The World Series of Poker Strikes Back

Every community must face its own trials and tribulations, but it is what we do in times of chaos and upheaval that defines what will become of what once was. The poker industry, which for a time appeared to know no bounds, stared down disaster this year when the threads of the online world spun loose on what would become known as Black Friday. Nobody knew what would happen from one day to the next. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who turned on my computer with hesitation every day, fearing what I could be confronted with. One thing I did believe however was that, no matter what, nothing could shake the industry’s backbone — the people and their love for the game.

Soon after the storm struck, all eyes would turn once again to America, but this time for the biggest and most prestigious poker festival of the year, the World Series of Poker. What would it be like without online qualifiers from the U.S.? Would it affect the fields, the prize pools, or the atmosphere? The worldwide poker community needed a sign of hope, a showing of resilience, so the next few weeks would turn out to be poker’s biggest test.

When discussing this year’s Series I think it’s not only important to address the highlights but also to take a look at some of the obvious differences to previous years, whether negative or positive. This is vital because that’s what the WSOP is all about anyway, it’s not all smiles and glamour, money and champagne, it’s a journey of epic proportions featuring lows you’d never want to feel again and highs you’ve never felt before.

Escape To The World Series

From day 1 the stress on the poker community was evident. There was a commotion during the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship when James Bord threatened John Juanda and called him a “disgrace” among other insults. Bystanders speculated as to what the confrontation was over, many believing it had something to do with Full Tilt player refunds, but whatever the cause, the worry was there that the next seven weeks were not going to be easy. As it turned out, the general mood was pretty good overall and emotional outbursts were few and far between (not counting the annoyance expressed at men playing the ladies-only event but that’s a story for another day). Yes there were many players unsure of their future; what they would do or indeed if they would leave the country to play online elsewhere, but whether they were experiencing denial or acceptance, all worries appeared to be put on hold as the WSOP acted as a much-needed distraction.

Key Piece Missing

You can’t talk about this year’s Series without mentioning Phil Ivey, not because he multi-tabled five events or won a heap of bracelets but because he simply wasn’t there. When Ivey announced, “I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot”, some still held hope he would turn up. However from the first event to the last, there was no sign of the world’s most highly revered poker player and as his presence is usually the spark of much excitement, the absence of the game’s scariest poker face was a constant reminder of the dark cloud hovering close-by.

Would The Real Phil Hellmuth Please Stand Up

The Ivey drought this Series gave plenty of others the opportunity to step up to the plate and make waves of their own. Little did we know the biggest wave would come from a man with the same first name, Phil Hellmuth. Each year people try to predict how Hellmuth is going to enter the building to take his seat for the main event. Would he have a gaggle of Lady Gaga’s in tow like last year’s WSOP Europe? Would he be ready to rumble, or rule the felt Caesar style? Surely it would have to be something extravagant to help boost spirits? No, in fact a suit and a microphone was all Hellmuth came equipped with. He would casually walk the red carpet, enter the building, and begin commentating on himself and the main event. Some didn’t even notice what was happening. Perhaps without the backing of his sponsor, we were getting to see the real Phil behind the extravagant costumes and theme tunes. I always felt a little uncomfortable during these entrances in the past as I couldn’t help but think they were not a true reflection of the man himself. Regardless, I have to say it’s only natural to miss the fabulous ridiculousness of it all… I wonder if he did too.

Million Dollar Man

Hellmuth’s entrance may have been surprisingly subdued but the same could definitely not have been said about his performance overall. Every year one story stands out above all others, and for me this year, it belonged to the “Poker Brat” himself. The 11-time bracelet winner got close to his 12th World Series victory not once, not twice, but thrice! And when I say close I mean devastatingly close. Fans tuned in all over the world to see if Hellmuth could take down yet another bracelet, and three times he teased as he gave it his all only to finish in second place. We waited for an explosion, for a rant, for any Hellmuth-type antics, but they didn’t come. The pro took each setback in his stride as he proved to the world he still has what it takes to be the best. He also danced in the face of those who had labeled him a one-trick pony by scoring his second-place hat trick in all non-hold’em events including the $50,000 Player’s Championship where he took down his first ever seven-figure score. Hellmuth walked away from the Rio All-Suites Hotel with his head held high and his pockets weighed down with $1,591,006 in WSOP winnings.

