Which November Niner would be the best champion?

Barry Carter looks forward to next week's Main Event and the potential ambassadors we could get from the final.

The 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event final table is always exciting and I can’t wait for it this year. However, for a couple of years now I have been underwhelmed with the hype surrounding the November Nine.

I don’t think that is anything to do with the WSOP or ESPN, they do an amazing job and their coverage gets better every year. I’m just starting to think that the poker community (and those of us in the poker media) are becoming more blasé about the final table delay.

This might have been the first year where I, and many of my friends and peers, could not name from memory all the participants. I haven’t seen much coverage of any of the nine players, not even back-to-back finalist Mark Newhouse. However, he, Bruno Politano and Billy Pappas are the only ones I can see who have found a sponsor in 888poker. 

The biggest surprise for me was that hardly any of them showed up for the WSOP APAC this year. The WSOP event outside of Vegas was always the place to showcase the nine potential champions to the poker media. EPT London was taking place at the same time, which explains why perhaps attentions were elsewhere (As many of the final nine have relocated to London), but it still suggests a certain amount of disassociation with the final tablists and the November Nine branding. 

*Odds are correct at the time of writing

Great potential champions

There are some great stories, however, and even though we don’t have any household names yet, there are three or four players who could be amazing potential champions.

Bruno Politano of Brazil, for example. I know from having spoken to Andre Akkari a few years ago that Brazilians will go crazy if he were to win this. He even got a message of support from Neymar, to showcase his potential future celebrity. Brazil really need a shot in the arm right now after their 7-1 humiliation in the World Cup, and he would almost certainly do for Brazil what Joe Hachem did for Australia with a win. 

For a sheer character, it would be good to see Billy Pappas win it. He strikes me as pretty eccentric and by his own admission is a bit of an outsider in the poker community. He would be the amateur champion, which when you combine with the fact he is a former World Foosball champion, would make a great story.

Martin Jacobson would make an amazing champion. He is a well-liked and successful player; one whom I have been saying for several years is the best player in the world without a major title. 

The best champion for poker?

Then you have the outstanding story that is Mark Newhouse making the November Nine for the second year in a row. For years we have been saying that Dan Harrington making the 2003 and 2004 final tables would never be repeated, yet Newhouse has done it a decade later when the fields are decidedly tougher and larger. 

Finally, I am very biased but I want Jorryt Van Hoof to win it. He is a friend of a friend (He is coached by my buddy Jared Tendler) and I’ve gotten to know him a little this year. I’m not sure if he would be the best ambassador of the nine, but I can tell you he is a really nice and hard working guy. 

Obviously I want him to win it, but if I am being objective I think that the best champion would be Bruno Politano. Joe Hachem did for Australian poker what Chris Moneymaker did for the rest of the world, and I think Bruno Politano has the chance to do the same for poker in South America. 

Who are you cheering for next week? Let me know in the comments box.