WSOP 2022 Player of the Year: Changes and Exclusions Announced

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has announced that the 2022 Player of the Year (POY) contest will be held, but with fewer events than in 2021. The winner will receive a free entry into the $10,000 Main Event of the WSOP in 2023, a unique trophy, and a banner to be displayed at the event in subsequent years.

The WSOP has not made any substantial modifications to the method utilized to calculate POY events. The WSOP grants points to every player who cashes in a points-eligible tournament. The buy-in determines points, the number of participants, and the finishing place of an event. The WSOP has developed an online portal with a points calculator that players may use during the 2022 series. The POY calculations include only 'open' events. As a result, the WSOP excludes five events with varying qualifying requirements:

• Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold 'em
• Event #47: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em
• Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em
• Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em
• Event #61: $1,000/$10,000 Ladies' Event

VELO is no longer a sponsor of the POY leaderboard. In 2021, VELO offered a total prize pool of $100,000 for two distinct leaderboard races. Josh Arieh was the 16th different player to earn the WSOP Player of the Year title. Daniel Negreanu is the only player to have won the Player of the Year title twice.