Mercier's held on to the top spot all of 2010

The last time we checked in on the BLUFF/ESPN Power Rankings, Jason Mercier was the man to beat, Player of the Year frontrunner Sorel Mizzi was gaining ground, and Eric Baldwin was quietly posting enough big scores to maintain a spot in the top three.

Some things seemingly never change, but other than those three, the rest of the Power Rankings certainly look a lot different than it did before the World Series of Poker began. Some of the culprits from the first half of the year are still hanging around, but the order has been switched up entirely and there are some new entrees into the top ten.

Even though Mercier failed to make a WSOP final table, he did rack up five cashes, over 100 POY points, and one painful final table bubble when he finished in 10th place in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship event.  Mizzi had a comparable WSOP, final tabling the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event and cashing in two others. Because the two earned effectively the same amount of points, Mizzi was unable to make up any ground on Mercier, who retained the top spot all summer long.

Baldwin began the WSOP with a deep run in the premiere $1,000 buy-in event and capped it off with a deep run in the Main Event, where he finished in 59th place. His four cashes helped to make up some of the distance between himself and Mercier and Mizzi and keep him firmly planted in the top three.

Daniel Alaei ascended up the ranks after taking down the very Pot Limit Omaha event that Mercier bubbled. The win marked Alaei’s third bracelet, making him one of the youngest three-time bracelet winners in history. For a guy who doesn’t travel the tournament scene very often, Alaei is certainly one of the top tournament performers of the past year, which is reflected in his #4 ranking. Perennial Power Rankings performer Scott Clements rounds out the top five after posting an impressive 18th place finish in the Main Event.

Thanks to strong WSOP showings, John Juanda (8th), Frank Kassela (9th), and Men Nguyen (10th) cracked the top ten this summer. Now it is up to them whether or not the will travel the circuit in order to maintain their spot and maybe even creep up a little higher on the list. With upcoming events in Tallin, Los Angeles, and Tunica, there are certainly plenty of opportunities to rack up more points in the coming weeks.

For now, here are your current top ten in the BLUFF/ESPN Power Rankings:

1. Jason Mercier – 1,907.48
2. Sorel Mizzi – 1,647.50
3. Eric Baldwin – 1,476.59
4. Daniel Alaei – 1,281.64
5. Scott Clements – 1,150.32
6. Michael Binger – 1,115.72
7. Carlos Mortensen – 1,027.45
8. John Juanda – 1,011.65
9. Frank Kassela – 990.09
10. Men Nguyen – 940.54

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