Ramiro ‘Ramiro’ Petrone is the #1-ranked player in his homeland, Argentina (PokerStars photo)

Online poker is a global game with players logging on and grinding from every part of the world. Every country has a #1-ranked player and here we take a look at some of those that lead the way in their home countries.

Steve ‘MrTimCaum’ O’Dwyer – Ireland

It’s hard to fathom that Steve ‘MrTimCaum’ O’Dwyer, one of the most feared high-rolling tournament beasts in the world, could find something new to achieve in poker. In 2018 he not only conquered the nosebleed live MTT scene he also, for the first time, he also cracked the worldwide top-10 online rankings. Currently sitting at a career-high ranking of #10, his second time touching that mark this year, he has taken over as the #1-ranked player in his adopted home country of Ireland.

Not your typical online grinder, O’Dwyer gets his online volume when he can. More specifically, when he’s not traveling the world earning six and seven-figure sums. This year he’s been able to find a little time each month to steadily put in volume. The result has him eclipsing the $5 million in lifetime earnings mark. Combined with his live earnings, O’Dwyer has earned more than $30 million from the game of poker.

In November, O’ Dwyer has made his presence felt online, regularly playing in the highest stakes tournament available. He’s managed three four-figure scores one of which was a victory in the November 20 edition of the PokerStars High Roller Club $1,050 Super Tuesday for $31,451 and 394.97 points.

With a few weeks left in 2018, should O’Dwyer continue to splash around in the new slate of daily high rollers, he may find himself peaking above his current worldwide standing.

Bruno ‘brunovolks’ Volkmann – Brazil

Hailing from Santa Catarina, online tournament pro Bruno ‘brunovolks’ Volkmann has surged in the rankings this month to become the new #1-ranked player in all of Brazil.

His recent heater has not only allowed him to become the top grinder in his home country but he has also spiked a new career-high worldwide ranking, landing at #16 in the world this week.

In the month of November, he has put in a healthy amount of volume, recording 87 cashes. Of those, five were good for podium finishes and seven were PLB qualifying scores. One of the highlights of his month came in the November 12 edition of the PokerStars High Roller Club $530 Daily 500. He defeated a field of 119 to take home just over $13,000 and 243.93 PLB points. Earlier in the month, he put together a runner-up run in the bwin.com Sunday Main Event for $20,991 and another 270.58.

Volkmann has also just recently vaulted past the $4 million lifetime earnings marker, making 2018 a career year for the Brazilian.

Ramiro ‘Ramiro’ Petrone – Argentina

It’s hard to remember a time that Argentina’s #1-ranked Ramiro ‘Ramiro’ Petrone was not near the top of the rankings. A PocketFiver for less than two years, he’s has continued to put up huge scores and keep himself in the top-10 mix. In 2018, Petrone made a push to top the worldwide rankings, reaching as high as #3 in the world. He currently rests ranked at #7.

Petrone likes to put in big-time volume and this November is no different. So far, he amassed 108 total cashes to date for a total of over $180,000. He’s put together multiple five-figure scores including a victory in the November 4 edition of the partypoker Sunday Bounty High Roller for $17,281 and 235.27 PLB points. Just four days later, he returned to the site to take down the BIG Bounty High Roller for another $18,739 and 287.25 PLB points.

This year has been a standout one for Petrone. He collected his largest career score with his runner-up finish in the PokerStars TCOOP Twin Main Event (Event #72) to take home a massive $282,436. How dominant is Petrone in Argentina? Well, he’s likely to be the #1 ranked pro there for some time as he’s 4600 PLB points ahead of ‘sonmo’, the next closest player.

Nedelcu ‘Narcusus90’ Narcis – Romania

The #1-ranked player in all of Romania is Bucharest resident Nedelcu ‘Narcusis90’ Narcis. The longtime PocketFiver is currently ranked #39 in the world and is headed to surpassing his previous rankings high of #32, which he last held in 2015.

Narcis has had a dominant November by any standard. He cashed in 115 tournaments for a total of roughly $150,000. He has 12 PLB qualified cashes, five five-figure scores, and 21 podium finishes. Some of his highlights include a victory in the November 20 edition of the PokerStars High Roller Club $530 Daily SuperSonic for over $19,000. On November 14 he took down another PokerStars High Roller Club for another $18,496, in a 24 hour-period where he won three tournaments and took third in another.

With the amount of volume Narcis puts in, there’s an outside chance, as he currently sits as $2.88M in lifetime earnings, that he could hit $3 million by the end of the year. If not in 2018, he’ll for sure see the new milestone in the first couple of months of 2019.

‘etxnl01’ – The Netherlands

With over $1.6 million in lifetime scores, The Netherlands’ #1-ranked grinder is ‘etxnl01’. An online pro for roughly five years, the player who goes by his shortened moniker ‘etx’ build his roll up from the micro stakes and now can be found mixing it up in some of the largest online tournament available.

His day-to-day schedule consists of many mid-stakes contests and he regularly puts up four-figure cashes. In November, ‘etx’ has posted over 80 cashes for a total of nearly $35,000. He had five podium finishes and his highlight score was a final table finish in the November 10 edition of the PokerStars High Roller Club $530 Daily 500 for $5,431.

“I’m definitely happy with being ranked number one in The Netherlands right now on PocketFives,” ‘etx’ said in a recent interview. “But I also still look at the other rankings, like the general rankings, hoping to climb them and become a better player as well.”

A new, in-depth profile on The Netherlands’ ‘etxnl01’ is available on PocketFives right now.