He may not be #1 in the world this week, but in the June PLB rankings, super Swede ‘C Darwin2’ found his familiar place in the top spot. And he had some unusual company in the top 10 – an American.

‘C Darwin2’ (3,732.08 June PLB points) put in plenty of volume and, as usual for him, it paid off. Early in the month, he cashed for what would be his largest score of the month by winning the Winamax Mini Las Vegas High Roller for $46,404.27 and 414.57 PLB points. That was just one of eight five-figure scores won during the course of June which, in total, earned ‘C Darwin2’ over $289,000.

The former #1-ranked grinder is speeding to the elite plateau of $10 million in lifetime earnings, needing just $220,189 to get there. For most people and players this is the equivalent of many, many years of hard work. For the Swede, if he runs good and puts in his usual volume, he may hit this mark by the end of July.

Denmark’s ‘x_zola25’ (2870.25) finished the month in the #2 spot in June. Currently ranked #45 in the world, ‘x_zola25’ topped his month with a runner-up finish in the June 19 edition of the PokerStars $1,050 Super Tuesday for $25,319 and 267.99 PLB points. The Dane, who regularly plays the biggest online buy-ins he can find, managed another five-figure finish when he placed second in the partypoker Sunday Major High Roller for another $20,778/255.52.

In total Denmark’s #1-ranked player produced a massive 130 results in June for over $181,000. The June effort helped him climb over the $4 million lifetime earnings mark as he works his way back to the Worldwide Top 25.

Speaking of a top 25 grinder, Ukraine’s Worldwide #23-ranked ‘Palyaaa’ (2842.02) landed in the #3 PLB ranking for June. He did it on the back of two large PLB scores. ‘Palyaaa’ first booked the win in the June 14 edition of the partypoker $1K Big Bounty Hunter High Roller for $38,066. Four days later, he repeated the finish in the partypoker Super Sunday 1K Deepstack High Roller for another $27,710. Between the two, the Ukrainian picked up over 761 PLB points.

The massive month also helped him reach a career peak Worldwide ranking. The question for ‘Palyaaa’ is can he continue to rise the ranks into the Worldwide top 10?

The second Swede in the top 5 of the June PLB leaders is ‘Pot4teUS’ (2,658.55). A former top 10-ranked grinder, currently #25 in the world, ‘Pot4teUS’ soared past the $6 million lifetime earnings mark in June. The bulk of this was thanks to two massive five-figure cashes. The first came on June 10, with his third-place finish in the partypoker KO Series Event #38 for $29,975 and 365.77 PLB points. Then he finished as the runner-up in the $1k Sunday Big Bounty for another $24,218/296.49.

In total ‘Pot4teUS’ brought in just under $150,000 in winnings in June in roughly 110 results.

Wrapping up the top 5 in June is Argentinian superstar Ramiro ‘Ramiro’ Petrone (2,571.20). Currently ranked #6 in the world, Petrone has been on a heater for the better of a year, continuing to crush both the tournament and online cash games.

In June, Petone put in a lighter schedule than he has in recent months but still managed to book big-time scores. On June 3 Petrone kicked off the month with a runner-up finish in the PokerStars Sunday High Roller for $37,249. The same day he had another second place finish in the partypoker Super Sunday 1K Deepstack for another score of just over $30,000.

In total, Petrone booked five scores of five-figures en route to a month that brought him over $163,000 in earnings. He heads into July needing only $30,000 to hit $4 million in lifetime earnings.

Also of note: It’s been roughly seven years since a player located in the United States has been able to crack the top 10 of any given monthly PLB rankings. The restrictions of the UIGEA have made it virtually impossible for US players to put in enough volume in large enough fields to accumulate the necessary PLB points. Players from all over the rest of the world are at a huge advantage being able to play in the largest tournament series and sites that have millions at stake on a weekly basis.

This is what makes the accomplishment of David ‘bewater’ Goodman, from the United States, all the more amazing. WSOP.com’s recent shared tri-state liquidity and Goodman’s domination in the month of June has not only made him the #1-ranked player in Nevada but also the first US player, still living in the US, to crack the monthly PLB in years.

In total, Goodman was able to earn over $121,000 on 31 cashes in the month of June .

PocketFives June PLB Rankings Top 10