Vanessa Selbst, Poker Pro, Wins Her Third WSOP Bracelet
May 31, 2014
Event #2 of the 2014 WSOP has been played out, and US player Vanessa Selbst has taken the win. The $25K Mixed Max NLH tournament began with 131 registrants, with only the top 16 players receiving a piece of the $3+ million prize pool. This event is new to the schedule and is the only $25K-buy-in event on the schedule for this year.
This is 29-year-old Selbst’s third WSOP bracelet, tying her with Barbara Enright for most WSOP bracelets won by a female, and this is only the second event. A fourth bracelet could still be in the cards for the Yale Law School graduate who went heads-up against Jason Mo after four days of play before her victory. This win, which netted her more than $870K, also puts her total WSOP earnings at more than $2 million, just $75,000 away from the biggest female earner in WSOP history, Annette Obrestad. Mo took a healthy $538K for his second-place finish, and JC Tran, last year November Niner and 5th place finisher in the 2013 WSOP Main Event, came in fourth with a $290K payday, equal to third place finisher, Alfred Decarolis.
Now for the first time ever, a woman holds the first spot in the WSOP Player of the Year race, which is an exciting feat for Selbst, as well. She said after her most recent win, “I understand why people want to talk about women and the achievements of women in history that way. Obviously, I would like to be considered in a conversation for the best poker player, not just the best female poker player. I think I’m starting to get there and people are starting to recognize that.”
Three WSOP bracelet wins is indeed a feat for any player, male or female, and in fact, there are only 30 other people in the three-bracelet category, and even fewer with more than three bracelet titles. Selbst’s first bracelet win was back in 2008, and since then, she’s taken time to finish law school and get married, but never failed to find herself back at the felt. This recent victory has been a redemption win for her, though as she explained that she hasn’t been happy with her performance in recent tournaments prior to this one.
Other bracelet players who cashed in this event include Noah Schwartz, 16th, Nick Schulman, 13th, and Kevin Song, 12th. November Niner from the 2011 WSOP Main Event, Matt Giannetti, finished this event in 5th place. All of these names are likely to show up again before it’s all said and done with, between now and the confirmation of this year’s November Nine.