The 2010 November Nine

by Carson Cashman

The seats for the final table of the 2010 WSOP Main Event are locked up. This epic tournament will reconvene on November 6th, with the last heads up showdown on November 8th. Like last year's November Nine, this year's field features one well-known player, Michael Mizrachi. Unlike last year, the final table is stocked with professional players. Only one amateur, Soi Nguyen, will be present this year. And when I say amateur, I really mean that. He has claimed that he's only played live poker five or six times over the past few years. Talk about swimming with sharks! Here's the scoop on the final table and players.

1st place - $8,944,138
2nd place - $5,545,855
3rd place - $4,129,979
4th place - $3,092,497
5th place - $2,442,960
6th place - $1,772,939
7th place - $1,356,708
8th place - $1,045,738
9th place - $811,823

Jonathan Duhamel (65,975,000), 22 year old Canadian - This Quebec native is the youngest of the nine and also the chip leader. His biggest previous tourny cash was a 10th place at the Prague EPT. He's going in with around 30% of the tournament chips, which is about what Darvin Moon went in with last year as chip leader. Jonathan played a brilliant big stack on the bubble, raising and reraising often to chip up as the shorter stacks laid down their hands in the hopes of making the November Nine. Jonathan may have ruffled a few feathers with his remarks after the event, however. Cardplayer has quoted Duhamel as saying, "I'm going to win, 100%. I'm the best." While the young Canadian certainly has shown himself to be a competent tournament player, the eight other players who survived seven grueling days may have something to say about that.

John Dolan (46,250,000), 24 year old American - John is a young online professional from Florida. He is in the best position to challenge Duhamel's chip lead, and he has the experience to make it happen. Dolan has earned close to a million dollars in winnings since he dropped out of college to play professionally. If Duhamel and Dolan get into a confrontation in November, the resulting pot could be massive. Dolan had an impressive comeback on Day 8, swinging from 2 million in chips to his current fat stack which is 20%+ of remaining chips.

Joseph Cheong (23,525,000), 24 year old American - Every holdem player in the world enjoys looking down to find aces. But when those aces get cracked, the stress is often enough to make a player lose his composure. Not so for Joseph Cheong. With two tables remaining, he was all in with his aces against a board of 6 6 5. His opponent, fellow November Niner Filippo Candio held 75. Candio hit running cards to make a straight to beat Cheong's two pair. That's a brutal beat that would rattle most players to their core, but Cheong sit back and silently rebuilt his stack. Resilience like that is invaluable in a tournament like the WSOP, where a single miscue can send you to the rail.

John Racener (19,050,000), 24 year old American - Racener has 10 other WSOP cashes under his belt, including winning the 2007 Main Event at Harrah's Atlantic City for over $375K. Racener is second only to Mizrachi in poker stature at the table. Although he was an "under the radar" player, this will undoubtedly shed light on his numerous successes over the past few years.

Matt Jarvis (16,700,000), 25 year old Canadian - This young Canadian was facing some tough emotional times when the 2010 WSOP began. His father was beginning chemotherapy for cancer. Jarvis wanted to stay home, but his father wanted him to go. Matthew Jarvis fought his way through a field of over 7000 players and undoubtedly made his father proud.

Filippo Candio (16,400,000), 26 year old ItalianFrom Sardinia, Italy, Filippo is the only European representative at the final table. Candio is also the first Italian player to ever make a WSOP Main Event final table. Candio has been playing professionally for two years, but has said he plans to get a coach during the recess. With the final table stocked with other professionals, that is probably a good idea. Italy also recently legalized and regulated online poker. Candio is in a position to be a national hero to a new generation of Italian poker players. He won the 2009 Italian Poker Tour Campionato Italiano and has many other notable finishes in European events.

Michael Mizrachi (14,450,000), 29 year old American - Known as "The Grinder", Michael is to this year's November Nine as Phil Ivey was to the last. Mizrachi has the most impressive laurels of any player at the table. He has almost $9 million in lifetime winnings. His face has graced Cardplayer magazine. And he's already won a bracelet and over $1.5 million at this year's WSOP, taking down the $50,000 buy-in Player's Championship event. With those facts backing him up, it's hard to agree with chip leader Jonathan Duhamel when he claims "I'm the best". Mizrachi will likely be the fan favorite, and his history shows he is clearly a masterful tournament player. He and his brothers have all cashed in WSOP events this year, making them one of the featured stories of the series. He also has the added incentive that if he wins the Main Event, he will tie Frank Kasella for WSOP Player of the Year.

Cuong "Soi" Nguyen (9,650,000), 37 year old American - Soi is the oldest player at the final table and also the only true amateur. He's certainly going to have his hands full, sitting in 8th chip position against a very strong table. However, Soi did make it to the final table of the WSOP Main Event. That alone is an achievement many of the best poker players in the world will never attain. Certainly Soi Nguyen did something correct to make it this far.

Jason Senti (7,625,000), 25 year old American - Jason Senti finishes off the list as the short stack. He identifies himself as a poker professional who mostly plays online NLH cash games. Expect him to make a move to double up quickly, as merciless blinds will force him to make a move.

So what can we expect from the WSOP final table in 2010? I think we're going to see fireworks. Unlike previous years that have seen many amateur online players making the final table, we have a very strong field of top notch pro's. I think these guys are going to put on a final table clinic. I expect we'll see a lot of aggression from these younger players, and that makes for very entertaining television. The November Nine will meet back in Vegas on November 6th. ESPN plans to air all of the November action promptly, starting on November 9th at 8pm EST. If you're a poker fan, you won't want to miss it.

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