Mike Holtz, also known as his player name BrockLesnar, has climbed the leaderboard to become WSOP.com’s Player of the Year. This is an incredible achievement so let’s take a look at just what he had to do to be able to achieve this goal, and what it means to collect this prestigious award.

What Did Holtz Win By?

Holtz finished off the year with an incredible 84,095.07 points. This gave him a big lead over Krista “Pollux” Gifford and Christopher “Basile28” Basile, who came in second and third place with 69,381.14 and 55,894.93 points respectively.

Being able to pull ahead to this extent is a credit to Holtz. He is a native of 

Ocean City, Maryland, though he now lives in Las Vegas. He built up his bankroll playing in private games and at his local casino in Maryland, and he can now be spotted as a player at a number of tournaments. With his knowledge of the game, he can most definitely be considered a veteran. Gaining the title of Player of the Year is no easy feat, and that he has done it with the lead that he accumulated is very impressive.

What is the Player of the Year Final Leaderboard?

If you decide that you wish to play in games from the WSOP, you will be awarded certain points for the play you finish and the type of game you play. The Leaderboard runs the full length of the calendar year – from the 1st of January all the way through to the 31st of December.

Whether you play games at a brick-and-mortar casino or online at a site like https://ggpoker.com, you will earn points for how you place if it is an official WSOP game. There are some games that do not count towards what you could win, of course. They must be multi-table tournaments that award cash prizes. If you play in Sit & Go tournaments or games with other similar structures, your performance here will not be included in your points accumulation. Similarly, strictly controlled events like those for female players and invitationals are not included. This still gives plenty of scope for the right player to collect a phenomenal number of points, as we saw Holtz do.

How Holtz Pushed Forward

Amusingly, this was not Holtz’s goal going into 2021. Yes, it was a dream for him to achieve at some point. There is no denying that this is a difficult achievement to bring under your belt. After all, there are thousands of players to beat out here. It can seem like a real gargantuan task before you get started.

Holtz found himself playing in second place with little issue, before he then moved up to first. He wasn’t even planning on playing in the WSOP online much at all in 2021. However, when the rankings began to move his way, he quickly realised that he would manage to come out on top.

The WSOP.com Player of the Year does not come with major accolades in the same way that winning the Main Event might bring, but there is no denying that it is not a phenomenal achievement. If you want to know who some of the best players in the WSOP are without looking at the typical names like Phil Hellmuth or Daniel Negreanu, you will be able to find them on the Player of the Year Leaderboard. It is worth keeping an eye on throughout the year, especially as the bracelet events get underway and things really begin to shake up. Not everyone will be able to extend a lead like Holtz did!