Eight years ago, a 27-year-old accountant from the hills of Tennessee, Chris Moneymaker, defeated one of the titans of the game, bracelet winner Sammy Farha, heads-up in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. After busting Phil Ivey to make the final table, Moneymaker achieved what many thought was impossible, banked $2.5 million, and ignited the modern poker boom.
But what if he hadn’t won? We’re about to find out.
I’d wager that if Moneymaker hadn’t won, you wouldn’t be sitting here reading this and I certainly wouldn’t be writing it. Instead, Moneymaker’s victory was beamed across households around the world after it aired on ESPN and can still be seen on re-runs and online.
During the 2011 WSOP, we’ll have a chance to assess the hypothetical, as a series of three Main Event rematches will be held. Moneymaker and Farha, appropriately, will headline the first, which features a best-of-three format.
In the first bout between Moneymaker and Farha, the chip stacks will be set exactly as they were when heads-up play began in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. Moneymaker had 5.5 million in chips, while Farha had 2.9 million, a nearly 2:1 gap. But what if Farha had come back that fateful day eight years ago?
In the second match between Moneymaker and Farha, the starting stacks will be reversed and this time, Farha will begin with a 2:1 chip lead. The third match, which will occur if the series is tied at one apiece, will dole out equal starting stacks to both participants.
Moneymaker joked to WSOP officials in a press release sent out on Wednesday, “Winning the WSOP Main Event was a life altering moment. Even though I’m agreeing to run it again against Sammy, I have been assured they can’t take away my title if my bluffs don’t work as well this time.”
The second Main Event rematch being held is a battle between Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. The latter prevented Chan’s three-peat in 1989 and became the youngest Main Event champion ever, a record that stood for nearly 20 years until Peter Eastgate broke it in 2008. Perhaps more importantly, Hellmuth became a household poker name and captured the first of his record 11 bracelets.
But what if Chan had won? Would anyone know, or care, who Hellmuth was? Would he still be appearing in videos with Ludacris? Or attending the Super Bowl?
Only one match between Chan and Hellmuth will take place and each player will begin with an equal starting stack. Fans of poker will witness 21 bracelets’ worth of experience as the “Orient Express” and the “Poker Brat” vie for poker immortality… again.
The fans will determine the third rematch. Yes, you can decide which of four pairings will duel once again. Here are your options, the first of which was featured in the blockbuster hit “Rounders”:
1988 WSOP Main Event: Johnny Chan vs. Erik Seidel
2004 WSOP Main Event: Greg Raymer vs. David Williams
2006 WSOP Main Event: Jamie Gold vs. Paul Wasicka
2010 WSOP Main Event: Jonathan Duhamel vs. John Racener
Fans can vote at the WSOP’s Facebook page.
All three rematches will take place on June 2nd at the Rio in Las Vegas during the 2011 WSOP and will air on ESPN on July 26th. Seating at the Rio that day will be open to the general public and ESPN is devoting two hours of coverage to the rare event.