The November Nine has been a staple of the WSOP Main Event long enough now that nearly everyone can predict the shape of its lineup in rough strokes. There’s nearly always a strong international presence, sometimes with the first player from some country ever to make the Main Event final table. There’s usually a quirky amateur and nearly as frequently, there’s somebody with some serious Magic: The Gathering experience. And, of course, there’s always an established American pro.
All these things are true once again in 2014, with some variation on the past. None of those variations, noteworthy as they are, stack up to the appearance in this November Nine of Las Vegas-based poker pro Mark Newhouse. Newhouse is making his second consecutive appearance at the Main Event final table, hoping to improve upon his ninth-place finish at last year’s installment. He’s the first repeat contender since the November Nine was first introduced in 2009 and the first player to make the Main Event’s final nine in back-to-back years since 1995 Main Event winner Dan Harrington did in it in 2003 and 2004.
That double performance sparked the classic 2+2—published strategy series Harrington On Hold’em, which became the bible for serious tournament players. Perhaps we’ll see a similarly helpful kind of look into the mind of a player who can navigate massive tournament fields if Newhouse can make a deep run when this tournament resumes in November. In the meantime, here are some other reasons to root for Newhouse and all eight of his tablemates when they get back to playing poker.
Seat 1 – Billy Pappaconstantinou – 17,500,000
The quirky amateur role this year is filled by Billy Pappaconstantinou. Sporting very little of a poker resume with a touch under $17,000 in lifetime earnings before the 2014 WSOP Main Event, he is much better known in the world of competitive foosball as Billy Pappas, a five-time U.S. champion.
Root for him because: Talk about crossover potential. Billy Pappas is an excellent example of how skill and dedication in another competitive pursuit can transfer over to poker. If he could maneuver his way upward from the middle of the pack and somehow win the tournament, players from other games and sports might be tempted to bring their winnings over to the poker tables, too. And if poker players get to know him well, he might share some of his foosball secrets.
Seat 2 – Felix Stephensen – 32,775,000
Norwegian pro poker player Felix Stephensen doesn’t have much tournament experience—most of his time is spent playing pot-limit Omaha for cash online. But that didn’t stop him from racking up the second-largest stack headed into the Main Event final table.
Root for him because: You play online PLO cash games and you’d like a chance at winning some of the guaranteed $10 million prize for this year’s Main Event. Stephenson is known mostly for playing online cash games as FallAtyourFeet, and a lot less for playing tournaments. You can also pull for him if you like rooting for players who hover under the radar throughout the tournament; he didn’t find himself in the top 10 chip counts at the end of a day until he began Day 6 ninth of 27 remaining players.
Seat 3 – Jorryt van Hoof – 38,375,000
Jorryt van Hoof is the second Dutchman ever to make the Main Event final table, following on his friend MichielBrummelhuis’ seventh-place performance at last year’s final table. van Hoof stands a strong chance of becoming the highest-finishing Dutch player in Main Event history since he has the chip lead with a stack worth about 96 big blinds.
Root for him because: You’d like to see a Dutch champion. You like watching chip leaders come in and put their stacks to work. You want some of that champion’s money on the cash game tables and would rather play a Dutchman than a Norwegian. Or you’re a big fan of Magic: The Gathering, which van Hoof has been involved with in the Netherlands for years.
Seat 4 – Mark Newhouse – 26,000,000
As the first repeat November Niner in WSOP history, Newhouse will go down in history regardless of how he does at the table. With a top-three chip stack and a serious chance to go all the way, he’s going to be very disappointed if he can’t improve on last year’s short-stacked, first-out performance.
Root for him because: Newhouse broke through with a big WPT win when he was still 21 years old – and then he made some bad decisions and lost everything he’d won. His appearance at last year’s November Nine was a strong redemption story on its own. Writing a sequel this year is stronger still. Then there’s his efficiency: those two Main Event finishes represent the last two cashes on his tournament resume. He certainly knows how to make them count.
Seat 5 – AndoniLarrabe – 22,550,000
At 22 years of age, AndoniLarrabe is the youngest player at the table and one of four European players in the final.
Root for him because: You like your young European poker pros with a tournament pedigree. Larrabe’s tournament resume includes three previous WSOP cashes, a side event win at the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and an 11th-place finish in the star-studded 2012 European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event.
Seat 6 – William Tonking – 15,050,000
The third time playing the Main Event was the charm for online cash game player William Tonking. The New Jersey native played in 2008 and 2013 without cashing, but he’s earned a nice return on his investments with this year’s cash regardless of where he finishes.
Root for him because: You prefer your underdog poker pros in an East Coast variety. Though he’s one of four Americans at the table, Tonking is the only shot for New Jersey to bring home a world championship at this year’s table.
Seat 7 – Daniel Sindelar – 21,200,000
A poker player and golfer living in Las Vegas, Daniel Sindelar built a big stack on Day 4 of this Main Event and has never looked back since. It’s the biggest cash of his career by quite a bit, though he does have more than half a million dollars in career tournament earnings.
Root for him because: WSOP history means something to you. Of all the players at this year’s final table, Sindelar is the most veteran of the bunch so far as the WSOP itself goes: his 17 previous WSOP cashes are more than any other player at the final table, and just three fewer than the entire rest of the table minus Martin Jacobson.
Seat 8 – Martin Jacobson – 14,900,000
With more than $4.8 million in career earnings, Martin Jacobson outshines all the other players in this year’s November Nine in terms of past success. He took the chip lead on Day 1A, hovered near the top of the standings for four more days, and then ended Day 6 as the top performer among the remaining 27 players.
Root for him because: You like players with a track record: Jacobson has the strongest tournament resume of anybody at the final table, but for all his success, he’s never enjoyed an outright victory in a major poker tournament. Or maybe you’re just a fan of the Swedes.
Seat 9 – Bruno Politano – 12,125,000
Politano is the first player from Brazil ever to make the Main Event final table. That country might have had a disappointing World Cup this summer, but it’s been emerging as a serious poker nation for some time now and Politano’s breakthrough represents a triumph for the entire Brazilian poker community.
Root for him because: Brazilians love to sing and chant and otherwise generally cheer on their countrymen at poker tournaments. Even if you have another favorite for the win, a long presence at the table by Politano will liven up the proceedings considerably. It would also mark a return to form: like Jacobson, Politano built a big stack on Day 4 and never looked back, though he did drop toward the back of the pack as the final table approached.
