John Phan Wins 2008 Player of the Year Title

Each year, the Card Player Player of the Year (POY) race involves world-class players chasing poker's most respected annual award.

In 2008, the 10 most consistent players included two world champions, and held a collective 14 World Series of Poker bracelets, five World Poker Tour titles, and one European Poker Tour title. The eventual winner was looking for a shot at redemption after finishing runner-up three years ago, while another top contender was attempting to become the first back-to-back winner in history. One competitor made history by making both the WSOP main-event final table and the WSOP Europe main-event final table in the same year, the first time that has ever happened. Another contender confirmed his long-term tournament success with his first WPT title, while a younger poker champion won not only his first WPT title, but his first EPT title at one of the largest events of 2008. One of these players is a self-proclaimed tournament junkie, while another plays simply for his love of the game and the never-ending chase of big action and big money.

You will meet all of these players here, as they are the top 10 finishers in the 2008 Player of the Year race.

2008 Player of the year Results

No. 1: John Phan
2008 POY Points: 6,704
2008 Final Tables: 8
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $2,075,323
2008 Highlight: Card Player Player of the Year

John Phan was featured on the cover of Card Player early in 2008 to highlight the charity work he takes part in back in his home country of Vietnam. Now he can add the 2008 Player of the Year award to his resumé. This is the first such title for Phan, and he knows better than anyone how hard it was to complete a POY run to the end of the year while everyone was trying to chase him down. He finished in the runner-up position in the 2005 POY race, losing the title in the final month of the year to Men Nguyen. Phan caught fire this summer and never looked back. He took the lead in the race when he won the WPT Legends of Poker tournament in late August, and no one was able to chase him down this time.

Highlights of the year for Phan included his first WPT title, which netted him $1,091,428 in prize money. He also made two additional WPT final tables, finishing in sixth place in the Bay 101 Shooting Star event in March, and fifth at the Bellagio Cup IV in July. Phan also won his first WSOP gold bracelet in 2008, in a $3,000 no-limit hold'em event. He followed that up by taking first in the $2,500 deuce-to-seven triple-draw lowball event one week later for his second bracelet. Phan's summer of 2008 was one of the most impressive runs of tournament poker success in the history of the game. He finished the year with 14 cashes that won him $2,075,323 in prize money. He made eight final tables and won three major events. Phan now has $5,371,996 in career tournament winnings, two WSOP gold bracelets, one WPT title, and the Card Player 2008 Player of the Year title. Phan returned to Vietnam at the end of 2008 to celebrate his win with family and to spread charity aid to the poor villages along the central coast of Vietnam.

"I was really focused this summer. I didn't let anything bother me. I didn't go out, and all I would do in my mindset was play tournaments; no cash games, nothing else, just work, work, work. If you work really hard, it will pay off. Just like any business, if you win one tournament, it just helps your confidence, and you start to make all of the right decisions."


No. 2: David Pham
2008 POY Points: 6,022
2008 Final Tables: 11
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $1,447,638
2008 Highlight: Two WPT final tables and one EPT final table

One player who gave Phan a major scare was 2007 Player of the Year David "The Dragon" Pham. The Dragon accumulated more than 6,000 points for the second year in a row, finishing with 6,022. He did a great job of trying to defend his title, coming within 683 points of becoming the first back-to-back winner in history. He now has $8,056,332 in career tournament winnings.

Pham's consistent tournament success has been uncanny in the last couple of years. While some players make the POY top 10 one year and fall off the face of the map the next, Pham has set the standard as an annual threat to win the POY award. He is happiest when he's at a tournament poker table, and that is where one can often find him. He made the most final tables, 11, of any player in the POY top 10. While he did not win any of those final tables, he likely was the most feared player at the table every time.

"Winning the Player of the Year award is awesome, because no one can ever take that away from you. I'm so blessed. I think I'm doing very well in my life. When I do win, I deduct a percentage to give to charity in Vietnam. I do this with my partner David Tran; we take the money and give it to sick people and poor people."


No. 3: Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier
2008 POY Points: 5,510
2008 Final Tables: 6
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $3,618,720
2008 Highlight: Won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, for $2 million

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier began 2008 with the biggest win of his career. He won the European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, emerging from a field of 1,136 players to take home $2 million. The second major title of the year for ElkY came in October. He won the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago tournament and another $1,411,015 in prize money. Grospellier cashed a total of 10 times in 2008, and six of those cashes came at final tables. He accumulated 5,510 points during this performance, and won a total of $3,618,720 in tournaments in 2008, which is the largest amount won by any poker player who did not make an appearance at the WSOP main-event final table. Grospellier could very well become a threat to win the POY award for years to come. He is already one of the top money winners in the history of the EPT, and he could become the first European POY winner in the future.

"Winning two major titles in one year is a very big feat, so I'm very proud, and I'm also very proud of the way I worked on my game. Poker is a game with a lot of variance, so when the rush of cards and the correct conditions come, you have to exploit them to the maximum. You really have to exploit everything."


No. 4: Ivan Demidov
2008 POY Points: 4,940
2008 Final Tables: 2
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $6,404,900
2008 Highlight: Made both the WSOP main-event final table and the WSOP Europe main-event final table

Ivan Demidov accomplished what is arguably the most impressive poker feat of 2008. He made the final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event in July, and then made the final table of the World Series of Poker Europe main event in October. Demidov finished in third place in London to take home £334,850 in prize money, and this gave him a lot of confidence for the WSOP main-event final table in November. Many were picking Demidov to make the heads-up match, and to possibly win the world championship, and he lived up to the expectation. He made the heads-up battle with Peter Eastgate, eventually finishing in second place, to win $5,809,595.

