Brian Hastings is making a case for WSOP Player of the Year, as he has become the first player this year to win two bracelets at the 2015 World Series of Poker. The 26-year old who is better known for his online poker prowess won Event #39: $1,500 Ten-Game Mix, earning $133,403.
Hastings certainly seems to enjoy non-Hold’em tournaments, as his first bracelet this summer came in Event #27, the $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship. He now has five cashes in this WSOP and three total final tables. Though winning two gold bracelets in a single World Series of Poker is certainly an amazingly difficult feat, it has interestingly been one that has now been accomplished for 14 consecutive years. Last year, it was George Danzer who was the dual bracelet winner, emerging victorious in the $10,000 Seven-Card Razz Championship and the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship. Danzer ended up winning the 2014 WSOP POY award.
Mixed games such as the one Hastings just won have been increasing in popularity at the World Series over the last few years. The poker boom could have really been renamed the “Texas Hold’em Boom,” as Hold’em became the game of choice for most players for the better part of a decade. But as competition has become tougher and games have become harder to win for pros, many players have spent more time at different games. Additionally, many just got tired of the same old, same old, and realized the variation of mixed games not only offered greater mental stimulation, but also served as a better gauge of who the best, most well-rounded poker players really were.
That last point is the big reason the $50,000 Poker Players Championship was introduced a decade ago. While the $10,000 Main Event is still generally the most prestigious poker tournament of the year, top pros wanted something else to both quench their competitive thirst and weed out thousands of recreational players. They wanted a contest whose winner could be stamped with the “best overall” title for at least a year. Thus, the Poker Players Championship.
After his victory, Hastings said of the format, “I really pride myself on being able to play all of these games well,” Hastings said. “I hope this carries over into the $50K (Poker Players Championship).”
Well, so far it has not. After the first day of the Poker Players Championship Hastings is 70th out of 73 players with 68,200 chips.
Like many players who jumped onto the poker scene as soon as they were of legal age to play in a casino (or even before), Brian Hastings said that the difference between now and then (even though he is still just 26) is that he is more mature and his life is not just about poker anymore.
“I really think that’s one of the more underrated aspects of this game, having the balance between your personal life and what goes on at the tables.”
2015 World Series of Poker Event #39: $1,500 Ten-Game Mix – Final Table Results
1. Brian Hastings – $133,403
2. Rostislav Tsodikov – $82,398
3. Todd Brunson – $52,977
4. Alexey Makarov – $35,130
5. Tim Reusch – $23,982
6. Mike Watson – $16,846
7. Owais Ahmed – $12,163
8. Eric Wasserson – $12,163
