After a rather lengthy hiatus that saw more turmoil that surely planned, the Global Poker League has surged back into action with the second half of their season. While one conference’s leader seems to be pulling away from the pack, it looks to be at least a two-team battle in the other conference.
In the GPL Americas, the Montreal Nationals haven’t been able to shake the L. A. Sunset at the top of the leaderboard. With 153 points – by far the most in the GPL – the Nationals might have thought they would have a bigger lead. But the Sunset, led by manager Maria Ho and featuring the red-hot Fedor Holz, are only six points back after gaining on the Nats last week. Ho earned 10 points during Six Max Tuesday (two conference matches) and, along with three points earned by Olivier Busquet in the heads up match with the Nationals’ Marc Andre Ladouceur, cut five points off of Montreal’s lead.
The remainder of the GPL Americas is going to have its work cut out for it to even make the playoffs. Currently holding down the final two playoff spots are the Sao Paulo Metropolitans (after a slow start to the season) and the New York Rounders (who arguably dominated the first half of the season and suffered during the “Summer Series” in Las Vegas). Three points separate these teams, but they are 27 and 30 points, respectively, behind the Nationals in the standings. The San Francisco Rush (113 points) and the Las Vegas Moneymakers (100 points) might be in “wait ‘til next year” mode as they have tough odds of climbing out of the basement.
Over in the GPL Eurasia, the battle is a bit closer from top to bottom. The preseason favorite Moscow Wolverines, after a bit of a stumble out of the gate, are now reigning supreme over the rest of the conference with their 136 points. The Wolverines have been able to pull away from the London Royals, adding a point to their lead over the Royals (122 points) through eight points from Igor Yaroshevsky in the Six Max and a victory (six points) by manager Anatoly Filatov over the Paris Aviators’ George Danzer in the heads up segment.
Overall the six teams in the GPL Eurasia are closer together, meaning that there really hasn’t been anyone eliminated yet. The Hong Kong Stars (113 points) and the Aviators (111 points) are battling for the final two playoff spots, with the Rome Emperors (110 points) overcoming their early season doldrums to actually be in a challenging position. Even the team that arguably has been the biggest disappointment in the GPL this season, the Berlin Bears (if you have a team with Dan Cates, Sorel Mizzi, Brian Rast and Dominik Nitsche, just to name a few, you have to do better than 100 points) are still in the mix.
The upcoming week will feature some battles that could help to change some of the standings. After the four matches (two GPL Eurasia and two GPL Americas) that make up Six Max Tuesday, the Wolverines will attempt to put some more space between them and the Emperors (2:30PM Eastern U. S.), while the Royals will know what target they have to shoot at when they take on the Aviators later in the day (5PM Eastern). If the Bears are to make any moves, they have to start with a big win over a strong Stars team that will kick off the heads up fun on Wednesday (Noon Eastern).
In the GPL Americas, the Nationals/Rounders match (3:30PM Eastern) will be the highlight of Thursday’s play as, with a strong showing (a 9-0 sweep or even a 6-3 victory), the Nats can pretty much bury the Rounders and put them in danger of not making the playoffs. That, of course, will depend on the results of the Moneymakers/Metropolitans tilt (1PM Eastern) and the “Battle for California” between the Sunset and the Rush (6PM Eastern) on Thursday.
Counting the upcoming week, there are only five weeks remaining in the GPL season. Four teams from each conference will make the playoffs, so if a particular squad has an interest in playing in the postseason, the time to move is now. The teams at the top of the standings – provided they don’t suffer a complete collapse over the last few weeks – are pretty much guaranteed of a playoff spot at this time.
