The 49th annual World Series of Poker starts this May and, here at Grosvenor HQ, we are preparing ourselves for a summer of epic poker battles.
It only seems like yesterday that Scott Blumstein took down the 2017 WSOP Main Event and bagged the coveted gold and diamond bracelet.
But he wasn’t the only player to walk away with the ultimate accessory that year – British players such as Liv Boeree, Chris Moorman, Max Silver, Chris Brammer, and Elior Sion all walked away with a shiny WSOP bracelet on their wrist.
To celebrate the upcoming WSOP festival, and to show just how proud we are of our homegrown elite, we’ve listed our favourite WSOP British success stories.
This is how it’s done, folks!
Will Kassouf
Will Kassouf started his poker career at the Grosvenor “Victoria” Casino, making his name in small stakes tournaments and cash games.
His best WSOP cash came in 2016, when he ran deep in the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event. The “king of speech play” controversially tussled with the likes of Griffin Benger and Stacy Matuson to bag a 17th place finish and a whopping $338,288.
Since his great WSOP success, the Grosvenor Sponsored Pro has become a global poker superstar, earning himself worldwide fame and amassing lifetime earnings of $ 1,352,427!
Olivia “Liv” Boeree
Boeree’s poker story is somewhat unconventional. She first burst onto the poker scene in 2005, when the British TV show Ultimatepoker.com Showdown selected her as one of its five contestants. On the show, she was mentored by a trio of poker luminaries: Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and Dave “Devilfish” Ulliot.
In her first four years on the circuit, Boeree cashed 44 times, made 23 final tables and won four events, including an EPT title. In 2017, she won her first ever WSOP bracelet. This was in the $10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em Championships, where she teamed up with her partner, Igor Kurganov, and claimed a $136,982 cash prize. She is currently ranked #6 female player in the world and is the #1 female poker player in the UK.
John Hesp
John Hesp, a 64-year-old grandfather of seven from East Yorkshire, shocked the poker world when he ran deep in the 2017 WSOP Main Event. Ultimately finishing fourth for $2.6 million, Hesp captured the hearts of viewers with his kaleidoscopic clothing and refreshing table talk. Despite being his first WSOP event, this was the second biggest cash prize to have ever been won by a British player.
Before the WSOP Main Event, Hesp had only ever played poker for fun in small seaside casinos, with his largest deposit just a few pounds. In interviews after the event, he admitted he wasn’t prepared to go professional and was happy to “stay an amateur”, preferring to run his caravan centre in Bridlington instead.
Jake Cody
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Renowned for playing long online sessions (reportedly 12 hours+ a day), Cody is one of only a few players to obtain poker’s “Triple Crown”. His three major poker titles include the World Series of Poker bracelet, World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour honours.
His first live tournament cash was at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) £200 No-Limit Hold’em event in April, 2009, where he placed sixth and took home £1,740. Just a month later he took down the EPT Deauville Main Event.
His biggest win, however, came in the 2011 WSOP $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Championship, where Cody butted heads with Yevgeniy Timoshenko to win just over $850k. What’s more, this was only the second bracelet event he had ever played in. With lifetime earnings exceeding $4 million, he is currently the 10th highest earner in the England All Time Money List.
Sam Trickett
A list of British poker superstars wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the unwavering Sam Trickett.
Trickett first started playing poker in 2005, where he quickly became a regular on the Sheffield poker scene. His first major win came in 2008, when he won $215,178 at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Luton Main Event.
During the summer of 2010, Trickett would place 2nd in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em WSOP event and take home over half a million dollars. However, just two years later he went on to secure his biggest win to-date at The Big One for One Drop. Despite coming 2nd to three-time WSOP bracelet winner, Antonio Esfandiari, Trickett raked in a staggering $10 million. Not bad for a runner-up! Trickett is currently the 12th highest earner in tournament play of all time.
Matt Perrins
As a resident of Rochdale, Perrins learned to play poker with fellow local, Jake Cody. He burst onto the scene in 2009, when he became the first non-Italian to win the Italian Poker Tour in Venice.
Just two years later, Perrins got his first taste of the WSOP in the 2011 $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball event – a game that Perrins had never played before. Remarkably, his risk paid off and he came out on top, securing his first WSOP bracelet and a chunky £102k prize.
Two years after his first WSOP win, Perrins entered the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Once again, Perrins walked away with a coveted WSOP bracelet, taking home nearly £800k in winnings. He is now 58th in the England All Time Money List, with current lifetime earnings of $ 1,656,294.
How do you fancy joining Will Kassouf and Team Grosvenor for a fun and poker-filled week in Vegas this summer? We are giving 30 lucky poker players a £3,500 Vegas package including the chance to play in the 2018 WSOP $1,500 Millionaire Maker event, in Las Vegas – and all from just 25p with our step satellites!
Visit our Road to Vegas promotions page today to find out more. Who knows, maybe we’ll be writing about your WSOP success story next year!
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