Cliff Josephy could become the oldest Main Event winner since 1999
The final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event 2016 was determined a week ago. The chip leader is Cliff Josephy, a 51-year-old professional poker player also known by his nickname “JohnnyBax”. Josephy also happens to be the oldest player at the table and could be the one to break the trend with 20 to 30-year-old winners that we’ve seen the last decade.
Many would argue that poker at the highest level is a young man’s game. This statement is strengthen by the fact that every Main Event-winner since 2008 has been under the age of 28:
2008 – Peter Eastgate (22 years old)
2009 – Joe Cada (21 years old)
2010 – Jonathan Duhamel (23 years old)
2011 – Pius Heinz (22 years old)
2012 – Greg Merson (24 years old)
2013 – Ryan Riess (23 years old)
2014 – Martin Jacobson (27 years old)
2015 – Joe McKeehen (24 years old)
At this year’s final table, every player at the table except for Cliff Josephy is in their 20s or 30s. If Josephy would go on to win the event he would become the first Main Event-winner over the age of 50 since Noel Furlong won the event in 1999.
For those unfamiliar with how the Main Event in the WSOP is played nowadays, the final table consisting of nine players will be put on hold until October 30. This is the format that has been in place since 2008 and it makes it easier for ESPN to broadcast the final table shortly after it has been played.
According to Cino, 6737 players from 79 different countries entered the 2016 WSOP Main Event. Every player at the final table is guaranteed at least $1 million. The eventual winner will be awarded $8 million aside from the prestigious bracelet.
Cliff Josephy is the favorite to win the event
No Limit Hold’em certainly is a volatile game and a big chip stack can easily be brutally diminished by a mistake or just pure bad luck. But if you go into a final table with a chip lead you’ll always be one of the favorites to win the event. Adding to the chip lead, Josephy is the most experienced player and could be the best player at the table as well. To date Josephy has won $2,641,240 in live poker tournaments. That is more than any other player at the final table. He also already has two WSOP bracelets, having won a NLHE-event in 2013 and a Seven Card Stud-event in 2005.