25 May 10

WSOP 2010: Prediction Time

The WSOP Main Event is arguably the most prestigious tournament out there and it's about one month away. We have picked several of our favourite players to win this year and we also want to see your predictions in the comments.

Picking the players to win the WSOP Main Event is not just tough, it's rather ridiculous. But then again, everyone likes to select some of their favourite players, hoping to see one of them in the spotlight when posing with the winning hand.

PokerStrategy.com English editor vhallee picked his favourites to win the WSOP Main Event bracelet. We are interested in seeing your predictions, so don't hesitate to add them in the comments section.

Also, the first part of our WSOP 2010 preview was published on Monday, so if you haven't read it yet, click below:

WSOP Preview Part 1: Are You Ready for the WSOP?

Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey Arguably the best all-around player in the world, Phil Ivey is also at the top of the All-Time Money List with career winnings of $12,829,989 according to the HendonMob Database. The Full Tilt pro is quite familiar with the WSOP in general, since he already has seven bracelets to his name, two of which he won just last year. He also finished 7th in the 2009 Main Event, but such a bracelet is still missing from his trophy cabinet.

Besides his impressive achievements, he has another reason to join the bracelet hunting season this year: Howard Lederer made a $5 million bet with Ivey that he couldn't win two WSOP bracelet between 2010 and 2011. Of course, it would be much easier for him to win them in two random events since he's a great player not just in No Limit or Omaha, but we can all dream about Ivey taking down the Main Event.
 
Jason Mercier
Jason MercierThe young Team PokerStars pro member burst into the scene in 2008, after winning the European Poker Tour in San Remo for $1,372,893. Since then, he continued to show great results in various events, mainly in the US. 2009 was his year, winning a multitude of tournaments, as well as earning his first WSOP bracelet. We suspect he will be back this year for more.

With successes at both the live tables and the virtual ones, Mercier seems to be a great hybrid player, unless, of course, he's been on a major heater so far. He has almost $5 million in tournament winnings so far and that number will probably increase significantly after the WSOP.
 
Sorel Mizzi
Sorel Mizzi The Canadian player recently joined Team Titan Poker as leader also had a great 2009 and an even more impressive 2010 so far. With more than $3 million in winnings so far, half of which he made just in 2010, he seems to be one of the hottest players right now.

In 2009 he came close to getting his first WSOP bracelet, finishing 2nd in a $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event, so we suspect he will want to change that in 2010 and take down at least one of them. He's been doing too well recently to not win, but since nothing is ever 100% sure, we'll just hope he makes it.
 
Daniel Negreanu

Daniel Negreanu

Let's be honest for a moment: everyone likes Daniel Negreanu. His impressive achievements, his outstanding reads and his energetic personality make him one of the most likeable characters you can find on the poker scene. Despite the fact that his cash game adventures (namely, TV show High Stakes Poker) didn't end well for him, the Team PokerStars pro is still a great tournament player.

His career winnings put him in the 2nd spot of the All-Time Money List, which is definitely something to be proud of. He already has four WSOP bracelets and was also close to getting another one at the WSOP Europe last year, when he finished 2nd. All in all, we are mainly rooting for Negreanu because we just like the guy.
 
A female player

Question Mark

Poker is a male-dominated game, but that doesn't mean female players should be underestimated. Liv Boeree, Vanessa Rousso, Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman or Annette Obrestad - they all have a decent shot at taking down the Main Event.

The recent results showed that women in poker are very tough adversaries. Liv Boeree won the EPT San Remo tropy, Vanessa Selbst took down the North American Poker Tour, Annie Duke won the 2010 NBC National Heads-Up Championship, Annette Obrestad just turned 21 - these accomplishments show that we might actually see the WSOP Main Event bracelet on a woman's wrist this year.

Who are you rooting for?

There are tons of players that could be mentioned as potential Main Event winner, but we are running out of space, so we would like to hear your predictions. Tell us who you see winning this coveted bracelet in the comments!

What to expect from this year's WSOP

Being the main tournament stop for all poker pros and the biggest dream for any aspiring player, the World Series of Poker has a difficult task ahead: proving once more that it is the ultimate destination in the poker world. For the upcoming two months, thousands of players from all over the world will flood the Rio Casino in Las Vegas, all looking for the chance to be crowned WSOP champions.

If someone asks you why the World Series Of Poker is so important, it's not that hard to answer. After all, the WSOP seems to have it all: it makes you famous, it makes you rich, it's an exciting adventure and you can always come back next year for more.

Besides, this whole thing takes place in Vegas, baby! The luxurious Rio Casino is hosting the event once again, so players are guaranteed to have a nice atmosphere throughout their stay. Also, we rarely heard of poker players getting bored while in Las Vegas.

Join us Friday, when we'll present you the Team PokerStrategy.com roster for this year's World Series of Poker.