The new POY race puts quality over quantity of wins to rank up
The 2024 World Series of Poker gets underway today as the world’s top players vie for the WSOP Player of the Year title. However, with the last-minute rule change made this past Sunday about how the award is calculated, many players might decide to change their strategy in their quest for the title.
Players previously tried to enter as many tournaments as possible to have the best chance of accumulating enough points. While this strategy might still help them win the POY award, the new format focuses on the quality of wins rather than the number of titles.
Players must enter a minimum of five tournaments to qualify for the POY, and only the top ten points results will count towards their totals. Playing in a lot of tournaments could still help players earn enough points to win the award, but the number entered won’t give them as much of an edge as in years past.
Not everyone will be happy with the new points format. Some players believe that those who grind it out in tons of tournaments and produce positive results should be rewarded for their efforts.
However, many don’t think the POY should be awarded to someone with the time and money to enter more events. While those players also need positive results, some believe the shift to “quality over quantity” is long overdue.
Maybe the most controversial change is that players can only count one result from online bracelet events towards the POY leaderboard. While online bracelets are equal to those from live events, they won’t be comparable in the POY race.
Open events at the 2024 WSOP and online bracelet events in New Jersey, Nevada, and likely Michigan will count in the POY standings.
