This article first appeared in the Sep/Oct 2016 issue of WGM.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) celebrated its 47th anniversary in spectacular fashion in 2016 with a record 107,883 entries among a number of new highs for the world’s most prestigious tournament series.
Boasting 69 bracelet events spread over seven weeks, 2016 represented just the second time the WSOP has attracted more than 100,000 participants with the average field size of 1,563 players also a new record.
They represented 107 countries, with 15,767 players receiving prize money in yet another high – albeit one skewed by the WSOP’s new payout structure which awarded money to the top 15 percent of the field, rather than 10 percent, for the very first time.
It was the 12th consecutive year the WSOP has generated a total prize pool of over US$100 million and just the fourth time it has topped US$200 million.
Yet, as usual, it was the Main Event that captured everyone’s attention with 6,737 players forking out the US$10,000 buy-in to create the fifth largest Main Event field in history and the biggest since 2011.
The field included the usual who’s who of the poker world as well as a long list of celebrities looking to expand their list of accomplishments, including football stars Neymar, Max Kruse and John Arne Riise, former cricketer Shane Warne and actors Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Kevin Pollack, James Woods and Cheryl Hines.
With the new payout structure in place, 1,011 players made the money. Among those to enjoy deep runs were former Main Event champions Johnny Chan (180th) and Greg Raymer (122nd), 2014 Aussie Millions winner Ami Barer (101st) plus notables Sorel Mizzi, Todd Brunson, Dan Colman and James Obst.
Hong Kong also enjoyed its best ever finish with Kakwan Lau finishing 20th to take home US$269,430.
However, by the time the November Nine had been set it was two-time WSOP bracelet winner Cliff Josephy leading the way with a hefty stack of almost 75 million chips. Josephy is the only remaining player to have previously tasted WSOP glory and will head into the final table as a warm favorite to claim poker’s most sought after prize. The November Nine will return to the Rio in Las Vegas on 30 October to play down to a winner.
The 2016 November Nine (left to right) Jerry Wong, Griffin Benger, Vojtech Ruzicka, Fernando Pons, Qui Nguyen, Cliff Josephy, Michael Ruane, Gordon Vayo, Kenny Hallaert. Images: Joe Giron/WSOP
The other big story of the 2016 WSOP was the incredible performance of Jason Mercier. Already boasting three bracelets, won between 2009 and 2015, Mercier added two more this time around – both of them coming in US$10,000 Championship events as he took down the 2-7 No Limit Draw Lowball and the HORSE Championship for a combined US$700,000. He also finished runner-up in the US$10,000 Razz Championship – narrowly missing out on the rarest of three-peats.
In what proved to be the most talked about side story of the series, it was revealed that Mercier had a series of side bets going with other poker pros including a US$10,000 bet he made with Vanessa Selbst at 180-1 that he would win three bracelets this year. Needless to say, he gave her quite a sweat!
