Just last night I wrote a blog on the state of the Player of the Year race. One night later the state of the race has changed completely thanks to Jacobo Fernandez.

Jacobo Fernandez doesn't have a career resume a mile long, with his first major cash coming in late 2006. What he lacks in longevity, though, he makes up for in results. In only his second big tournament cash he took third place at the LA Poker Classic for more than $600,000, finishing just behind Eric Hershler and J.C. Tran in February 2007.

He started this year's WSOP with a bang, taking second place and $136,644 in Event 3, $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em. Over the course of the next nine day he cashed another three times, including a fourth place finish in Event 21, $5,000 No Limit Hold'em. That score was worth another $238,781. When added to his other four cashes, Fernandez's total 2008 WSOP take as of tonight is $648,421

Earlier this evening Jacobo Fernandez walked away from Event 34, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys, with a solid third place finish. He earned $222,659, as well as 60 points in the WSOP Player of the Year standings. He now has a total of 217 points, putting him 32 points ahead of Barry Greenstein and Erick Lindgren. Here's the full top ten leaderboard:

Fernandez has no bracelets, but three final tables this year.

The situation as it stands now means that in order to retake the lead, Team PokerStars pro Greenstein and Full Tilt pro Lindgren would need to finish in 8th place or better to surpass Fernandez. Out of the 13 remaining qualifying events for the POY race, there are quite a few that seem likely candidates for either of the two men to go deep in.

While higher buy-in events favor the top pros like Greenstein and Lindgren, only two of those remain. Event 46, the $5,000 No Limit Hold'em, and Event 50, the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha, should both see relatively small fields since they'll be off-limits to the average player's bankroll. That's a good thing for anyone who's trying to win a bracelet, since the fewer opponents you have the more likely you are to achieve your goal.

The other thing that should work in these players' favor is the number of non-hold'em events remaining. In addition to the $10,000 PLO, there are four other events left on the schedule: Event 40, Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw; Event 43, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-lo Split 8-or-better; Event 47, $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-lo Split 8-or-better; and Event 51, $1,500 HORSE. Two other events, Event 41 ($1,500 Mixed Hold'em) and Event 53 ($1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout), also favor more experienced players and both men should have a good shot at final tabling them.

A few other players are still within striking distance, though they'd have to finish higher than 8th place to do so. Still, it's not unthinkable that Daniel Negreanu might finish in fifth place in one of the remaining events, or that David Singer might finish third, or that Chris Ferguson might win a bracelet. All these things are completely within the realm of possibility, and each would change the leaderboard significantly.

For now, it's Jacobo Fernandez who's in the lead and everyone else is chasing him.