True to its name, the World Series of Poker is truly an international tournament poker series, with players from all over the world vying for one of 78 bracelets this summer. Presently, the UK ranks third all-time in number of bracelets by country, total earnings by country and total number of cashes by country. With Canada sitting just ahead of them in all three of those categories, there’s a decent chance the Brits could narrow the gap significantly this summer if their top players turn in solid performances. Below, then, are five players from the UK that the world will be watching at the 2018 World Series of Poker.
Stephen Chidwick
Was there any doubt that Stephen Chidwick would be on this list? Chidwick recently became the first UK player to top the GPI 300 and is certainly worthy of headlining any “players to watch” list heading into WSOP season.
#BREAKING Stephen Chidwick becomes 18th player, and first-ever player from the UK, to reach #1 on the #GPI World Poker #Rankings. Congratulations, Stephen! … Full Rankings report later pic.twitter.com/QNdb6OpTD3
— Global Poker Index (@gpi) April 18, 2018
Chidwick has won $5.4 million so far this year, which is already a career best. His performance at the US Poker Open in February was legendary and he followed that up with a third-place run in the Super High Roller Bowl China in March.
Earlier this month, Chidwick finished runner-up in the €100k Super High Roller event at the partypoker MILLIONS Grand Final Barcelona and then a couple of days later finished third in the Main Event.
Chidwick nearly won his first bracelet in 2015 in the $10k Stud 8 or Better Championship, but Max Pescatori denied him the victory. This year, Chidwick has all the momentum going for him, and is as close to being a “safe bet” as possible to win a bracelet in Vegas this summer.
Chris Moorman
Online poker’s most prolific tournament player and all-time money leader, Chris Moorman has also enjoyed tremendous success in the live arena. Last year, he broke through for his first career WSOP bracelet after defeating a field of 959 to take down the $3,000 Six-Max title.
What a fantastic photo series showing the exact moment @Moorman1 won his first bracelet. https://t.co/xz1TMteUOq @jtPHOTOjunkie @PokerNews pic.twitter.com/MZXYTX6WIy
— Pamela Maldonado (@pamelam35) June 17, 2017
The 888poker ambassador will not only be a force to watch at the Rio but also online. Last year, he cashed in both the WSOP.com High Roller and their Online Championship. We would not be shocked to see him take down a bracelet at either the live or online poker felt this summer.
Will Kassouf
Will Kassouf is one of the more colorful characters in recent poker history and certainly a player that the media will track closely during the series. Following his 17th place run in the 2016 WSOP Main Event, Kassouf has stayed active with mild success.
His best finish since his deep Main Event was his victory in the 2016 EPT Prague High Roller, where he officially walked away with $552k and his only career victory to date. Since that time, his best finish was in the 2017 WSOP Europe Main Event where he finished 64th for just over $19k.
We aren’t saying that Kassouf is a lock to win a bracelet, but should he run deep you can rest assured that his antics will attract eyeballs and increase viewership.
Max Silver
Max Silver has been on fire over the last two years at the World Series of Poker. In 2016, he cashed 10 times and finished 33rd in the Main Event. Last year he only cashed five times, but boy did he make the most of those runs.
I won!!!! Bracelet and $172k in the $3000 6 max LIMIT Holdem. @SnapShove limit holdem module coming Q4 2017. pic.twitter.com/8UjREydMLI
— Max Silver (@max_silver) June 30, 2017
He finished sixth in the $3k Six-Max (won by Moorman) and then later won the $3k Limit Hold’em Six-Max event for his first career WSOP bracelet. Afterwards, he ran deep in the Main Event for the second year in a row, finishing in 45th place.
The question now is whether Silver can have a deep run three-peat and perhaps make it all the way to the final table of the Main Event. If so, expect the betting lines at sportsbooks and online casinos UK to move significantly as he tries to make his home country proud.
Liv Boeree
Last year, Liv Boeree finally snagged her first WSOP bracelet after capturing the $10k Tag Team title with boyfriend Igor Kurganov. She also cashed in the WSOP Main Event for the second straight year, finishing in 314th place.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/r5ixdOaCjl
— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) June 3, 2017
Boeree started the year off strongly with a pair of deep runs at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, including a 17th place finish in the Main Event. Now the world will be watching to see whether the PokerStars ambassador can become a multi-time bracelet winner and maybe even the first woman since Barbara Enright back in the 1990s to make a WSOP Main Event final table.
