In recent years, many experts feel that the world of poker has been taken over by the young guns. For example, the past three World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champions have all been under 24 years old. During the past two years, the Player of Year winners have all been in their 20s. And, some of the online phenoms are not even 21 years old (such as Viktor Blom, aka “Isildur1”).
However, the start of 2011 has shown that the old guard will not just step aside for the next generation of players. These well-accomplished players have shown that they still can play with the rising young stars and will not give up without a fight.
Over the past few months, the poker world has seen tremendous performances from former champions. Probably the best feel good story comes from the World Poker Tour (WPT). Since the WPT’s inception in 2002, Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton has been the lead commentator and face of the tour. Unfortunately, due to his hosting duties, he was unable to play in the events.
Recently, the WPT relaxed its restrictions and Sexton has definitely made the most of it. In his previous event last September, he made a deep run, finishing in 20th place at the WPT Borgata Poker Open. As an encore, Sexton made the final table of the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star event a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, a three-outer finished his run in sixth place, but “The Ambassador of Poker” vowed to be back.
Additionally, three former WSOP Main Event champions have shown that they are not resting on their laurels. Last year, Carlos Mortensen, the 2001 champion, captured the inaugural WPT Hollywood Open title. In 2011, he followed up this victory with another title at the Aussie Millions Heads-Up Championship and turned in a third place finish at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic.
Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 WSOP champ, began the year with a tremendous run at his sponsor’s premier event, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). Incorporating the tools from his newly formed relationship with Sam Chauhan (the poker mindest guru), Moneymaker followed up his 11th place finish at the PCA Main Event with another deep finish at the National Heads-up Poker Championship.
In the heads-up tournament, Moneymaker bested the likes of John Racener (2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up), Dan “jungleman12” Cates, Doyle Brunson (1976 and 1977 WSOP champion), David Oppenheim (cash game specialist and third in the 2010 WSOP $50,000 Player’s Championship), and Jonathan Duhamel (2010 WSOP champion). Eventually, he lost in the finals to Erik Seidel.
Finally, Joe Hachem, the 2005 Main Event champion, came close to capturing another major title. After finishing fifth in the Aussie Millions $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event and 33rd in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, Hachem outlasted 415 entrants who registered for the Big Event’s Main Event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Hachem lost the heads-up battle versus fellow PokerStars pro Victor Ramdin.
Speaking of Ramdin, the former WPT champion is also another member of the old guard who is having a spectacular start to the year. Ramdin not only captured the Big Event’s Main Event title over Hachem, but also finished in ninth place in the same event’s High Roller Bounty Shootout. Additionally, at the 2011 PCA, Ramdin captured his first title of the year in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event.
Both of these victories place Ramdin in the top ten in the Player of the Year race and he is committed to making a run at the crown.
No player has had a start to the year like the newly minted Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel. Simply put, he is enjoying the run of his life and there is no sign of him slowing down. The eight-time bracelet winner has obviously had tremendous success throughout his career, but let’s take a look at what he has done since the beginning of the year.
· January 11: PCA Pot Limit Omaha ($5,000), 3rd place -$45,560
· January 15: PCA High Roller ($25,000), 4th place – $295,960
· January 22: Aussie Millions High Roller ($100,000), 3rd place – $625,000
· January 27: Aussie Millions High Roller ($250,000), 1st place – $2,472,555
· February 22: L.A. Poker Classic Heads-Up ($5,100), 5th place – $14,500
· March 1: L.A. Poker Classic High Roller ($25,100), 1st place – $144,570
· March 5: National Heads-Up Championship ($25,000), 1st place – $750,000
If you haven’t punched these numbers into your calculator yet, I’ll save you the time – this is over $4 million in earnings and it is only three months into the year. Seidel is probably the hottest player right now, especially in the High Roller events. And with the newly announced Onyx Cup from Full Tilt Poker, where the buy-ins will range from $100,000 to $250,000, Seidel will have plenty of additional opportunities to add to his already impressive 2011 total.
So, for all you who think this game is just for the young players, these aforementioned pros prove that the old guard still has some fight left in them. Let’s see if this trend continues into this year’s 42nd annual WSOP.
Bernard Lee is the official spokesperson of Foxwoods Resort Casino. Lee is the co-host of “ESPN Inside Deal,” a columnist for ESPN.com, a Sunday columnist for the Boston Herald, and author of “The Final Table, Volume I” and “Volume II.” Visit BernardLeePoker.com. Listen to “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” presented by Foxwoods Resort Casino every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. on 1120 AM in Boston (MoneyMatterBoston.com) or on RoundersRadio.com. For questions or comments, e-mail him at BernardLeePoker@hotmail.com.