Has it been 9 years since the World Series of Poker introduced the delayed final table of the WSOP Main Event?
In just a couple of weeks we'll see the 9th edition of the November Nine play out and again the poker world is hyped to see how the nine finalists will fare.
While not every November Nine has provided excellent poker, each year it has delivered some great entertainment and spectacular stories.
So many, in fact, we're already teetering on the precipice of losing some to the rarely read poker history books.
Here are 9 November Nine stories from the last nine years worth remembering:
1. Phil Ivey Was Here
The man. The poker player. The legend.
Back in 2009 Phil Ivey was the most glamorous player in poker history. Having won seven bracelets already – two of them just days before - Ivey had an incredible Main Event run and made it to the final table.
Despite being only 7th in chips Ivey was the favorite for the title among many bookkeepers. More importantly, he generated lots of hype for the November Nine.
He's certainly the most prominent poker player to ever reach the Nov. 9.
Unfortunately, Ivey's run at the final table found an untimely end when he lost all his chips Ace-King to Ace-Queen.
Who did the greatest pro back then lose against? Darvin Moon, one of the biggest amateurs to ever make the November Nine.
The self-employed logger from Maryland, who taught himself how to play poker, went on to finish 2nd and take home more than $5m.
2. Comeback Kids: Pius Heinz & Martin Jacobson
In 2011, a young German no one had heard of made it to the final table of the WSOP Main Event. 22-year-old Pius Heinz, who only started playing live poker that year, began from position 7 with only 8% of the chips.
But Heinz went on to wreck the table with his very aggressive style, well-timed bluffs and surprisingly thin value bets.
In the end, Heinz beat Martin Staszko for the title and more than $8.7m and became the first (and so far only) German to win the Main Event.
Three years later Swedish professional Martin Jacobson came to the final table with even fewer chips. He started the November Nine from position 8 with fewer then 7.5% of the chips.
But with a precise and perfectly executed plan of attack, Jacobson beat the odds and took home $10m – the largest amount any November Niner has won (Jamie Gold won $12m in 2006 but that was before the November Nine).
3. Mark Newhouse: Back-to-Back 9ths
In 2013, Mark Newhouse made the November Nine for the first time.
The 2006 WPT Borgata champ came into the final table 8th in chips with not too much hope for the title.
He only played a couple of hands then lost a flip with nines against AK and finished 9th.
So far, nothing out of the ordinary - besides of course being one of the last 9 players in a 6,000-player tournament.
What happened the very next year, however, is (almost) unbelievable. After he bought into the 2014 Main Event Newhouse sent out this tweet:
Just bought into the main event day 1c. Not fucking finishing 9th again
— mark newhouse (@mark_hizzle) 7. Juli 2014You know what happened. He fucking finished 9th again. This time, though, it was all so much worse.
Having been there the year before he was certainly the most experienced player on that WSOP stage and started third in chips behind only Felix Stephensen and Jorryt van Hoof.
But luck didn't mean well with Newhouse. He lost some key hands, got unlucky setups and finally was all-in with tens against queens.
Only nine times has a player who made the final table won less than $1m – Mark Newhouse did it twice.
4. No Future for Brits
Speaking of 9th-place finishes ...
We've had two British November Niners so far: James Akenhead in 2009 and Sam Holden in 2011.
Both started from ninth position and both only lasted a couple of hands before busting first.
Together, they've made the UK the least successful country among November Niners.
5. Age Ain't Nothing But a Number
It's safe to say that high-level tournament poker, for the most part, is for the young folk.
The average age of all November Niners is a bit over 31. Half of them were 27 or younger and only five were over 50.
But there are some players who seem to be like cheese and wine – they get better as they get older. A prime example is certainly Pierre Neuville.
At the age of 71 he cashed 8 times during the WSOP 2014 and even came 2nd in the $5k Six-Max event. In 2015 he topped that achievement by becoming the oldest November Niner at the age of 72.
