Well, I’m glad that I read the news before posting this today, because with Phil Ivey reportedly skipping the World Series of Poker, it changes a lot of things for the players left in all of the tournament fields. But as we thought about a list of the players most likely to make a serious run at the summer-long title of WSOP Player of the Year, there were still plenty of notable names to choose from. After all, it takes a large bankroll and consistently excellent play to top this list, so no one just kind of “backs into it” or gets lucky one time. It takes multiple quality efforts, so we are looking at players that are the most capable of making that type of run. Here are some of our most likely choices, in no particular order:
5) Galen Hall — This guy already leads in the overall Player of the Year race, and nothing about his recent performance suggests that he’ll be slowing down anytime soon. The San Francisco native is off to by far the greatest year of his poker career to date, and if anything, his recent results point to continued success in the WSOP, not a slowdown. One concern for Hall is his relative lack of tournament experience in poker variants besides NLHE, which could be a factor in him making fewer deep runs as the Series goes on. But taking home a bracelet in a NLHE event does not seem to be out of his range right now at all.
4) Victor Ramdin — I know he has to be somewhat of a surprise on this list, but consider for a moment that Ramdin has made strong runs in other variants of poker, including a HORSE final table in 2008, and a PLHE/PLO event in 2010. He’ll show up for a wide range of events, which means more chances for a big score, and that’s what the Player of the Year race is really all about. His overall experience in several games may go a long way toward compensating for the fact that he’s not the greatest player on the planet. If he shows up every day and plays hard (which he will), POY is a title that Ramdin can take home.
3) Michael Mizrachi — The man had an absolutely unreal 2010 WSOP, and it would be difficult to picture him doing that well again, except for the fact that he always seems to put it all together on the right stage at the right time of year. If you look at his 2011 live tournament results, you’ll see a pretty lackluster record of finishes, which may suggest that he’s running poorly or just not playing as many events. But assuming that he shows up at the WSOP on form and ready to play, we like Mizrachi’s chances to make another POY run in 2011.
2) Daniel Negreanu — I know he’s one of the prototypical love him/hate him kind of players, although I personally am pretty neutral when it comes to Negreanu. What I like about him in this player of the year race, however, is his well-documented dedication to health and balance for the WSOP. He eats well, gets as much rest as possible, and plans out a detailed schedule for himself before the cards are even in the air. Other players prepare too, of course, but Negreanu combines the preparation with showing up for events that he has a great chance to make a deep run in, and he usually makes one or two such runs each year. He will, like a few dozen others, play in every $10,000 Championship Tournament as the schedule allows, which gives him a great chance to rack up POY points along the way.
1) Frank Kassela — If you have to ask “Who??” just go back and check out the 2010 results for this guy. A little known player from Tennessee, Kassela was a double bracelet winner who also had two additional Top-10 finishes, and cashed in the Main Event on top of that. That’s pretty much the roadmap to a POY title, and Kassela has done it before. Because he plays such a wide variety of games (his bracelets are in Stud/8 and Razz), he doesn’t always have to wade through the unwashed masses of the lower buy-in NLHE events, which in turn means that he has more chances to make deep runs. It is a great recipe for success, and one that we hope Kassela makes another deep summer run with again this year.
Our early congratulations to everyone who is playing in this year’s WSOP, and Good Luck at the Tables!!