The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has announced the ten finalists for this year’s Poker Hall of Fame. One of these poker legends will be inducted later this month and become part of the long list of poker pros belonging to the coveted Hall of Fame.
WSOP announced the finalists on Tuesday following a nomination period that saw poker players and fans naming the inductees they believed were worthy of the Poker Hall of Fame. After several inductees were nominated in early June, a panel narrowed down the list to just ten.
According to WSOP, only one inductee will make it to the Hall of Fame this year. The hall’s living members will be responsible for choosing who’s it going to be. Each will allocate a ballot of 10 total points to determine this year’s Hall of Famer.
Based on the official list of the 10 finalists, the nominees this year are a mixed bag of new nominations and returning names, including one who won a WSOP main event almost 40 years ago. Check out the full list below.
- Patrik Antonius
- Josh Arieh
- Barny Boatman
- “Miami” John Cernuto
- Ted Forrest
- Kathy Liebert
- Mike Matusow
- Matt Savage
- Isai Scheinberg
- Bill Smith
For the uninitiated, Smith is one of the pioneers in high-stakes poker who even won the main event in 1985’s WSOP. Scheinberg, who has been a returning finalist since 2019, is the founder of PokerStars. Meanwhile, Boatman is a founding member of the Hendon Mob, who already has two bracelets and an EPT title.
Arieh is a six-time WSOP bracelet winner; he has been nominated for the Hall of Fame for the last three years. On the other hand, Antonius, who hails from Finland, is one of the winningest high-stakes players, both online and live. Meanwhile, Forrest, who has been nominated since 2016, has earned six WSOP bracelets.
There are considerations to be met before one gets nominated into the finalists for induction. Aside from having played against acknowledged top competition and playing consistently for high stakes, they should at least be 40 years of age at the time of nomination. As for the non-playing nominees, they must have contributed to the overall growth and success of poker.
Last year, Brian Rast was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame after winning his sixth bracelet at the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
This year, one out of the top 10 listed above will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame during the Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em event on July 14, Sunday. After the announcement of the inductee, their Hall of Fame photo will be unveiled at the WSOP Hall of Fame Poker Room inside Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Established in 1979, the Poker Hall of Fame recognizes the most influential players and those who have made big contributions to the game through the years. In the past, at least two persons were inducted into the Hall of Fame yearly. But in recent years, only one person is inducted per year.
