The departure of Mathias de Meulder from the primary Event yesterday marked the official end of the summer for Team PokerStars Pro, so far as the arena Series of Poker was concerned. De Meulder steered a brief stack through as much of yesterday as he could, finishing in a well-earned 433rd place worth greater than $25,000, before heading for the airport.
But while Team PokerStars will have no further part to play in proceedings here, it's still worth on reflection over what was something of a vintage year, with several high watermarks along the best way worthy of reflection.
The summer started with the standard news that Vanessa Selbst had won something. Like Germany in soccer, Selbst's wins almost register no surprise anymore and on the subject of our reporting, the inside track is met with part awe, part terror. It has become the toughest job in poker, that of summoning up fresh superlatives to summarize one more fantastic performance. See what I mean? "Fantastic." Pah. We've said it such a lot of times the word has lost all meaning.
Vanessa Selbst and friendsSelbst won the second one Event of this year's Series, a mixed-max no-limit hold'em contest, earning a 3rd WSOP bracelet, let alone $871,148, after a lengthy heads-up battle against Jason Mo. Per annum seems to bring with it a brand new record for Selbst. Her win this summer puts her within $75,000 of Annette Obrestad because the highest earning woman in WSOP history.
Selbst is used to being the headline act at poker festivals, but she had competition this year for prime billing from a team mate who earned their first bracelet this summer, and their second come to consider it. For 2014 was indeed the Summer of George.
George Danzer cuts something of a novel jib at the poker circuit. It helps to have a whole Mohawk and seem like a person who arrives on a bike having been chased by the police. Actually Danzer's personality is the precise opposite, and the affable German pro became one of the crucial popular winners when he won the bracelet within the $10,000 Seven Card Razz.
The WSOP was making history with the event, the primary Razz event within the Series' 45 year history, and the top ever Razz buy-in. It also proved to Danzer he had what it took to win a WSOP title, after sometimes doubting whether his bridesmaid status would ever lift. He'd even missed out again earlier within the series, coming fifth within the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.
Happiness complete: George Danzer celebrates winning his first WSOP braceletDanzer though was not done. Now watched by his girlfriend Nicole, Danzer was back in front of the cameras only a few weeks later, winning the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better, proving himself to be among the finest players of events that cost so much to play and take QUARTER-HOUR to mention. Two bracelets for Danzer, both from highly competitive disciplines. Now he can let his hair down.
Team PokerStars was not done winning bracelets.
Life's little pressures are not any doubt relieved by the financial windfall of a WSOP Main Event win. But pressure often remains in a purely in a poker sense.
Even after winning the most important tournament within the world, it isn't uncommon for winners still feel that they should prove themselves. Joe Hachem said just that when winning in 2005 as he took honours in a WPT event. Others have since have gone directly to win a second major title. So if it was vindication he was searching for Joe Cada, Main Event winner in 2009 got his this year.
Vindication's Joe CadaCada overcame what was best described as an All-Star final table within the $10,000 no-limit hold'em six-handed event, earning $670,041. To take down his second bracelet, Cada beat Jeremy Ausmus heads-up, but had conquered a table that still featured the likes of Max Silver, JC Tran, Erick Lindgren, Dario Sammartino, Martin Jacobson and George Danzer. But then who desires to win easy?
"I didn't adjust well enough to my new image and the way people were playing against me once I won," said Cada. "It was hard to break out with certain things as I had before, reminiscent of playing an aggressive style," he said. "But I USED TO BE capable of adapt after that and feature done decently on the WSOP since."
There could have been not more bracelets, but there have been still landmark achievements to follow, notable those of Daniel Negreanu.
Daniel Negreanu holding courtWe wrote extensively about Negreanu during the last week. He's easily essentially the most approachable of the large name pros, and essentially the most genial, forever mixing work with just a little pleasure on the table. But while he's never wanting time for those that desire a picture or an autograph, his game remains some of the fine-tuned within the business, and he used it this summer to become the top earning player in World Series history.
Coming off the back of a Player of the Year award in 2013, Negreanu finished second in within the $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball event and went directly to finish second within the Big One for One Drop, the most important poker tournament on this planet. The $8,288,001 he took for second place catapulted him above the former Big One winner Antonio Esfandiari. Some $29,796,381 in tournament earnings thus far. Not yet 40, it's hardly surprising that Ty Stewart speculated that he could be a primary ballot entrant to the Poker Hall of Fame.
Other Team Pros ensured their summers were well worth the effort.
Humberto Brenes could have kept the shark within the cage, but he still managed to record ten cash finishes over the summer. For the record that took his total choice of World Series cashes as much as 82, the primary coming 27 years ago, a 14th place finish within the 1987 Main Event, won by Johnny Chan.
82 cashes and counting: Humberto BrenesOther notable performance came from Jason Mercier, who reached two final tables, both in $10,000 2-7 games. Cult hero Alex Kravchenko nearly won his second bracelet within the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event, settling for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile Gabe Nassif of Team Online also reached two final tables in both the $1,500 pot-limit Omaha, and within the $10,000 limit hold'em.
Three bracelets, some great performances, and some records along the best way. Perhaps you do not always desire a Main Event win to ensure some poker history.
Stephen Bartley is a PokerStars Blog reporter. Photos by Joe Giron and Jayne Furman/Poker Photo Archive
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: World Series of Poker]
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