UK & Ireland Global Poker Index: Chidwick Locks Up UK POY
There may be two weeks remaining of 2018 but Stephen Chidwick has locked up his third Global Poker Index United Kingdom Player of the Year title in four years thanks to having an unassailable lead over Aymon Hata.
Chidwick finds himself ranked number one in the United Kingdom by more than 800 points, a gap that will only widen when the rankings are updated next week to include his recent third-place finish in the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl that banked Chidwick a massive $1,512,000 score.
It has been a phenomenal year at the live poker tables for Chidwick. The man from Deal, Kent who now resides in Mexico, has amassed almost $11 million in winnings during the current year, more than three-times more than his previous best annual total. The only thing missing from a perfect year is a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, surely one of those will be adorning Chidwick’s wrist come the end of 2019?
This incredible year at the felt has given Chidwick a lead in the UK Player of the Year leaderboard that is impossible to catch. Hata has enjoyed his best-ever year, like Chidwick, thanks in part to a third-place finish in the $100,000 High Roller at the WSOP that banked Hata $1,247,230.
The Global Poker Index will make its final update of the 2018 rankings on Dec. 26, but they should read very similar to the tables below.
UK Global Poker Index Top 10 (Dec. 20, 2018)
| UK Rank | World Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Stephen Chidwick | 3600.43 |
| 2 | 39 | Niall Farrell | 2763.48 |
| 3 | 57 | Jack Sinclair | 2567.82 |
| 4 | 69 | Jack Salter | 2501.58 |
| 5 | 79 | Adam Owen | 2441.59 |
| 6 | 85 | Ludovic Geilich | 2426.72 |
| 7 | 109 | Ben Heath | 2322.77 |
| 8 | 136 | Chris Moorman | 2249.08 |
| 9 | 141 | Aymon Hata | 2237.08 |
| 10 | 146 | Tom Hall | 2228.34 |
UK Global Poker Index Player of the Year Top 10 (Dec. 20, 2018)
| UK Rank | World Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Stephen Chidwick | 3786.91 |
| 2 | 47 | Aymon Hata | 2735.43 |
| 3 | 50 | Jack Sinclair | 2705.38 |
| 4 | 56 | Niall Farrell | 2663.81 |
| 5 | 76 | Adam Owen | 2545.09 |
| 6 | 115 | Ludovic Geilich | 2327.13 |
| 7 | 132 | Chris Moorman | 2253.46 |
| 8 | 168 | Jack Salter | 2175.01 |
| 9 | 219 | Ben Dobson | 2032.99 |
| 10 | 264 | James Rann | 1925.39 |
Marc MacDonnel Tops the Irish Charts Again
Like Chidwick, Marc MacDonnell is ending the year as the number one in his country and by securing his third Irish Player of the Year title in four years. 2018 has seen MacDonnell win almost $1.6 million in the live arena, by far his best year at the tables.
MacDonnell travelled to Los Angeles in Feb. and finished fourth in the $10,000 WPT L.A. Poker Classic for $319,310 before enjoying another six-figure score when he won the $1,100 No Limit Hold’em side event at the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open; the man known as “Sluglife” netted $119,465.
The best was yet to come because MacDonnell navigated his way to a third-place finish in the partypoker LIVE Caribbean Poker Party Main Event, a result that saw MacDonnell walk away with a career-best score of $1,000,000.
Patrick Clarke is the only player in the Irish Player of the Year standings that could have caught MacDonnell, but he has run out of time as there are no big buy-in tournaments scheduled for the remainder of the year. Clarke, the 2014 Irish Poker Open champion, broke through $1 million in live poker tournament winnings when he finished eighth in the European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event for €155,000.
Ireland Global Poker Index Top 10 (Dec. 20, 2018)
| Ireland Rank | World Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35 | Marc MacDonnell | 2790.59 |
| 2 | 276 | Patrick Clarke | 1928.03 |
| 3 | 282 | Gavin O’Rourke | 1916.07 |
| 4 | 326 | Dan Wilson | 1844.11 |
| 5 | 757 | Dermot Blain | 1404.59 |
| 6 | 778 | Michael Foley | 1392.32 |
| 7 | 941 | Dara O’Kearney | 1296.98 |
| 8 | 996 | Cathal Shine | 1273.12 |
| 9 | 1034 | Mark Buckley | 1252.43 |
| 10 | 1437 | Michael O’Sullivan | 1095.49 |
Ireland Global Poker Index Player of the Year Top 10 (Dec. 20, 2018)
| Ireland Rank | World Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 43 | Marc MacDOnnell | 2792.57 |
| 2 | 161 | Patrick Clarke | 2190.38 |
| 3 | 305 | Gavin O’Rourke | 1838.46 |
| 4 | 432 | Dan Wilson | 1658.49 |
| 5 | 812 | Mark Buckley | 1335.84 |
| 6 | 855 | Mark Buckley | 1309.67 |
| 7 | 1000 | Dara O’Kearney | 1232.27 |
| 8 | 1147 | Cathal Shine | 1169.90 |
| 9 | 1270 | Sam Baneham | 1111.73 |
| 10 | 1290 | David Lappin | 1100.12 |
It has been an exciting year for poker players from the United Kingdom and Ireland and we cannot wait for 2019 to get underway. With a little luck, our elite players from the UK and Ireland will shine at both the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the 2019 Aussie Millions and kick the new year off in style.
