Meet the November Niners: Seats 7 - 9
If Joe Cada were to win the title, he would be the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever. Seated next to him are Antoine Saout, a newcomer who should not be underestimated, and Jeff Shulman who could literally be called an old hand at the poker game.
Phil Hellmuth, the youngest WSOP main event winner until last year, got fairly upset when he finally had to give up that title. The pro being known for his extravagant performances, calling himself “the best poker player in the world”, could as well have lost his title to Joe Cada this year, who in turn will challenge Peter Eastgate. Hellmuth, however, hit the headlines concerning this final table in a different way: Jeff Shulman was coached by the well-established pro in order to attack the title.
Seat 7: Joe Cada
Age: 21
Location: Shelby Township
Winnings: $1,291,816
Chip Stack: 13,215,000
WSOP voting: 2.18%
Joseph 'Joe' Cada, aged 21, will be the youngest player at the final table and should he win, he will take over the title of being the youngest winner of the WSOP Main Event from theDane Peter Eastgate.
It's Cada's first time at the World Series, but he's anything but inexperienced. In spite of his relatively young age, he has been playing poker for 6 years and makes a living from it.
Also, at this year's World Series he cashed out in two more events. In event #34 he came in 17th when "Elky" Grospellier hit a 2-outer against him and thus eliminated him from the tournament. When getting in the lead after day 3, he said to himself and his friends, that he was going to "have a better run from now on – after that "Elky"-hand".
Until now, it seems, this assumption has proved true. After he had dropped from eight to roughly two million in chips, he managed to eliminate the field's last PokerStrategist Marco
abi0sex Mattes, and carried on with his success. He currently holds about 13 million in chips and so has a good chance of playing a successful final table.
Seat 8: Antoine Saout
Age: 25
Location: Saint Martin des Champs
Winnings: $1,528,531
Chip Stack: 9,500,000
WSOP voting: 1.11%
Next to Joe Cada, will sit the other European and non-American - the french Antoine Saout currently ranks second last in chips, holding 9,500,000, which is approximately as much as Phil Ivey has.
It doesn't come as a surprise that Saout's chip stack is almost as big as that of one of the most prominent poker stars of the poker scene, given how he's proven his craftsmanship over the past few months. Even though he didn't participate in many tournaments before this WSOP, he did cash out in some major events such as the WPT Marrakesh or the WSOPE Main Event. In the latter, he reached the final table, as did James Akenhead, placing seventh.
Due to this impressive performance, the newcomer was contracted by Everest Poker and should not be underestimated. For the past three days, Phil Ivey has sat to the left of him, thus having position on him. This position advantage is now thankfully gone, but his new neighbour, Jeff Shulman, is also well-established in the poker world.
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman
Age: 34
Location: Las Vegas
Winnings: $2,567,517
Chip Stack: 19,580,000
WSOP voting: 5.62%
34-year-old Shulman has already landed in the money at 15 WSOP and ten WPT events, but the big bang is yet to come. His biggest success so far was seventh position at the WSOP Main Event in 2000, rewarding him $146,700.
That's quite possibly why he's making use of Phil Hellmuth's experience and knowledge, having employed him as his personal coach to prepare him for the final table.
He coul've just as well asked his father, Barry Shulman for support, though. Shulman senior is editor and manager of the well-known poker magazine 'CardPlayer' and recently managed to win the WSOPE Main Event.
His son Jeff is chief-editor of the magazine and holds almost 20 million in chips, roughly one-third less than the chip leader Darvin Moon. Nonetheless, 5.62% of the voters on the WSOP homepage believe Shulmann will win and this has netted him almost as many votes as Moon. It remains to be seen, if Shulman will manage to achieve this eagerly awaited success.
Shulman, however, does not want to hold a bracelet in his hands. He attracted the rage of some ardent poker followers, by declaring that the bracelet was ugly and that he would dump it in case of a win. Meanwhile, he has withdrawn this statement, pointing out that this was meant as criticism of those responsible for the event and announced that he would auction it to the highest bidder for a good cause if he won it.
