27 Dec 11

2011: Top 5 Tournament Players

Continuing the "Top 5" theme, we bring you the five best tournament players of 2011. Find out more here.

5. Phil Hellmuth, $1,652,521 in 2011 tournament winnings

The self-proclaimed "best No-Limit Hold'em player in the world" pips the likes of Elio Fox and Galen Hall to take his place at number five.

Hellmuth had endured a barren stretch in tournaments in the build up to 2011, and was scrutinised for his abject performances in televised cash games such as Poker After Dark and PokerStars: The Big Game. He was villified by Tony G, and his passive "small-ball" approach to poker criticised by the likes of Daniel Negreanu and Dusty "Leatherass" Schmidt.

At this year's WSOP, Hellmuth was back to his imperious best, recording three 2nd place finishes.

As casual as they come, Jason Mercier

Despite suffering several bad beats on the way, he was gracious in defeat as he was ousted by Brian Rast in the $50k 8-Game Poker Players Championship.

Despite making a final table at the WSOPE, he had settle for 2nd in the WSOP Player of the Year standings. A record-breaking 12th bracelet still eludes him.

4. Jason Mercier, $2,389,246

Who said American influence was waning?

Don't let Mercier's casual, surfer boy looks or languid posture at the tables fool you - he's aggressive as they come. Cynics call him Mr "Run Good", but Jason's been one of the most dominant players on the circuit for almost four years.

Mercier's plethora of scores in 2011 include 1st in the $10k High Roller Bounty at the NAPT Uncasville for $246,000, and 3rd in the $20k EPL Event #1 for $360,970. He snatched his second WSOP bracelet in the $5k PLO, and finished off the year in style by winning the $100k NLH High Roller at the WPT Five Diamon Classic for $683,000.

Alongside fellow PokerStars pro ElkY, he's sure to be a future Poker Hall of Famer.

 

3. Sam Trickett, $4,598,038

Leading European, Sam Trickett

The solitary European in the list, Trickett just shades fellow countrymen Jake Cody and Chris Moorman to take his place in the top five.

Trickett's arrival on the big stage wasn't coated in glory - he suffered a debilitating knee injury that cut short a promising soccer career, and then battled blackjack demons as he embarked on a journeyman career across the UK poker circuit.

Just like Seidel, his year started in spectacular fashion with victory in the $100k NLH at the Aussie Millions, then a second place in the $250k Super High Roller. He made a WPT and WSOPE final table to go with his $1,364,666 haul as champion of the Partouche Poker tour. He also final tabled the £20,000 EPT London High Roller for $107,534.

Trickett, whose fearless style has led to comparisons with the great Phil Ivey, is also an accomplished cash game player, and recently jetted off to Macau to mix it up with wealthy Chinese business tycoons.

2. Ben Lamb, $5,532,970

His 4-bet shove with K-J against Martin Staszko in the final stages of the WSOP Main Event may have polarised opinion, but it shouldn't detract from what's been a majestic year for Ben Lamb.

He practically made the 2011 World Series his own, with 5 monster cashes and 4 final tables. 2nd in the $3k PLO, 1st in the $10k PLO, 8th in the $50k Players Championship and then 3rd in the Main Event for a cool $4 million. The secret according to Lamb? Remaining tee-total (take note, Scotty Nguyen).

Lamb was duly rewarded with the WSOP Player of the Year title, and a place in America's Caesers Cup team. His success may have been confined to American soil, but you wouldn't bet against him blitzing Europe in 2012.

 

Seidel's New Online Avatar

1. Erik Seidel, $6,530,153

Erik Seidel's relentless form over 2011 saw him fictionalized in poker series "The Micros" and dubbed "Seiborg" - a testament to his super-human strength at the tables and ability to defy all laws of variance.

Despite amassing almost $10 million in tournament cashes prior to 2011, Seidel's humble, unassuming demeanour meant he flew under the radar. Seidel, who honed his skills at New York's famous Mayfair Card Club alongside the likes of Stu Ungar and Dan Harrington, started the year with an onslaught at the Aussie Millions. He finished 3rd in the $100k No-Limit Hold'em and then 1st in the $250k Super High Roller for a combined total of $3 million.

More highroller success beckoned at the Ninth Annual Five Star World Poker Classic, before five modest cashes at the 2011 WSOP. Seidel made two EPL final tables, before cashing twice at the WSOPE. Seidel now sits on top of the all time money list, with $16,885,167 in career earnings.

If Seidel's extraordinary legacy wasn't already cemented by his 2010 induction into the Poker Hall of Fame, it certainly is now.

Near Misses: Elio Fox, Galen Hall, Sam Stein, Chris Moorman, Eugene Katchalov, ElkY and Oleskii Kovalchuk