Not only is Neuville the only player over 70 to make the November Nine, he's also 11 years older than the 2nd-oldest November Niner.
That's Neil Blumenfield, who incidentally made it to the final table the same year as Neuville.
6. Or, Actually, Age Does Matter
Want a surefire tip who's going to win the 2016 Main Event?
That's easy: Gordon Vayo.
Check the last eight WSOP Main Event winners:
2008
Peter Eastgate
22
2009
Joe Cada
21
2010
Jonathan Duhamel
22
2011
Pius Heinz
22
2012
Greg Merson
24
2013
Ryan Riess
23
2014
Martin Jacobson
27
2015
Joe McKeehen
24
Seven are 24 or younger. All are 27 or younger. This year just one player fits the “27 or younger” category. That's Vayo. So, going by this logic, he's the safe bet.
7. Baumann, Hille Bubble
A rather disappointing fact: No female player has made the November Nine
After nine years it's still an all-male club.
Elisabeth Hille and Gaelle Baumann came incredibly close in 2012 but busted in 11th and 10th place, respectively.
Baumann repeated her Last Woman Standing Title in 2016 when she finished 102nd. Maria Ho has also claimed the LWS title twice.
These are the highest finishes for women since 2008:
Year
Player
Place
2008
Tiffany Michelle
17
2009
Leo Margets
27
2010
Breeze Zuckerman
121
2011
Erika Moutinho
29
2012
Gaelle Baumann
10
2013
Jackie Glazier
31
2014
Maria Ho
77
2015
Kelly Minkin
29
2016
Gaelle Baumann
102
8. Our Man, Our Title!
Twenty different nations have been represented at the final table since 2008. Forty-four of the 81 players came from the United States – the clear majority.
But only four of the last eight titles went to American players. One Canadian (Jonathan Duhamel) and three Europeans snatched the others away
The three Europeans have one thing in common: they're the only November Niners from their country.
Peter Eastgate is the only Dane, Pius Heinz the only German and Martin Jacobson the only Swede to ever make the November Nine.
All three of them took home the title. Talk about efficiency.
9. Newcomers Do It Better
There have been 81 November Niners in total and only 9 had won a bracelet before making the biggest final table of their life:
Phil Ivey Michael Mizrachi Ben Lamb Greg Merson Steven Gee Amir Lehavot JC Tran Max Steinberg Cliff JosephyFrom this group so far only Merson managed to turn his experience into the championship title. Seven of the past eight champions won their first bracelet in the Main Event.
Peter Eastgate's title also was his very first WSOP cash.
Bonus Facts
