Top Ten November Nine Stories Part 1
With the final table of the Main Event just days away, Barry Carter looks back at some of the most memorable stories since the inception of the November Nine final table delay.
10. Two women bubble the final
Still the most notable thing about this year's final table is the story of what could have been. Two women were poised to make history by becoming the first females to make the WSOP Main Event final table in the modern era, something which surely would have created a renewed mainstream interest in the WSOP.
Unfortunately, however, Elisabeth Hille and Gaelle Baumann both bubbled in 11th and 10th place respectively to set up yet another all-male final.
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| Jesse Sylvia and Russell Thomas celebrate as Galle Baumann bubbles |
9. Roommates make the final
The two womens' loss was two former roommates' gain this year. Jesse Sylvia and Russell Thomas are old friends and even shared a room together during the 2010 WSOP; both will be returning to Vegas this week to fight for the title. It will certainly add an interesting dynamic to this year's final table.
8. Champs can't keep their bracelets
Despite being the most coveted title in all of poker, two November Nine champions had a hard time keeping hold of their bracelets. The first November Nine champion, Peter Eastgate, decided to auction his bracelet off the following year for $147,500, giving all the proceeds to UNICEF.
At the end of last year, 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel was famously robbed. Amongst the items stolen was his diamond-encrusted Main Event bracelet. Luckily for him, it was eventually returned, but in significantly worse condition than when he last saw it.
A street sweeper found it lying scratched and dented in a trash can.
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| What remains of Duhamel's bracelet |
7. Father and son make the final table
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| Eoghan O'Dea |
Last year another rare feat occurred when Eoghan O'Dea made the final table. He and his Father Donnacha O'Dea became the first father and son team to make the final table of the Main Event - albeit 28 years apart.
Donnacha made the 1983 final table and came 6th for $43,200. His son finished in exactly the same position last year, for a larger prize of $1,720,831.
6. Youngest winner twice in two years
We all know that Phil Hellmuth is proud of his WSOP records and one of the ones which always looked most vulnerable was his 19-year record of being the youngest Main Event winner.
Hellmuth was 24 when he captured the Main Event and with the dominance of young online players, it was a record that was always going to get broken.
In 2009 Peter Eastgate would be the man to put Phil out of his misery when he became the youngest ever champion at 22. It is fair to say, however, that Hellmuth had the longest title reign, as the very next year Eastgate was ousted from the honour when 21-year-old Joe Cada broke the record once again.
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| Eastgate and Cada both beating Hellmuth's record |
Join us later on this week for a part 2 of the countdown.
