Who says a Big Name can’t win It All

With almost 6,500 players in the 2009 WSOP Main Event and only 500 or so of these players being big names, many people don’t see a big name pro being able to win the title for a while.  Instead, what we’re given is final tables full of virtual unknowns who have honed their game on the Internet, and come to the Main Event in hopes of making a name for themselves. 

But with 64 players remaining in the WSOP Main Event, we’re finding that a solid percentage of those players include some of poker’s best.  Phil Ivey definitely tops the list of players who are still alive as he sits near the top of the leaderboard, and is poised to make a strong run at the final table as we play down to the final 9.  Antonio Esfandiari is also running very well and is right up there with Ivey in terms of those who could make a big impact on the final table.

And it’s nice to see a member of last year’s final table back in the mix once again with Dennis Phillips still alive.  Joe Seebok and Tom Schneider are two more big names who’ve managed to fight their way through the huge Main Event crowd to position themselves within the top 1% of finishers.

Out of those who are still alive, I’m most excited to see Ivey still in the field since he will definitely draw some fan interest if he happens to make the final table.  Even people who know little about poker either know Ivey or recognize his face so it would be interesting to see how many casual fans would tune in come November if Ivey makes the final table.  Of course, it would also be really cool to see Dennis Phillips make a second final table as well which would be a huge accomplishment considering how large the fields are these days.