Daniel Negreanu is the 'most famous' player to "near-miss" the November Nine. He missed the Final Table narrowly in 2015 when he busted in 11th. Former Main Event winner Carlos Mortensen also narrowly missed when he bubbled the final table in 2013. Joe Cada was the youngest player to win the title at age 21 years, 357 days. Steven Begleiter was the highest profile non-professional player to reach the November Nine. The investment strategist worked for Wall Street (Bear Stearns) for 24 years before finishing 6th in the Main Event in 2009. One of the biggest Main Event fails happened one year before the November Nine. Philipp Hilm started the final table as chipleader with a considerable lead but somehow managed to melt down completely and finished in 9th.All November Niners Since 2008
Year
Player
Age
Country
Chips
Starting Position
Final Place
Prize
2008
Peter Eastgate
22
DK
18,375,000
4 / 9
1 (+3)
$9,152,416
2008
Ivan Demidov
27
RU
24,400,000
2 / 9
2 (+/-0)
$5,809,595
2008
Dennis Phillips
53
US
26,295,000
1 / 9
3 (-2)
$4,517,773
2008
Ylon Schwartz
38
US
12,525,000
5 / 9
4 (+1)
$3,774,974
2008
Scott Montgomery
27
CA
19,690,000
3 / 9
5 (-2)
$3,096,768
2008
Darus Suharto
39
CA
12,520,000
6 / 9
6 (+/-0)
$2,418,562
2008
David Rheem
28
US
10,230,000
7 / 9
7 (+/-0)
$1,772,650
2008
Kelly Kim
32
US
2,620,000
9 / 9
8 (+1)
$1,288,217
2008
Craig Marquis
23
US
10,210,000
8 / 9
9 (-1)
$900,670
2009
Joe Cada
21
US
13,215,000
5 / 9
1 (+4)
$8,547,042
2009
Darvin Moon
46
US
58,930,000
1 / 9
2 (-1)
$5,182,928
2009
Antoine Saout
25
FR
9,500,000
8 / 9
3 (+5)
$3,479,670
2009
Eric Buchman
30
US
34,800,000
2 / 9
4 (-2)
$2,502,890
2009
Jeff Shulman
34
US
19,580,000
4 / 9
5 (-1)
$1,953,452
2009
Steven Begleiter
47
US
29,885,000
3 / 9
6 (-3)
$1,587,160
2009
Phil Ivey
32
US
9,765,000
7 / 9
7 (+/-0)
$1,404,014
2009
Kevin Schaffel
51
US
12,390,000
6 / 9
8 (-2)
$1,300,231
2009
James Akenhead
26
UK
6,800,000
9 / 9
9 (+/-0)
$1,263,602
2010
Jonathan Duhamel
22
CA
65,975,000
1 / 9
1 (+/-0)
$8,944,310
2010
John Racener
24
US
19,050,000
4 / 9
2 (+2)
$5,545,955
2010
Joseph Cheong
24
US
23,525,000
3 / 9
3 (+/-0)
$4,130,049
2010
Filippo Candio
26
IT
16,400,000
6 / 9
4 (+2)
$3,092,545
2010
Michael Mizrachi
29
US
14,450,000
7 / 9
5 (+2)
$2,332,992
2010
John Dolan
24
US
46,250,000
2 / 9
6 (-4)
$1,772,959
2010
Jason Senti
28
US
7,625,000
9 / 9
7 (+2)
$1,356,720
2010
Matthew Jarvis
25
CA
16,700,000
5 / 9
8 (-3)
$1,045,743
2010
Cuong Soi Nguyen
37
US
9,650,000
8 / 9
9 (-1)
$811,823
2011
Pius Heinz
22
DE
16,425,000
7 / 9
1 (+6)
$8,715,638
2011
Martin Staszko
35
CZ
40,175,000
1 / 9
2 (-1)
$5,433,086
2011
Ben Lamb
26
US
20,875,000
5 / 9
3 (+2)
$4,021,138
2011
Matt Giannetti
26
US
24,750,000
3 / 9
4 (-1)
$3,012,700
2011
Phil Collins
26
US
23,875,000
4 / 9
5 (-1)
$2,269,599
2011
Eoghan O'Dea
26
IE
33,925,000
2 / 9
6 (-4)
$1,720,831
2011
Badih "Bob" Bounahra
49
BZ
19,700,000
6 / 9
7 (-1)
$1,314,097
2011
Anton Makiievskyi
