Which players helped or hurt their brand at the WSOP final table Part 1

Nine players sat down on the main stage of the Penn & Teller Theater on Saturday in what was seemingly a contest for about $30 million in prize-money, but a deeper look at precisely what was at stake for some of these players reveals a completely different dynamic. Some of these players were playing for the future, while others have far less opportunity for sponsorship deals and future results, so the WSOP was their pinnacle, and their one true shot at glory.

 In this 2-part column I will explore which players hurt their brand or helped their brand at the WSOP final table -Although a lot will depend on how ESPN edits Tuesday’s episodes! Here are the first four players: Joseph Cheong, John Dolan, John Racener, and Soi Nguyen.

Joseph Cheong - Cheong is the strangest case amongst the final 9 players. With his pre-WSOP admittance of NOT wanting to win, Cheong hurt himself in terms of sponsorship opportunities -most sponsors’ likely fear he is another Peter Eastgate or Mike “Timex” McDonald, who will simply quit poker to pursue other passions. But Cheong was definitely the table captain at the final table, which is impressive considering the quality of the lineup. However, his elimination “Blow-Up” only works to confirm that his declaration of not wanting to win may have been the truth. All that said, Cheong seemed to be the most talented player at the table, and it seemed the other competitors felt the same way.

John Dolan - Dolan wasn’t able to get much going at the final table, and his bust-out hand was an innocuous Q5s shove from the Small Blind. Considering he may get at most two or three televised hands on ESPN, with one will be a poorly played pair of Kings (I believe?) I don’t think Dolan has improved his brand at all. The 2010 WSOP final table seems like a definite missed opportunity for Dolan.

John Racener - Even though Racener is amongst the final two players, he hasn’t done anything particularly interesting up to this point. Although if he manages to come back from a 6-to-1 chips disadvantage to win he will be very much talked about years to come! Racener will definitely be a sponsored pro for years to come, and since I picked him to win before the WSOP I’m still holding out hope he can overcome Duhamel’s chip-lead!

Soi Nguyen - Nguyen was definitely the amateur at the table, and he employed a tight/aggressive approach at the final table. He reminds me of a less-talented Kelly Kim, and with so little actual tournament experience -plus he is 37, which is like AARP age in poker-there wasn’t much he could do to improve his brand short of winning the WSOP Main Event.