Best Damned WSOP Main Event Players in 2000s - 10th to 8th

It wasn't until 2000 that the Main Event field in the WSOP broke 500 players. It was also during this decade that we broke 1000 players (the field actually jumped from 839 in 2003 to 2576 in 2004) and had our largest field ever - 8773 in 2006.

All of this got us thinking about who just is the "Best Damned WSOP Main Event Player" this decade. Here are the ground rules - 1) The time period for consideration is only from 2000 to 2008 (i.e. - only those 9 WSOP Main Events, and no WSOP Europe events) - what a player may have done in the 90s or earlier is irrelevant; 2) The player had to have at least 2 cashes during these Main Events and; 3) The player needed to have at least one "deep" run - deep is generally considered reaching the final three tables.

Our analysis shows that this yields us 18 players - but who is the "best"?? And now, on with the countdown.....but, first a few who failed to make the top 10...

John Strzemp - John doesn't quite meet our three criteria for consideration. He cashed twice this decade - in 2007 and 2008 but his finishes were 379th and 538th respectively. Those are solid finishes and his 2nd place finish to Stu Ungar in 1997 bring him close to making the top 10, but he just misses the list.

Jamie Gold - Yes, Jamie took down the largest field ever (8773 runners in 2006) and did it in bulldozer fashion, but it's his only Main Event cash and leaves him off of our list of Best Damned WSOP Main Event Players in the 2000s.

Josh Arieh - Arieh took home $2.5 million when placed 3rd in the 2004 ME. More impressively, perhaps, was that he eliminated the CPL's own Jeff "Mattusow" Matson the next year, 2005 - the man many considered to be the prohibitive favorite earlier in that tourney. Still, that just isn't enough to make the list.

So, who did make our list of the best ever. Coming in at number 10....

10) Daniel Alaei - We absolutely hate the way Daniel Alaei dresses, but you can't hate his Main Event performances this decade. With three cashes (59th in 2004, 140th in 2005 and 25th in 2007) he has shown himself to be a competitor for your a good piece of your $10,000 entry.

9) Allen Cunningham - If the combination of demeanor and intelligence was the criteria then Allen Cunningham may well rise to the top of the list. A force in 2001 when he finished 27th as both Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth final tabled, Allen then put in a 4th place finish in the 2006 ME (again, the largest field ever) and finished 117th last year. That is all enough to earn Allen the 9th place spot in our list.

8) Scotty Nguyen - Scotty has proven himself time and again in several different formats and venues. Okay, maybe we're a little influenced by his '98 ME win (just outside our decade under review) and his $50K HORSE win (even if he was drunk). Still, this decade in the ME he placed 18th in 2003. In 2007, he seemingly had all the chips as the ME moved into the final two tables only to oddly blow it all and finish 11th. He drops a spot or two because of it, but still makes eighth place.

Those are the 10th, 9th, and 8th place holders in our series of Best Damned WSOP Main Event Players in 2000s.

Look for more entrants in future posts and give us your thoughts on who should (or should not) be on the list.