Everything has a defining moment. For the United States, some would argue the signing of the Declaration of Independence was the single moment that shaped the country forever. For the New York Giants, it was defeating the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. For singer Ashlee Simpson, it was lip-syncing her way through an episode of Saturday Night Live. We’re all remembered by something and we’re all defined by one moment in our lives when a miraculous event happened. To me, the World Series of Poker is defined by the crowning of Chris Moneymaker as Main Event champion in 2003. The 36 events in the 2003 WSOP would forever change the landscape of the poker world. After the summer of 2003, the poker boom was officially underway.
In the Main Event, Tennessee accountant Chris Moneymaker came out of nowhere to win $2.5 million and his first WSOP bracelet after qualifying on PokerStars. People labeled him lucky, but the fact is he defeated an intimidating final table in the process. Bracelet winners Sammy Farha and Dan Harrington finished second and third, respectively. Moneymaker found himself staring at Amir Vahedi, David Grey, and David Singer at the final table as well. The Nashville resident bested a field of 839 entrants, which seems small by today’s standards, but was unheard of at the time. Farha would pocket $1.3 million and Harrington would take home $650,000. The top 20 finishers included Phil Ivey (10th), Dutch Boyd (12th), Freddy Deeb (13th), Marcel Luske (14th), Scotty Nguyen (18th), and Howard Lederer (19th). If you take a gander through the 63 players who cashed, you’ll see such hallmark names as Phil Hellmuth, David Chiu, Barry Greenstein, Paul Darden, Annie Duke, Humberto Brenes, and Men “The Master” Nguyen. The reign of the old guard had officially come to an end.
The HORSE event is usually considered to be a true test of the all-around skill of a poker player. After all, you’re competing in five separate poker games (one per blind level) and having to re-think your logic at the turn of every card. In 2003, the champion of the $2,000 HORSE event was the legendary Doyle Brunson, who won his first WSOP bracelet since 1998. Brunson had once dominated the poker scene and captured six bracelets combined from 1976 to 1979.
Poker legend Johnny Chan defeated Surindar Sunar heads up to capture his eighth WSOP bracelet. Others at the final table of the $5,000 no limit event included Huck Seed, Amir Vahedi, David Singer, and Layne Flack. Chan won a second gold bracelet in another $5,000 buy-in event at the 2003 WSOP, a Pot Limit Omaha event. He edged past Huck Seed and Phil Ivey at the final table, taking home nearly $400,000 for his two wins combined.
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson also won two bracelets at the 2003 WSOP. He defeated Barry Bindelglass heads up in the Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event for just under $124,000. He also captured victory in the Limit Hold’em and Seven Card Stud $2,000 buy-in event, edging out Diego Cordovez. Humberto Brenes finished third in that event for just under $20,000.
The list of two-time bracelet winners during the 2003 WSOP is nothing short of impressive. Layne Flack edged Men “The Master” Nguyen in a $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event and then followed that performance up by defeating Annie Duke in a limit hold’em shootout tournament. Even Phil Hellmuth managed two bracelets during the 2004 WSOP. He captured victory in a $2,500 Limit Hold’em event as well as $3,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament. The latter $410,000 victory saw Hellmuth defeat Daniel Negreanu heads up. Erik Seidel was eliminated in third. Hellmuth cashed six times at the 2003 WSOP. Flack took home bracelets in two of his three in the money finishes.
In addition, Men “The Master” Nguyen and John Juanda were both dual bracelet winners. Nguyen won in Triple Draw and Stud events. Juanda won his in Omaha and Stud. It’s interesting that neither captured a hold’em bracelet, but it just goes to show you how well-versed each of these men is in the game of poker.
The 2003 WSOP represented a changing of the guard. Established pros took home victory in many of the events leading up to the Main Event. Then, a new era of poker was ushered in, just in time for the 2004 WSOP.