The 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event final table is fast approaching and in this column I want to explore what each particular November Niner would mean to poker should they win the WSOP Main Event.

Good for poker:

* Phil Collins

Collins is the poster-child for what the Epic Poker League is trying to paint the “typical” professional poker as, which will make it very easy for the general public to get behind this kid.

* Eoghan O’Dea

As a second-generation WSOP final table participant the Irish O’Dea has just enough moxie to not come across as cocky, and who doesn’t live an Irish accent in interviews!

* Matt Giannetti

Giannetti is Phil Collins without the squeaky clean image. Anytime a decently well-known poker pro has a chance to take down the Main Event it should be seen as a good day for the poker world.

* Ben Lamb

Lamb is the best known poker player in the field, and with a Phil Ivey-esque stare and good interview skills, Lamb would make a great representative on the late-night talk show circuit.

Neutral for poker:

* Sam Holden

Holden is a young player from the UK, but unlike O’Dea he simply doesn’t have the same compelling back-story or natural charisma of O’Dea. Young players have also proven troublesome to market in past years –Peter Eastgate, Joe Cada, and Jonathan Duhamel come to mind.

* Pius Heinz

The German representative at the WSOP final table has shown himself to be rather reserved, and doesn’t look to be the man to take poker in Europe to the next level at this point.

* Martin Staszko

An accomplished online player, Staszko looks more like a Romanian vampire historian than a poker player, and his accented English will also be burdensome.

* Anton Makiiesvsky

Makiievsky faces the same challenges as Staszko, coupled with the youthfulness of Heinz and Holden.

* Badih Bou-Nahra

By far the least likely player to win, Bou-Nahra would resurrect the notion that anyone can win the Main Event, but should the Belize native win, I suspect he would be treated much like Jerry Yang; with the term “luckbox” attached to his name.

Bad for Poker:

Thank the poker gods there are no Jamie Gold’s in this year’s November Nine (that we know of anyway). However any player could turn out to be bad for poker depending on what they choose to do following their win.

Tags: Beliz, German Representative, Giannetti, Interview Skills, Irish Accent, Late Night Talk Show, Nahra, Natural Charisma, Niner, Phil Ivey, Poker Main Event, Poker Player, Poker Pro, Poker World, Poster Child, Professional Poker, Table Participant, World Series of Poker, World Series of Poker Main Event, Youthfulness

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 at 6:55 pm and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Countdown to the 2011 WSOP final table: Good or Bad”

1. Mimi says:

   November 9, 2011 at 9:33 am

   * Pius Heinz

   The German representative at the WSOP final table has shown himself to be rather reserved, and doesn’t look to be the man to take poker in Europe to the next level at this point.

   Haha…. Famous Last Words~