21
UA
13,825,000
8 / 9
8 (+/-0)
$1,010,015
2011
Sam Holden
22
UK
12,375,000
9 / 9
9 (+/-0)
$782,115
2012
Greg Merson
24
US
28,725,000
3 / 9
1 (+2)
$8,531,853
2012
Jesse Sylvia
26
US
43,875,000
1 / 9
2 (-1)
$5,295,149
2012
Jacob Balsiger
21
US
13,115,000
8 / 9
3 (+5)
$3,797,558
2012
Russell Thomas
24
US
24,800,000
4 / 9
4 (+/-0)
$2,850,494
2012
Jeremy Ausmus
32
US
9,805,000
9 / 9
5 (+4)
$2,154,616
2012
Andras Koroknai
30
HU
29,375,000
2 / 9
6 (-4)
$1,640,461
2012
Michael Esposito
44
US
16,260,000
6 / 9
7 (-1)
$1,257,790
2012
Robert Salaburu
27
US
15,155,000
7 / 9
8 (-1)
$971,252
2012
Steven Gee
57
US
16,860,000
5 / 9
9 (-4)
$754,798
2013
Ryan Riess
23
US
25,875,000
5 / 9
1 (+4)
$8,361,570
2013
Jay Farber
28
US
25,975,000
4 / 9
2 (+2)
$5,174,357
2013
Amir Lehavot
38
IL
29,700,000
2 / 9
3 (-1)
$3,727,823
2013
Sylvain Loosli
26
FR
19,600,000
6 / 9
4 (+2)
$2,792,533
2013
J.C. Tran
36
US
38,000,000
1 / 9
5 (-4)
$2,106,893
2013
Marc McLaughlin
25
CA
26,525,000
3 / 9
6 (-3)
$1,601,024
2013
Michiel Brummelhuis
32
NL
11,275,000
7 / 9
7 (+/-0)
$1,225,224
2013
David Benefield
27
US
6,375,000
9 / 9
8 (+1)
$944,593
2013
Mark Newhouse
28
US
7,350,000
8 / 9
9 (-1)
$733,224
2014
Martin Jacobson
27
SE
14,900,000
8 / 9
1 (+7)
$10,000,000
2014
Felix Stephensen
24
NO
32,775,000
2 / 9
2 (+/-0)
$5,147,911
2014
Jorryt van Hoof
31
NL
38,375,000
1 / 9
3 (-2)
$3,807,753
2014
William Tonking
27
US
15,050,000
7 / 9
4 (+3)
$2,849,763
2014
Billy Pappas
29
US
17,500,000
6 / 9
5 (+1)
$2,143,794
2014
Andoni Larrabe
22
ES
22,550,000
4 / 9
6 (-2)
$1,622,471
2014
Dan Sindelar
30
US
21,200,000
5 / 9
7 (-2)
$1,236,084
2014
Bruno Politano
31
BR
12,125,000
9 / 9
8 (+1)
$947,172
2014
Mark Newhouse
29
US
26,000,000
3 / 9
9 (-6)
$730,725
2015
Joe McKeehen
24
US
63,100,000
1 / 9
1 (+/-0)
$7,683,346
2015
Joshua Beckley
24
US
11,800,000
7 / 9
2 (+5)
$4,470,896
2015
Neil Blumenfield
61
US
22,000,000
3 / 9
3 (+/-0)
$3,398,298
2015
Max Steinberg
27
US
20,200,000
5 / 9
4 (+1)
$2,615,361
2015
Ofer Stern
36
IL
29,800,000
2 / 9
5 (-3)
$1,911,423
2015
Thomas Cannuli
23
US
12,250,000
6 / 9
6 (+/-0)
$1,426,283
2015
Pierre Neuville
72
BE
21,075,000
4 / 9
7 (-3)
$1,203,293
2015
Federico Butteroni
25
IT
6,200,000
9 / 9
8 (+1)
$1,097,056
2015
Patrick Chan
26
US
6,225,000
8 / 9
9 (-1)
$1,001,020
2016
Cliff Josephy
50
US
74,600,000
1 / 9
2016
Qui Nguyen
39
US
67,925,000
2 / 9
2016
Gordon Vayo
27
US
49,375,000
3 / 9
2016
Kenny Hallaert
34
BE
43,325,000
4 / 9
2016
Michael Ruane
28
US
31,600,000
5 / 9
2016
Voyjtech Ruzicka
30
CZ
27,300,000
6 / 9
2016
Griffin Benger
31
CA
26,175,000
7 / 9
2016
Jerry Wong
34
US
10,175,000
8 / 9
2016
Fernando Pons
37
ES
6,150,000
9 / 9
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