The 10 best tournament poker players RIGHT NOW Part 1

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Published January 15th, 2013 in Fun Stuff, Poker

I’m a big fan of Top 10 lists, having penned everything from the 10 Best WSOP Runner-Ups to the 10 Poker Players you Love to Hate over the years, but for the most part I tend to use my top-lists for historical rankings, leaving the who is the best player in the world to others. That being said, some recent performances have wetted my appetite to throw out my choices for the Top 10 tournament poker players in the game RIGHT NOW.

When I say right now, I’m talking about the best players in the past two to three years, as well as players who I expect to continue to tear it up in the coming years as well. So without any further delay, here are my choices –and I have to be honest, ranking these 10 was harder than narrowing the list down to just 10!

Here is a look at numbers 10-8 on my list:

#10 Mike Watson

The Canadian poker pro who goes by the name of “SirWatts” at the online poker tables has quietly turned into one of the most successful and consistent players in the game. With career earnings tallying $5.8 million and two $2 million years since 2008, Watson has been tearing up the live tournament trail, but he also still finds time to play online where he continues to be one of the most feared players.

Watson mainly plays Main Events and High Roller tournaments, foregoing the smaller preliminary events at most tournament stops.

Major Wins

1^st place at the 2008 WPT Bellagio Cup Main Event: $1.6 million
1^st place at the 2012 WSOP Europe $50,000 High-Roller tournament: $1.3 million

#9 Eugene Katchalov

Katchalov has slowly and quietly climbed his way up the tournament ladder, breaking the Top 40 on poker’s all-time money list according to thehendonmob.com. After a massive 2011 tournament season the poker world started taking a closer look at Katchalov’s numbers, and they turned out to be very impressive as the Ukrainian has over $7.2 million in career tournament earnings.

Major Wins:

1^st place at the 2007 WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Classic: $2.5 million
1^st place in the $100k Super High Roller event at the 2012 PCA: $1.5 million
1^st place in the 2011 WSOP $1,500 7-Card-Stud event: $122,000

#8 Scott Seiver

Seiver is one of the best young players in the game, and is known for being well-rounded; equally as adept in cash games or tournaments. Seiver’s tournament resume has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past couple years, with two seven-figure scores in the past couple years.

Major Wins

1^st place in the $100k Super High Roller tournament at the 2013 PCA: $2 million
1^st place in the 2011 WPT $25k Championship at the Bellagio: $1.6 million
1^st place in the $5k NLHE tournament at the 2008 WSOP: $750k
1^st place in the Party Poker Premier League V in 2012: $500k