A look at the 2013 WSOP November Nine: JC Tran

courtesy of www.wsop.com

After the elimination of 21001 WSOP Main Event Champion in 10^th place the 2013 World Series of Poker final table is now officially set. In this series I will take a look at each of the November Nine, and offer up my thoughts on what their winning the WSOP Main Event would mean to poker.

1. JC Tran — 38,000,000
2. Amir Lehavot — 29,700,000
3. Marc McLaughlin — 26,525,000
4. Jay Farber — 25,975,000
5. Ryan Riess — 25,875,000
6. Sylvain Loosli — 19,600,000
7. Michiel Brummelhuis — 11,275,000
8. Mark Newhouse — 7,350,000
9. David Benefield — 6,375,000

JC Tran

The chip-leader heading into November’s final table tilt is also the best-known and most-accomplished player in the field, Justin Coung Van Tran, better known as JC Tran. Tran built up a sizable chip-lead during Monday’s action and will take an 8.3 million chip-lead into the final table. Still, the trail-pack (5 players have 19.6 million or more chips) is close enough on his heels to make this one of the most tightly contested final tables in recent memory.

The 36 year-old Californian (Tran was born in Vietnam) is considered by virtually all of his peers as a pro’s pro, and will likely have one of the biggest cheering sections in recent memory.

Career Accomplishments

Tran is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, a WPT Champion, the Season 5 WPT Player of the Year, the 2006 PokerStars WCOOP Main Event winner, and has over $9 million in career tournament earnings –good for 32^nd on the all-time money-list.

Here is a look at some of Tran’s career highlights:

• Won the $1,500 No Limit Holdem tournament at the 2008 WSOP — $631,170
• Won the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha tournament at the 2009 WSOP — $235,685
• 2006 WCOOP Main Event Winner — $670,000
• Won the 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Classic $5k tournament — $523,075
• Party Poker Premier League III Winner — $300,000
• Runner-Up at the 2007 WPT LA Poker Classic — $1,177,010
• 2007 WPT World Poker Challenge Champion — $683,473
• Eight career Top 7 finishes on the WPT
• WPT Season 5 Player of the Year

What a JC Tran Victory Would Mean for Poker

Tran is a well-liked and well-respected poker pro, so a victory in the WSOP Main Event would be a welcome outcome. Unfortunately, the same things that make JC a well-liked player would also hinder him as a poker ambassador, as he’s a relatively quiet and humble guy. Still, of all the remaining players there is nobody I would rather see as the winner of the Main Event, with his maturity and demeanor serving as the perfect model for future poker players.

*Resources: www.thehendonmob.com, www.wikipedia.org