With so many tournaments nowadays, poker immortality is very difficult to achieve with just a single showing. However, the one tournament that still guarantees such fame is the main event of the World Series of Poker.
Many of these former champions are proving at this year's series that they can still compete and are no flash in the pan. In fact, recent winners are making an incredibly strong showing in this year's WSOP.
1989 Main Event Champion Phil Hellmuth recently broke a tie for most bracelets shared by fellow Main Event winners Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson by capturing his 11th bracelet at the $1500 NLHE event. Hellmuth also finished in the money for the $2000 NLHE event, suggesting that he is poised to continue his strong NLHE play for the remainder of the tournament.
2004 Champion Greg Raymer is also having a nice showing. Although many know Raymer as a no limit hold'em player, faring especially well in deep-field hold'em events, he has been displaying versatility to his game in recent years. He has made two stud final tables this year (events #14 and 20) and also final tabled in one of the most difficult fields of last year's tournament, the no limit deuce-to-seven event in which he finished 5th.
Chris Ferguson, who won the Main Event in 2000, has also made a final table early in this year's series. Ferguson finished 4th in the $2500 Omaha/7-Stud event and also narrowly missed another final table, finishing 13th in the $5000 Pot Limit Omaha event.
Not to be forgotten, of course, are Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson, both two-time winners of the Main Event (Chan in 1987 and 1988, Brunson in 1976 and 1977). Both have gone deep in events in this year's series so far, and both have admitted before that any time the record for bracelets is broken, they are a little more motivated to go out and catch the current leader.
These players are proving that they are indeed world-class players. Be sure to check up on them at pokernews.com.
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