The Inside Straight
As 2006 begins to wind down, the Card Player Player of the Year (POY) race continues to heat up, as three impressive stars have moved into a virtual three-way tie for second place. With everyone’s sights set on current POY front-runner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and his whopping 5,961 points, the remainder of 2006 should be as hot as the Las Vegas desert during the middle of the World Series of Poker.
Close on Mizrachi’s heels are Alabaman Shannon Shorr and Californians Nam Le and John Hoang, with 4,476, 4,225, and 4,092 points, respectively.
Leading the race for most final-table appearances is Hoang at 13, while Mizrachi has 10, and both Shorr and Le have seven tables each.
The top five POY contestants are rounded out by the “Poker Brat” himself, Phil Hellmuth, and his four WSOP final-table finishes worth $1,260,815.
After three cashes at the WSOP, Mizrachi took home a Bellagio Cup II title when he won the $1,000 no-limit hold’em event. Hoang finished second to Mizrachi in that event. Mizrachi had two quiet months following his Bellagio victory, but resurfaced at the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago tournament at Bellagio, capturing 13th place, $41,745, and 96 POY points.
Mizrachi’s closest competitor in the POY race is Shorr. After cashing in two WSOP events, Shorr had a monstrous showing at the Bellagio Cup II. He recorded four cashes during the event, including two victories worth more than $1 million and 2,496 POY points. Shorr recently finished third at Borgata in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em event, and seventh in the Festa al Lago $2,500 no-limit hold’em tournament.
Not far behind Shorr is Le. After recording six cashes during the WSOP, Le continued his impressive 2006 campaign with a second place in the $300 no-limit hold’em event at the Legends of Poker and a second-place finish in the Festa al Lago $3,000 no-limit hold’em event.
Hoang is the ironman of the group, making the most final tables on the POY candidate list. Continuing an impressive post-WSOP run, he finished second behind Mizrachi at the Bellagio Cup II, third in the Legends of Poker $500 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament, and second in the $5,000 no-limit hold’em event at the Festa al Lago tournament.
Phil Hellmuth’s impressive performance during the WSOP has enabled him to remain in the top five despite having not cashed in an event since the WSOP.
One of the POY top-10 list’s hardest workers has to be the No. 6 man, David Daneshgar of Westlake Village, California. Scoring a fourth-place finish in the Legends of Poker $1,500 no-limit hold’em event and a fourth-place finish in the $6,335 buy-in EPT Championship in Barcelona, Daneshgar has made a late push that could see him surpass Hellmuth if he cashes again in 2006.
Joining Hellmuth in the “WSOP-only” column is WSOP Player of the Year Jeff Madsen, currently in seventh place. After making four final tables and winning two bracelets, Madsen’s position on the top-10 list appears secure for the moment.
Sitting eighth is Parkland, Florida’s Alex Jacob. After making several final-table appearances at the WSOP, Jacob went on to win the 2006 U.S. Poker Championship in Atlantic City. He collected $878,500 for his efforts.
Rounding out the last two spots on the POY list are Team FullTilt members Allen Cunningham and Erick Lindgren. Cunningham, who won his fourth bracelet and finished fourth in the WSOP main event, and Lindgren, who finished second in the $5,000 shorthanded no-limit hold’em event, both had standout WSOP performances, but have not had substantial cashes since the WSOP.
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