Bracelets For Britain

The British contingent followed up their 2010 success with some fantastic results including first WSOP bracelets for youngsters Matt Perrins, Darren Woods, and Jake Cody. Cody won his in the heads-up championship that fellow Brit James Bord stared down John Juanda in, and in doing so completed poker’s triple crown. The 22-year-old became the third player to achieve the crown and he did this within 18 months. Another 22-year-old who gave England something to cheer for was Sam Holden. Holden was playing his very first Series and managed to carve out a place for himself at the final table of the main event. He may have the smallest amount of chips heading into the final but has already proven he has the skill and heart to overcome any obstacle that may come his way in November.

European Glory

Two other Euro countries worthy of a mention are France and Ukraine. Four bracelets were taken across the waters to France due to the accomplishments of first-time bracelet winners Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Elie Payan, Fabrice Soulier, and Antonin Teisseire. Eugene Katchalov, originally from Ukraine but who now calls New York his home, won his first bracelet also, as did Oleksii Kovalchuk and Arkadiy Tsinis. Anton Makiievskyi should keep Ukrainians glued to their screens as he will also be taking a seat soon enough as one of this year’s main event November Nine.

Ooh La La

When talking about French success I want to give some time specifically to the man we have come to know as ElkY. The bedazzled blonde managed to make himself the fourth person to achieve poker’s triple crown when he won the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship. This is amazing not only because two players hit the triple at this year’s Series but because ElkY had never actually played a live seven-card stud event before. We did a couple of videos with ElkY during and after the tournament and it was just so exciting to see him so happy while at the same time so baffled at the fact he was doing as well as he was in a game he was inexperienced at. He had waited a long time to add a bracelet to his list of achievements and for it to come in this event just added to the magical, star quality the French pro exudes.

Double Deluxe

Among other big names to win bracelets this year were 2010 November Niner Matt Jarvis, Andre Akkari, Nick Binger, Matt Matros, Joe Ebanks, Sam Stein, Ben Lamb, and Jason Mercier. There was one double bracelet winner this Series, Brian Rast. The American took down a $1,500 pot-limit hold’em event for over $220,000, and then came back for more when he beat Phil Hellmuth to the $50,000 Player’s Championship $1.7 million first prize. The well-spoken, down to earth pro continued the tradition of double bracelets for yet another year, his two victories helped stretch the multi-event winner record to 12 consecutive years.

Excessive Celebrating

While the hallways surrounding the Amazon room and the Pavilion may have at times felt a little gloomy or just less busy than previous years, celebrations were frequent on the felt. So much so that at one stage there was an alcohol ban placed on the final table area, this was helped along by some over-excited British railbirds. The ban was never going to last for long with Miller Lite being one of this year’s sponsors. This sponsorship made for a nice concoction with Jack Link’s jerky, and among others, Dearfoam slippers. All players who took part in the main event and some other select events received a pair of these slippers — and I can guarantee one problem none of them had was cold feet. It will take more than slippers and jerky to satisfy the gang of spectators preparing their cheers for this year’s November Nine however, so the alcohol had better be flowing. The Brits will return, alongside the Irish, so I don’t even need to describe the scenes that are likely to follow.

The Best Is Yet To Come

This year’s main event has produced an extremely interesting final table. Four nations; the Ukraine, Belize, Czech Republic, and Germany will be represented for the very first time at a WSOP main event final. A sprinkling of American and a dash of British and Irish make for a United Nations final like no other that has gone before. One of the three Americans taking part, Ben Lamb, had one hell of an adventure this year. His good friend Sam Stein beat him heads up for his first bracelet, but he corrected that a few events later, and with his thirst not quite quenched he kept slaying until he made the main event final. He is currently topping the WSOP Player of the Year leader board, with Phil Hellmuth hot on his heels.

This year’s WSOP was more successful than most could imagine — just take a look at some of the records that were established:

- 75,672 entries in 58 events created the largest prize pool in WSOP history, $191,999,010.

- The main event attracted its third-largest field ever with 6,865 participants.

- Forty-six of 58 events this year had a prize pool of $1 million or more. This is up from 44 events last year.

- The 2011 Series witnessed the largest live pot-limit Omaha tournament in poker history with 1,071 entries in event no. 22.

Overall this year’s World Series showed just how resilient the poker community is and affirmed the fact that the WSOP, and indeed poker in general, is not going anywhere for a long time to come. With some hard work and thoughtful foresight the rest of the poker world can stand its own ground and keep things running for when Americans return to their virtual seats, chips waiting and ready for action. In the meantime, bring on November! ♠