Player of the Year Update — Dan Smith Overtakes The Lead

Major moves were made this is the past weeks in the 2012 Card Player Player of the Year race, sponsored by Lock Poker, including a brand new leader in the overall standings in Dan Smith! Here is a look at the events that made the biggest impact on the race in the past weeks:

EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller

On Sunday Dan Smith won the 2012 European Poker Tour Barcelona €50,000 super high roller event, topping a tough field of 64 to take home the $1,186,420 first-place prize and 612 POY points. This was Smith’s fifth title of the year, vaulting him into the outright lead in the POY race with 4,100 total points and more than $3.3 million in year-to-date earnings. His nearest competition is Kyle Julius, who is 348 points back at 3,752.

Smith has excelled in high buy-in events against tough fields so far in 2012, with the average buy-in for his seven final-table finishes this year being $27,508. He started the year off winning the $100,000 buy-in event at the Aussie Millions, and then won three €5,000 no-limit hold’em events at the EPT Grand Final in the span of a week. At the World Series of Poker he continued his run of success in $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em events with a third place finish out of 1,001 players for $368,943.

WPT Parx Open Poker Classic

Anthony Gregg has won the inaugural WPT Parx Open Poker Classic.

The young pro, known as “wwwBTHEREcom” online, captured $416,127 and 1,260 POY points for topping the 500 player field at the first ever WPT main event held in Pennsylvania, held at Parx Casino in Bensalem, just outside of Philadelphia. This was Gregg’s first live tournament title, and it increased his total lifetime tournament earnings to more than $3.5 million.

This was Gregg’s fourth final table of the year, and as a result of his consistent success he has moved into fifth place in the POY race with 2,984 points and $1,004,155 in year-to-date earnings.

Gregg’s other major scores this year include a sixth place finish in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event, a third place finish in the EPT Grand Final High Roller, and a fourth place finish in the inaugural World Series of Poker four-max no-limit hold’em event.

WSOP Circuit IP Biloxi

Kyle Cartwright had won four WSOP Circuit championships in just sixteen months before entering the World Series of Poker Circuit $1,665 no-limit hold’em main event at the IP Casino Resort and Spa in Biloxi, Mississippi.

On Monday afternoon the 29-year-old pro from Bartlett, Tennessee topped the 299-player field to capture his record-tying fifth WSOP Circuit title, earning $107,992 and 480 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was Cartwright’s second WSOP Circuit main event win in less than two years, having won the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s St. Louis main event in April 2011. Cartwright’s fifth win propelled him into a tie for all-time WSOP Circuit championships with Mark “Pegasus” Smith.

Joining Cartwright at the final table was 2010 WSOP main event sixth-place finisher John Dolan. The 26-year-old had won one of the preliminary events at this series, and was looking for his second ring in this main event. He ultimately finished third, earning $48,429 and 320 POY points. As a result, Dolan moved into 22nd place in the overall POY rankings with one title, four final tables and $858,894 in year-to-date earnings.

Here is a look at the top twenty of the 2012 POY race: