November Nine
Introduction The '''November Nine''' was the name used to refer to the final nine contestants, or final table, at the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) from 2008 to 2016.The winner of the WSOP Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker. Prior to 2008, the entire Main Event was played without interruption. Starting in 2008, in an effort to build excitement in the WSOP and to increase ratings for the tape-delayed televised shows, Harrah's Entertainment and ESPN decided to delay the final table until shortly before its scheduled broadcast. The delay would allow ESPN to cover the rest of the tournament leading up to the final table without viewers knowing the winner in advance. Due to the timing of U.S. presidential elections, the final tables for the 2012 and 2016 Main Events were held in October.In 2017, Poker Central announced a television and digital media rights agreement with the WSOP and ESPN which returned the final table to the tail end of the rest of the tournament.
Reception and criticism After the announcement was made to delay the final table, concerns arose as to how the delay would affect the tournament. Ylon Schwartz, a 2008 November Nine participant, criticized the four-month delay by saying, "It ruins the integrity of the tournament. The purity of old-time Las Vegas is gone. The antiquity and purity of the tournament have been liquidated into pure greed and capitalism." ESPN's Senior Director of Programming and Acquisition, Doug White, stated, "The movement of the final table has definitely helped in terms of creating buzz. "When the 2008 November Nine was broadcast "almost live," ESPN received criticism because the network showed the winner's name prior to the broadcast. Poker journalist Dan Skolovy wrote, "It turned out to be a difficult task to avoid hearing the results. Especially since... ESPN scrolled the winner on its sports ticker long before the broadcast aired." Nonetheless, coverage of the 2008 final table garnered more than a 50 percent increase from the previous year in both the number of viewers and households that watched it. The broadcast later received an Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Live Event Turnaround."
Results  NameName of the player (listed in order of starting chip count from highest to lowest). Starting chip countThe starting chip count at the start of the final table. WSOPbracelets The number of WSOP bracelets at the time the November Nine was determined. WSOPcashes The number of WSOP cashes at the time the November Nine was determined. WSOPearnings The total of WSOP earnings at the time the November Nine was determined. Finalplace The place in which the player finished the tournament. Prize The prize money awarded to that player for their finish at that year's Main Event.===2008===Original field: 6,844Total prize pool: $64,431,779Final table minimum prize: $900,670Final table maximum prize: $9,152,416Final table total prize pool: $32,633,446Reference: NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrize   26,295,000  0  0  $0   3rd    $4,517,773  24,400,000  0  1  $39,854  2nd  $5,809,595   19,690,000  0  3  $73,700   5th  $3,096,768   18,375,000  0  0  $0    1st   $9,152,416   12,525,000  0  11  $124,580  4th   $3,774,974   12,520,000  0  1  $26,389  6th  $2,418,562   10,230,000 0  5  $474,863 7th  $1,772,650   10,210,000  0  3  $35,759  9th   $900,670   2,620,000  0  3  $45,191  8th  $1,288,217Dennis Phillips was an account manager for a commercial trucking company. Peter Eastgate, from Denmark, was one of only two non-North American players to make it to the final table (Russian Ivan Demidov was the other). By making the final table, Eastgate and 23-year-old Craig Marquis threatened Phil Hellmuth's 19-year record as youngest person to ever win the WSOP Main Event; Eastgate's victory gave him that distinction. Ylon Schwartz was a former professional chess hustler in New York City parks. Two players, accountant Darus Suharto and poker professional Scott Montgomery, were originally from Canada. Kelly Kim, who had the fewest chips entering the final table, was an established professional player who cashed in numerous events but never won a major tournament.===2009===Original field: 6,494Total prize pool: $61,043,600Final table minimum prize: $1,263,602Final table maximum prize: $8,547,042Final table total prize pool: $27,220,989Reference: NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrize   58,930,000  0  0  $0  2nd  $5,182,928   34,800,000  0  9  $320,893  4th   $2,502,890   29,885,000  0  0  $0  6th  $1,587,160   19,580,000  0  15  $289,551  5th  $1,953,452   13,215,000  0  2  $28,214  1st  $8,547,042   12,390,000  0  2  $92,166  8th  $1,300,231   9,765,000 7  38  $3,843,018  7th  $1,404,014   9,500,000  0  0  $0  3rd  $3,479,670   6,800,000  0  2  $525,867  9th   $1,263,602The final table's "rags to riches" story was Darvin Moon, a logger from Maryland. Moon entered the Main Event after winning a $130 satellite tournament in Wheeling, West Virginia.Jeff Shulman, who entered the final table in fourth place, was the president for Card Player Magazine. Shulman openly stated that, if he won the bracelet, he would throw it away. Some initially speculated that this announcement stemmed from the fact that Harrah's Casino had partnered with Card Player Magazine's main competitor, Bluff Magazine. However, an article on the Card Player website indicated that Shulman's supposed disdain for Harrah's Casino was not based on its partnership with Bluff Magazine. “My comments have nothing to do with that, and everything to do with my disappointment in how the World Series is run," said Shulman. "It used to be run by people who loved and really cared about poker, and had the players in mind, first and foremost. That mission's been derailed by a few executives who now head the Series." He also indicated that, if he won the bracelet, he would not throw it in the trash, but instead would pursue one of four options: hold an auction and donate the money to charity, hold a tournament for the players shut out of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, give it away as part of a promotion on SpadeClub.com (an online poker site sponsored by Cardplayer), or give it to television personality Stephen Colbert.Other notable finalists included seven-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey and former Bear Stearns senior executive Steven Begleiter.At age 21, Joe Cada became the youngest player ever to win the WSOP Main Event.===2010===Original field: 7,319Total prize pool: $68,798,600Final table minimum prize: $811,823Final table maximum prize: $8,944,310Final table prize pool: $29,032,637 NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrize   65,975,000  0  2  $43,000  1st  $8,944,310   46,250,000  0  5  $105,340  6th  $1,772,959   23,525,000  0  2  $31,064  3rd  $4,130,049   19,050,000  0  10  $157,528  2nd  $5,545,955   16,700,000  0  0  0  8th  $1,045,743   16,400,000  0  1  $3,460  4th  $3,092,545   14,450,000  1  23  $2,271,327  5th $2,332,992   9,650,000  0  0  0  9th  $811,823   7,625,000  0  1  $17,987  7th  $1,356,720Jonathan Duhamel wins the tournament with the lead in chips at the final table.===2011===Original field: 6,865Total prize Pool: $64,531,000Final table minimum prize: $782,115Final table maximum prize: $8,715,638Final table prize pool: $28,469,161 NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrize   40,175,000  0  4  $22,875  2nd $5,433,086    33,925,000  0  5  $37,516  6th  $1,720,831    24,750,000  0  10  $237,249  4th  $3,012,700   23,875,000  0  8  $48,769  5th  $2,269,599   20,875,000  1  12  $2,157,249  3rd  $4,021,138   19,700,000  0  1  $7,582  7th  $1,314,097   16,425,000  0  1  $83,286  1st  $8,715,638   13,825,000  0  0  0  8th  $1,010,015    12,375,000  0  0  0  9th  $782,115Eoghan O'Dea's father, Donnacha O'Dea, played the Main Event final table in 1983 and 1991, making them the first father-son duo to make the final table. Martin Staszko, Badih Bounahra and Anton Makiievskyi were the first players to make the final table from their respective countries: Czech Republic, Belize and Ukraine. With seven different countries represented, this was the most internationally diverse Main Event final table in WSOP history.