The WSOP has released the names of the ten finalists who will be considered for induction into the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame in November.
WSOP Releases Names of Finalists for Poker Hall of Fame
The WSOP has released the names of the ten finalists who will be considered for induction into the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame in November.
Earlier this year, the World Series of Poker asked members of the public to suggest nominations for the 2015 Poker Hall of Fame. The response was terrific, and led to some heated debates across a variety of social media platforms.
Nominations closed last month, since when the Poker Hall of Fame governing council has been vetting the nominations to make sure that they all comply with the nomination criteria (over 40 years old, played against top competition, contributed to the growth of the game, etc.).
The list of ten finalists has now been compiled and will be distributed among existing Hall of Fame members and a media panel, who will cast votes on who should be inducted into the WSOP Hall of Fame prior to the climax of the 2015 WSOP Main Event on November 9th.
Who is in the Frame for the Poker Hall of Fame?
The ten finalists consist of a mix of old faces and new faces, with six previous finalists and four new nominees among the list. The nominees who have been here before include Chris Bjorin and Jennifer Harman – both nominated for the fourth consecutive year – while Bruno Fitoussi, David Chiu, John Juanda and Carlos Mortensen have also been previously considered for induction into the WSOP Hall of Fame.
The new boys club consists of four popular characters – Max “the Italian Pirate” Pescatori, Irish Open founder Terry “Red Menace” Rogers, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott and noted tournament director Matt Savage. Of the four, only Matt Savage comes from the USA, and overall this year´s list of candidates has a distinctly European feel about it consisting of six Europeans and four Americans.
Who is not in the frame for the Poker Hall of Fame has also led to some heated comments. Supporters of Isai Scheinberg believe there is a conspiracy by the Hall of Fame governing council to exclude him from being acknowledged for the contribution he has made to the game of poker. The failure to acknowledge the contribution to the game by David Sklansky and Mike Caro is also considered to be an oversite.
Meanwhile, Prahlad Friedman Inducted onto IPWOF
While the debate and voting continues for the WSOP Hall of Fame, the Internet Poker Wall of Fame has welcomed its second member. Last month, the PokerCast team of Terence Chan and Adam Schwartz started an Internet Poker Wall of Fame on the 2+2 poker forum. Being particular fans of Isai Scheinberg, the pair made the PokerStars founder their first inductee and invited members of the public to suggest their own nominees.
The second inductee onto the Internet Poker Wall of Fame was recently announced – the high stakes player Prahlad Friedman. Friedman was already a successful live poker player before becoming one of the first highstakes “nosebleed” players when the online poker boom started. Playing under the screen names of “Spirit Rock” on Full Tilt Poker, “Mahatma” on Ultimate Bet, “Zweig” on the Prima Network, and “Prefontaine” on PokerStars, Schwartz describes his contribution to online poker as follows:
His legendary battles with the likes of Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey and Taylor Caby were like appointment television. If you played online NLH, you watched many of those matches that put the internet superstar up against the greatest live cash game players in history. If you were an online player, Prahlad beating those guys vindicated your skill and proved that it was only a matter of time until the online kids made their mark on the game.
A new member for the Internet Poker Wall of Fame is due to be announced each week, and you can suggest your own nomination over on this 2+2 thread.