Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s march through the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has turned plenty of heads in the industry. Weeks after a run-in with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Mizrachi took down the $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship and banked $1.5 million, the largest prize awarded at the WSOP so far. Then, “The Grinder” nearly logged his second bracelet, but fell short in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship, where he took sixth for $69,000.
Each month, ESPN.com rolls out media-generated poker player rankings dubbed “The Nuts.” Poker News Daily’s very own Dan Cypra is on the panel, which moved Mizrachi into the top 10 in June. Also getting a vote is Bluff”s Lance Bradley, who commented about “The Grinder,” “Mizrachi’s win puts his name back on the list of respected players. Had we done this list when Grinder first burst onto the scene by dominating WPT events, he’d be No. 2 or 3 each month. If he can continue to perform at the WSOP, he’s certainly got a chance to get there now.”
“The Grinder” was the runner-up to PokerStars pro Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier in the WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions qualifier held last Thursday. Mizrachi built a 2:1 chip lead heads-up for a spot in the $1 million Tournament of Champions, but could not hold on.
Also ascending into the top 10 after not appearing in May is Daniel Alaei. The winner of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December, Alaei played second fiddle to Scott Seiver in the L.A. Poker Classic’s High Roller Event in February. According to the HendonMob database, four of Alaei’s last five live cashes were worth at least $100,00.
Tops on the leaderboard is Full Tilt Poker pro and 2009 WSOP Main Event November Niner Phil Ivey. Now the proud owner of his very own high-stakes poker room at Aria in Las Vegas, Ivey is widely considered to be the game’s top player. All but two members of the 10-man voting panel selected Ivey to sit atop the rankings, with Jason Mercier and Scott Seiver each also receiving a #1 nod. Ivey has paced “The Nuts” ever since its debut.
ESPN poker columnist Gary Wise noted that Ivey will remain a fixture atop his rankings for the foreseeable future: “I doubt very seriously I’ll put anyone else here as long as I’m included in the balloting.” Ivey is a seven-time bracelet winner, a 2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominee, and has finished in the top 25 of the WSOP Main Event four times since 2002 (seventh in 2009, 20th in 2005, 10th in 2003, and 23rd in 2002). All told, “No Home Jerome” has over $5 million in WSOP and Circuit Event earnings.
Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi vaulted from #9 in “The Nuts” rankings in May to fifth in June. Mizzi leads the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year voting and finished third in the Aussie Millions Main Event for $659,000 in January. He won the Borgata Spring Poker Open Main Event in April for $170,000, besting a talented crop of predominantly online pros at the final table.
Here’s a look at the top 10 in the ESPN “The Nuts” player rankings for June:
1. Phil Ivey
2. Jason Mercier
3. Tom “durrrr” Dwan
4. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin
5. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi
6. Patrik Antonius
7. Daniel Negreanu
8. Scott Seiver
9. Daniel Alaei
10. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi
Players on the verge of making a run at the top 10 include DoylesRoom Brunson 10 candidate Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Alexander Kostritsyn, 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, and John Juanda. Cypra’s top 10 also included Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad and David “Doc Sands” Sands, who final tabled Event #8 of the 2010 WSOP and already has two in the money finishes.