Demidov became a poker superstar in the span of just a few short months, and in the process accomplished something that may never be matched.

"Making both WSOP main-event final tables is probably an achievement that I will never repeat. Not just making the final table, but coming close to winning two titles in one year is going to be almost impossible. So, it's the best year so far for me. I'm just enjoying myself and the freedom that money gave me, and the ability to play anywhere that I want and to travel a lot. That's the most important part for me."


No. 5: Erik Seidel
2008 POY Points: 4,754
2008 Final Tables: 4
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $2,142,397
2008 Highlight: Won first WPT title at Foxwoods Poker Classic

When only four other people in history have won more WSOP gold bracelets than you have, the proof of your long-term tournament success is more than established. Yet, it was nice for Erik Seidel to win his first WPT title in 2008. He topped a field of 346 players to walk away with $992,890, the largest win of his career. The second-largest cash of Seidel's storied career also came in 2008, when he finished second to Alexander Kostritsyn in the main event of the Aussie Millions. Seidel ended his 2008 POY campaign with 4,754 points, and he held the lead from April until August, when Phan passed him. Seidel now has $9,351,580 in career tournament winnings, eight WSOP gold bracelets, and one WPT title in his illustrious career.

"I'm happy that I'm still surviving and still managing to make money at it. The environment has changed a lot since I first started playing, so it's good to feel that I'm still competitive and keeping up, and had a great year."


No. 6: David Benyamine
2008 POY Points: 4,436
2008 Final Tables: 5
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $1,978,419
2008 Highlight: Won first WSOP gold bracelet in the Omaha eight-or-better world championship

David Benyamine is a true triple threat in the poker world, one of the few. He can take your entire bankroll in Bobby's Room or in a high-stakes online cash game, or he can win one of the $10,000 no-limit hold'em tournaments that he plays all over the world. Benyamine added a large chunk of tournament success to his poker credibility in 2008, as he took home almost $2 million. He won his first WSOP gold bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha eight-or-better world championship, and excused himself from the argument about who is the greatest player never to have won a gold bracelet. He came very close to winning his second WPT title, as well, when he finished runner-up at the Bellagio Cup IV in July. Benyamine made it clear that he does not play for titles; he plays for the cash. The French professional put on an impressive show in 2008, and in doing so, he reminded us that "winners forget they're in a race, they just love to run."


No. 7: Michael Binger
2008 POY Points: 4,416
2008 Final Tables: 10
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $1,005,846
2008 Highlight: Won WSOP Circuit event in Lake Tahoe

Among the top 10 players in the 2008 POY race, no one cashed more times than Michael Binger. He did so an astounding 21 times in 2008 on three different continents. A self-described "tournament junkie" who played more than 100 tournaments in 2008, he found early success at the Aussie Millions, where he cashed twice, and then he returned to the United States and traveled the tournament trail. Binger had a lot of success in preliminary events in 2008, with wins at the L.A. Poker Classic and Five-Star World Poker Classic. He also won a WSOP Circuit title in November in Lake Tahoe. That win gave him his fourth six-figure cash of the year, and he finished 2008 with just over $1 million in tournament winnings. Since his third-place finish in the largest poker tournament in history, the 2006 WSOP main event, Binger has proven that he truly belongs in the poker world, as he now has $5,883,204 in career tournament winnings.


No. 8: Peter Eastgate
2008 POY Points: 4,320
2008 Final Tables: 1
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $9,181,022
2008 Highlight: Won the WSOP main event

When you win the biggest poker tournament of the year, it could be argued that you were the player of the year, but it is beyond debate that you are the world champion for 2008. Peter Eastgate, at the age of 22, became the youngest world champion in the history of poker. He will spend 2009 under a microscope as every player in the world guns for him following his $9 million win. Eastgate can become the European version of Chris Moneymaker if he plays his cards right as the first European world champion since the poker boom began. The young Dane went on to post an impressive showing at the PartyPoker Premier League III in the closing months of 2008, and his two cashes in EPT events and a final-table appearance in the Irish Poker Open are clues that this kid will not be a one-hit wonder.


No. 9: David "Chino" Rheem
2008 POY Points: 4,194
2008 Final Tables: 4
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $3,409,624
2008 Highlight: Won the WPT Doyle Brunson Classic

Chino Rheem could have ended 2008 on a low note. He could have hung his head after busting out of the WSOP main-event final table in a disappointing seventh place. Sure, the $1,772,650 in prize money probably helped to soothe his soul, but as the most experienced professional at the main-event final table, everyone knew that Rheem had eyes only for the final heads-up match. It was not in the cards, however, but he kept playing and booked the biggest win of his career just one month after the biggest disappointment of his career. Rheem won the last major tournament of 2008 and his first WPT title at the $15,000 Doyle Brunson Classic. He beat an impressive field of 497 players to walk away with $1,538,730 in prize money, and he now has close to $4 million in career tournament winnings.


No. 10: Vinny Pahuja
2008 POY Points: 3,918
2008 Final Tables: 9
2008 Tournament Cash Winnings: $559,161
2008 Highlight: Cashed 19 times

Vinny Pahuja definitely deserves the true tournament grinder award for 2008. He dominated East Coast poker, making nine final-table appearances and cashing 19 times in all. He won two tournaments, a $300 no-limit hold'em shootout at the Foxwoods Poker Classic, and a $300 no-limit hold'em event at The Venetian's Deep-Stack Extravaganza II. While Pahuja found success in Las Vegas and on the Gulf Coast, the bulk of his great results came close to his home in New York City, as 13 of his cashes were in Atlantic City and at Foxwoods. If you walk into a poker room on the East Coast these days, you will find that it would be fair to say that no player is more feared than Pahuja.