
There are a couple of things that could adjust these rankings before the start of the WSOP. The European Poker Tour’s Monte Carlo stop is underway as we speak, and with the “High Roller” events on their schedule, some players could punch their way into the Top Ten. Other circuits are trying to squeeze in their festivities before the start of the WSOP, such as the Triton Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, which begins on May 13, and the Wynn Summer Classic, which kicks off on May 20 and runs through July. By the close of the WSOP (or at least its summertime activities), we may have an entirely new list of contenders in the races for the Player of the Year.
