Yunkyu Song Leads WPT POY Race Near Finish Line; Landon Tice, Eric Afriat in Contention

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Dec 10, 2024 2 min read

The race for World Poker Tour (WPT) Season 22 Player of the Year, with two events remaining, is much tighter than a year ago when Bin Weng had things pretty much locked up heading into the festivities at Wynn Las Vegas.

Yunkyu Song, however, is currently in the lead entering the WPT Prime Championship, which began on Sunday. But he'll need to hold off close competition from a handful of skilled pros, including Landon Tice and three-time WPT champion Eric Afriat.

Tournaments that Can Still Impact the Race

The WPT World Championship festival is currently underway in Las Vegas, and the series marks the conclusion of Season 22. As such, those chasing Song are running out of opportunities.

There are two events remaining that will be factored into the final standings — the $1,100 WPT Prime Championship and $10,400 WPT World Championship. The Player of the Year standings take into consideration Main Tour and Prime Tour, both of which host events around the world.

Day 1c of the WPT Prime Championship, a $5 million guaranteed tournament took place Tuesday. More than 2,800 players registered for the session, bringing the tally for the tournament above 5,800 with one day of registration remaining. The WPT World Championship, the final shot to earn POY points, kicks off Dec. 14.

Who's in the Race?

There are a number of players still mathematically in the race. In fact, according to WPT reporter Tim Fiorvanti, 47 players could overtake Song by winning either of the two remaining events, barring a deep run from the leader. But there's no doubt Song is a heavy favorite with a sizable advantage over the competition.

Song, who final tabled the WPT bestbet Scramble Championship in Jacksonville last month, has 2,275 points. That puts him 350 points ahead of second place Dylan Smith, who bagged an average stack on Day 1a of the WPT Prime Championship. Afriat, who earned his seventh top three WPT finish in Jacksonville, is next in line at 1,750 points. Tice sits in fourth place at 1,700, and Dan Stavila rounds out the top five with 1,525 points.

Season 22 WPT Player of the Year Leaders

The "it's anyone's ballgame" saying is technically true. But if your name is Yunkyu Song, winner of the WPT Prime Playground Championship in October, you're feeling more confident in victory than anyone else. That is because there's a solid chance he could win POY without even cashing in the Prime or World Championship. But if he runs deep in either of the final POY events, he would make it nearly impossible for anyone else to catch up.

*Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour.

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