The WSOP has announced new rules for Player of the Year scoring this year. Players needed a minimum of 5 results to qualify, they were credited with points from a maximum of their top ten finishes, and only the single best WSOP Online finish was taken into account.
Previously, WSOP Europe finishes also counted towards the points, but now only players from the WSOP Las Vegas and WSOP Online are awarded points. With the WSOP complete, the points were tallied up and the new WSOP Player of the Year winner was announced.
Scott Seiver wins WSOP Player of the Year
Scott Seiver's name came up many times during the WSOP. Mainly due to his triple success. Scott won no less than 3 WSOP bracelets over the summer, pushing his live tournament winnings over the $26.8 million mark.
He won his first bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship from where he took home $426,744. The second came just two weeks later in the $1,500 Razz tournament where he took home $141,374, and he added a third two weeks later when he was the winner of the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship for $411,041. He still managed two final tables before the WSOP ended, where he finished 6th and 3rd. In total, Scott achieved 17 IMT placements.
| PLACE | NAME | PTS |
| 1 | Scott Seiver | 4,403.85 |
| 2 | Michael Rocco | 3,803.67 |
| 3 | Jeremy Ausmus | 3,686.60 |
| 4 | John Racener | 3,557.10 |
| 5 | Xixiang Luo | 3,480.93 |
| 6 | Chance Kornuth | 3,379.99 |
| 7 | David Prociak | 3,274.87 |
| 8 | Chris Hunichen | 3,094.85 |
| 9 | Yuri Dzivielevski | 3,033.64 |
| 10 | Phil Ivey | 3,004.04 |
At the start of the WSOP Festival, Scott announced on his Twitter account that he would win WSOP Player of the Year this year, and he did. He didn't have it easy, however, as he was briefly edged out by Chris Hunichen. The latter won the 100k High Roller, from which he took home $2.8 million, and just a few days later he finished third in the 250k SHR, from where he took home $2.4 million.
But then Scott was back in first place, with Jeremy Ausmus trailing him for a long time. Jeremy also had an awesome run at the WSOP, catching Phil Hellmuth's record for the most final tables in a single WSOP. Seven final tables kept him in second place most of the time and he still had a shot at the title.
An unexpected twist
At the very end of the WSOP, however, a twist happened. Michael Rocco moved into second place on the leaderboard after winning his first bracelet. That came in the $10,000 NLH 6-Handed Championship, from which he took home $942,222, pushing Ausmus into the final third place.
What the WSOP Player of the Year winner won
Scott Seiver's WSOP Player of the Year title secured him a $10,000 ticket to next year's WSOP Main Event, a unique trophy, and to make matters worse, he'll also have his own banner in the Horseshoe Casino.
This achievement also gives Scott a chance to be inducted into the WSOP Hall of Fame next year. Although some expected him to be nominated this year, he couldn't get it because Scott didn't meet one of the requirements, which is a minimum age of 40. Seiver won't reach that age until next year, so he has a chance to get into this prestigious club in 2025.
Source - wsop, pokernews
