Bicknell and Foxen Nearly Tied in 2019 POY Race

Alex Foxen is just 1 point ahead of girlfriend Kristen Bicknell in the overall 2019 POY rankings.

The Global Poker Index (GPI) is the world’s most recognized ranking system for professional poker players. Every tournament worth playing, from any physical location in the world, awards points to its top finishers. The higher the finish, and more prestigious the tournament, the more points one will get for winning it.

Each year, this esteemed ranking system culminates into one person – the person who generates the most points via tournament cashes – being named the Player of the Year (POY). With today, July 1, 2019, being the midway point through the year, it seems like an appropriate time to see where the players are in those rankings. What stands out the most for passionate followers of the game has to be the near tie between long-time lovers William Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell.

Bicknell and Foxen 1 Point from 2019 POY Tie

At present, Kristen has racked up 2,635.21 points on the GPI. That’s an impressive feat in just 6 months time, and one that puts her 6th place on the leaderboard. Just ahead of Kristen is her boyfriend Alex, with 2,636.74 points. That mere 1.53 difference has Alex sitting in the #5 spot on the 2019 POY race.

Ahead of them, and rounding out the top 10, are:

It’s worth mentioning that this is the overall POY race. With Bicknell being the only lady on this list, that puts her at the top of the 2019 Female POY Race, where she leads the pack by almost 900 points. Her nearest competitor is American pro Maria Ho with 1,739.11 points.

In this regard, her odds of winning (another) POY title are much greater than those of her passionate poker partner, Alex Foxen. Kristen won the Female POY Award in 2017 and 2018, and is well on her way to claiming the third straight trophy in 2019. Foxen, of course, won the overall POY in 2018, as the rest of the poker world celebrated their side-by-side victories.

Comparing the Happy Poker Couple in 2019

According to the GPI, these two are neck and neck in the 5th and 6th place positions on the POY rankings. So how well do they stack up in other comparisons? Let’s have a look at their live tournament wins and cashes in 2019.

Kristen has cashed in 20 live tournaments so far this year, including 6 WSOP events. She has one 1st place win at the EPT Monte Carlo’s Hyper Turbo Knockout, a pair of 2nd place runner ups in the LAPC’s $25k Commerce High Roller and Bellagio High roller $10k NHL event, and one 3rd place finish at the Merit Poker Classic Main Event worth more than a quarter-million in cash. All told, Kristen has cashed for US-$1,385,514.

Alex’s numbers aren’t too far off from his girlfriend’s, except in value. He has 19 cashes overall, including 7 at the 2019 WSOP. He has four 2nd place finishes in the PCA $50k NLH event, Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $25k High Roller, EPT Monte Carlo €50k High Roller, and Triton Poker Super High Roller Series HK$250,000 NLH event, plus two 3rd place finishes at the PCA $50k NHL event and Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown’s $50k High Roller. His cumulative cash earnings on the year total US-$3,130,188.

What’s better – a practically guaranteed POY win for Kristen, or an extra $2 million in cash for Alex? But why when get into all that, when there’s still half a year’s worth of poker to complete, including the 2019 WOSP Main Event?