Player of the Year

One of the most coveted poker prizes is the World Series of Poker Player of the Year Award, this year the title went to Frank Kassela who won two bracelets

Whilst Jonathan Duhamel receives the acclaim for winning the main event, the honour of the Player of the Year has gone to Frank Kassela. Kassela is an American Poker Pro from Tennessee who so far has two WSOP Bracelets to his name, both from this year. It was thought that the award may be won by Michael Mizrachi, however, after he failed to win the Main Event it was obvious that the award would go to Kassela.

It can be argued that the Player of the Year Award is the most prestigious one to be awarded at the WSOP. Added weight is given to the award because the selection is not subjective; the winner is decided by a point system. Clearly, at the end of the tournament Kassela had the most points (290). Mizrachi was close behind, however, even if he had won the main event he would not have stolen the award from Kassela, they would have been tied, a first at the WSOP.

Kassela’s run at the WSOP this year was amazing and an inspiration to all. In total he managed to cash at six different events with the majority of his points coming from the two which he won, the $2,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud Tournament and the $10,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8. This year alone he managed to walk away from the WSOP with over one million dollars in prize money. Whilst this is a long way from the nine million won by Duhamel, it is extremely impressive as it shows true consistency in the game which is very rare.

Kassela was extremely pleased at being honour with the Player of the Year Award, he said that there is nothing that a poker player “can be more proud of” than winning the WSOP Player of the Year award.

He went on to say that at the WSOP the best players from all over the world gather and that not one of them holds back for a moment, therefore surviving for one and a half months and not just a couple of days, and then winning the award is a huge achievement. Kassela said “nothing beats it” before being awarded a special customised gift worth $25,000 as a reward for his victory.