===2012===Original field: 6,598Total prize Pool: $62,021,200Final table minimum prize: $754,798Final table maximum prize: $8,527,982Final table prize pool: $27,247,840 NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrize   43,875,000  0  2  $36,372  2nd  $5,295,149    29,375,000   0  2  $39,371  6th  $1,640,461    28,725,000   1  5  $1,253,501  1st  $8,531,853   24,800,000  0  3  $126,796  4th  $2,850,494   16,860,000   1  4  $480,822  9th  $754,798   16,260,000   0  3  $27,311  7th  $1,257,790   15,155,000  0  0  0  8th  $971,252   13,115,000  0  1  $3,531  3rd  $3,797,558    9,805,000  0  13  $114,623  5th  $2,154,616===2013===Original field: 6,352Total prize Pool: $59,708,800Final table minimum prize: $733,224Final table maximum prize: $8,359,531Final table prize pool: $26,662,066 NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrize   38,000,000  2  40  $1,843,946  5th  $2,106,893    29,700,000   1  12  $818,414  3rd  $3,727,823    26,525,000   0  6  $639,168  6th  $1,601,024   25,975,000  0  0  0  2nd  $5,174,357   25,875,000   0  3  $30,569  1st  $8,361,570   19,600,000   0  0  0  4th  $2,792,533   11,275,000  0  7  $174,170  7th  $1,225,224   7,350,000  0  6  $152,725  9th  $733,224    6,375,000  0  12  $455,713  8th  $944,593===2014===Original field: 6,683Total prize Pool: $62,820,200Final table minimum prize: $730,725Final table maximum prize: $10,000,000Final table prize pool: $28,480,121 NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrize   38,375,000  0  3  $27,956  3rd  $3,807,753    32,775,000   0  0  0  2nd  $5,147,911    26,000,000   0  8  $906,093  9th  $730,725   22,550,000  0  3  $20,068  6th  $1,622,471   21,200,000   0  17  $149,991  7th  $1,236,084   17,500,000   0  0  0  5th  $2,143,794   15,050,000  0  3  $14,701  4th  $2,849,763   14,900,000  0  13  $1,204,983  1st  $10,000,000    12,125,000  0  3  $25,404  8th  $947,172Mark Newhouse became the first player to make two consecutive Main Event final tables since Dan Harrington in 2003 and 2004.Bruno Politano became the first Main Event finalist from Brazil. This is the second final table since the format change in 2008 that none of the players had previously won a bracelet.===2015===Original field: 6,420Total prize Pool: $60,348,000Final table minimum prize: $1,001,020Final table maximum prize: $7,683,346Final table prize pool: $24,799,118 NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrizeJoe McKeehen63,100,00008$883,4941st$7,683,346Ofer Stern29,800,00005$58,3845th$1,911,423Neil Blumenfield22,000,00003$44,3953rd$3,398,298Pierre Neuville21,075,000019$591,4607th$1,203,293Max Steinberg20,200,000111$1,406,1384th$2,615,361Thomas Cannuli12,250,00002$20,2036th$1,426,283Joshua Beckley11,800,00004$19,4032nd$4,470,896Patrick Chan6,225,00004$113,1459th$1,001,020Federico Butteroni6,200,00002$49,2558th$1,097,056Joe McKeehen is the second player to start with the chip lead at the final table and win.===2016===Original field: 6,737Total prize Pool: $63,327,800Final table minimum prize: $1,000,000Final table maximum prize: $8,000,000Final table prize pool: $25,432,920 NameStarting chip countWSOPbraceletsWSOPcashesWSOPearningsFinalplacePrizeCliff Josephy74,600,000217$810,3583rd$3,453,035Qui Nguyen67,925,00001$9,0291st$8,005,310Gordon Vayo49,375,000026$608,1362nd$4,661,228Kenny Hallaert43,325,000022$367,8556th$1,464,258Michael Ruane31,600,00003rd$24,4384th$2,576,003Vojtech Ruzicka27,300,000017$138,5855th$1,935,288Griffin Benger26,175,000013$231,2017th$1,250,190Jerry Wong10,175,000019$118,1568th$1,100,076Fernando Pons6,150,0000009th$1,000,000
Notes  The number of bracelets, cashes, and earnings of the players is determined at the time they qualified for the final table of the Main Event. It does not represent any results from subsequent WSOP events including the World Series of Poker Europe, which occurs between the time the final table is determined and subsequently seated.
References