During its 50th anniversary series on June 29, the WSOP is hosting a First Fifty Honors and Dinner, a ceremony celebrating poker greatness. Long-time poker commentators Norman Chad and Lon McEachearn will host the special event.
The event is open to past bracelet winners and also select VIP’s. Fans can vote on the seven awards categories on the WSOP website. It takes just a couple of minutes to submit your votes. We’ve made our picks and will share those with you in a bit. But don’t let our choices impact your opinions. They are strictly our selections.
Anyone in the US or Canada who casts a vote is automatically entered into a random drawing to win a prize, which includes free entries into gold bracelet events such as the brand new $1,000 MIni Main Event on July 1.
CardsChat Picks
The categories for the First Fifty along with our picks are as follows:
Most Memorable WSOP TV Hand
Some memorable hands here, including the sick bad beat in the 2010 Main Event between Matt Affleck and the eventual champion Jonathan Duhamel. Affleck’s aces got cracked on the river by the champ’s jacks – he hit a straight – in what was the biggest pot of the tournament up to that point. But, hands down, Chris Moneymaker’s bluff heads-up against Sammy Farha in the 2003 Main Event was the most iconic televised poker hand, possibly ever.
Best Overall WSOP Performance (Single Year)
We’ll go with Phil Ivey in 2002 here. He won three bracelets and made seven final tables. What makes this perforance so incredible was he did it before the poker boom where most players in each tournament was a pro. There weren’t as many fish to feast off.
Most Likely to Succeed (Player currently 35 or Under to Win the Most Gold Bracelets between 2020-2070)
The candidates in this category are a little out of whack even though the players are all great. But Jason Mercier and Fedor Holz are mostly retired from poker. Shaun Deeb, Justin Bonomo, and Dominik Nitsche are incredible players who have bright futures. But we’ll go with Joe Cada because of his prowess in large-field tournaments.
Fan Favorite Player
We’ll refrain from picking a winner here as we strive to be objective and root for the success of everyone. The choices are, however, exceptional: Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Maria Ho, and Phil Ivey.
WSOP’s Favorite Bad Boy
It’s hard to go against Phil Hellmuth in this category. He’s a 15-time bracelet winner and despite his crude table demeanor at times, he’s quite friendly away from the table. Plus, he’s one of the greatest poker players ever.
Most Impressive Main Event Win
Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 world title was the most impressive, no doubt. We say that because he was an amateur in a field of professionals, in a year where no one thought an Average Joe could win.
Four Most Important Players in WSOP History
Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker, and Phil Hellmuth. No player in history has brought more people to the game than these four individuals.
