Are we witnessing the greatest World Series of Poker (WSOP) ever?
No hyperbole, that’s a genuine question. On Sunday, Scott Seiver won his third bracelet of the summer making him a lock to win the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year award. Or, so you’d think. But the latter part of that sentence couldn’t be further from the truth.
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Despite the trifecta, Seiver is in a tight race with a player who hasn’t even won a bracelet this year — Jeremy Ausmus. And that isn’t a knock on the new scoring system — Ausmus is having one heck of a series, bracelet or otherwise. He’s one away from tying Phil Hellmuth’s record of seven final table appearances in a single series.
But the excitement at the 2024 WSOP spans far beyond just the competitive Player of the Year race. Two poker legends — Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu — ended lengthy bracelet droughts, attendance is up nearly across the board, Chris Hunichen is having a summer to remember, and the big names in general have shown up in a big way.
Current WSOP Player of the Year Standings
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Seiver | 3,757 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | 3,368 |
| 3 | Chris Hunichen | 2,751 |
| 4 | Phil Ivey | 2,579 |
| 5 | Bryce Yockey | 2,361 |
| 6 | Daniel Negreanu | 2,340 |
| 7 | John Racener | 2,320 |
| 8 | Robert Mizrachi | 2,299 |
| 9 | Yuri Dzivielevski | 2,285 |
| 10 | Joseph Couden | 2,283 |
Poker Star Still Has Work to Do
Seiver won his third bracelet of the summer — seventh in his career — on Sunday when he took down Event #72: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship for $411,041. The last to win three in a single series was Jeff Lisandro in 2009, and the last to win three bracelets in the same year was George Danzer in 2014.
Both Danzer and Lisandro won Player of the Year in those years, but Seiver is facing a more fierce competition. Ausmus, who finished fourth in the 2-7 event and has three top four finishes this summer, is one deep run away from catching up in the POY race.
Here’s what’s even crazier — this is far from a two player race. In fact, all of the players on that top 10 leaderboard above stand a reasonable shot to come from behind to win. And then of course there’s Shaun Deeb just sitting there in 11th place waiting to make his annual run.
Seiver called his shot on winning Player of the Year before the summer began. He’s determined and motivated to pull it off and win the award a year before he becomes eligible for the Poker Hall of Fame at age 40. So determined that immediately after winning his third bracelet of the year, he entered another event. No time to celebrate when you’re chasing a goal, and you’re battling against crushers like Ausmus and “Big Huni.”
Heavy Hitters Doing Big Things
Thus far, it’s been the “Summer of Seiver,” but the storylines don’t end there. Ivey, arguably the greatest poker player of all time, moved alone in second place with his 11th WSOP title, which just so happened to be his first bracelet since 2014.
Less than two weeks later, Negreanu won his seventh, ending an 11-year drought. And he did it in his favorite event, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Two of the most popular poker players ever winning bracelets in the same year is certainly reason for poker fans to be excited.
But, wait, there’s more. Hunichen, one of the most colorful characters in the game, finally won a bracelet when he conquered the $100,000 High Roller for $2,838,389. Days later, he earned a second seven-figure score and final table appearance with a third place finish in the $250,000 Super High Roller for $2,397,312.
You want further proof that the 2024 WSOP has been one for the ages? Fine, here you go: UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer spun up a stack to reach the $50,000 High Roller final table, outlasting some of the top crushers in the game.
The $1,000 Ladies Championship, which plays down to a winner on Monday, had over 1,200 entrants for the second straight year. Jamie Kerstetter, a longtime poker pro and one of the most beloved members of the poker community, enters the final table with the chip lead and has a shot to win her first WSOP bracelet. That would make for yet another big story at the 2024 World Series of Poker.
If the first four weeks of the series is any indication of what to expect from the Main Event, which begins Wednesday, we’re all in for quite a treat over the next few weeks.