American poker pro David Peters had a pretty good year by anyone's standards in 2014 with $350k in live tournament earnings.
He had a great 2015 with almost $3 million in live earnings.
2016, though, has been through the roof. He's won close to $7 million and had 27 international cashes -- 22 of which were final tables!
He's just added another to that list as he's second in chips heading into the final day at EPT Prague tomorrow.
Win and he'll claim another €774,600 for his awe-inspiring 2016 coffers. Finish third or higher and he'll also snatch the GPI Player of the Year title away from Fedor Holz.
Peters Eyes Holz at #1
It's an eye-popping surge from one of the quieter but obviously most talented players in the world right now. We caught up with him in Prague to find out exactly what's behind this recent torrent of big results.
PokerListings: What’s changed that's made you so incredibly successful this year?
"I've worked really hard on my game."
David Peters: I’ve worked really hard on my game the last couple of years, much more so than I did in the past.
Now it feels like I’ve just been clicking and playing really well, and things have gone my way.
PL: So when people say, ‘everyone’s solid and you can’t win anymore," you’re proving them wrong.
DP: For sure, it’s definitely still possible.
PL: It’s the very last EPT. Would a win here be special for you?
DP: One of my goals has always been to win one of these and I’ve been playing quite a few, so definitely yes.
This is the very last one so I better really make it count.
PL: If you come at least third you’ll also take over the #1 spot in the GPI. Did you know?
DP: Yes, I did. It would be really cool to win the player of the year ranking and pass Fedor Holz despite the incredible year that he had.
The GPI is a pretty good ranking system; many players look at it and follow it, so it would be great. I’m more about winning this tournament than Player of the Year, though.
PL: What do you think of PokerStars ending the EPT brand and starting something new on a global scale?
DP: Well, I don’t know too much about it but it seems fine. Honestly, as long as they keep the number of tournaments and the structures like the ones at the EPT – which are perfect – I don’t really mind what they call it.
Not a talker like Kabrhel.
As long as they don’t cut back on tournaments too much, and it doesn’t look like they will, that’s OK.
PL: The headlines have recently belonged to table talk specialists like Will Kassouf or Martin Kabrhel. You seem to be the complete opposite of that.
DP: Yes, that’s never been my game. I don’t talk to people to pick up information. I’m much more in the zone, trying to pick up other things that players gave away.
I guess everyone has their own style but speech play just has never been mine. I don’t talk during hands but that doesn’t mean I’m never talking.
I do talk to the other players in between hands.
Not afraid of anyone.
PL: Can players like the ones mentioned above get under your skin?
DP: Not really. Nothing really bothers me too much. I mean if they get obnoxious and over the top it gets kind of annoying to play with them, but it doesn’t affect my game.
PL: Thank you, David, and best of luck tomorrow.
Watch Peters go for his first career EPT title on the EPT Prague live stream right here starting at 1 pm CET. Here are the chip counts coming in:
| Name | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| Marton Czuczor | Hungary | 9,710,000 |
| David Peters | USA | 8,880,000 |
| Sergei Petrushevskii | Russia | 5,265,000 |
| Sam Cohen | USA | 4,520,000 |
| Jasper Meijer van Putten | Netherlands | 3,815,000 |
| Marius Gierse | Germany | 3,555,000 |
