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Here's a final look at some of 2005's top tournament poker players.
Hieu "Tony" Ma
Ma is another of the top Vietnam-born poker players in the game today. The
former ship welder has been a fixture at the tables for some time, but in
2005 he had a particularly good run in tournaments. After a few modest
finishes in preliminary events, Ma placed 44th in the main event of the LA
Poker Classic. He followed that by placing 27th in the Bay 101 Shooting
Stars main event, 10th at the Rio WSOP Circuit main event, and 25th at the
World Poker Challenge main event. Before placing 14th at the WPT
Championship, he took home 1st place in the $5,000 no-limit hold'em event at
the Five-Star World Poker Classic. Ma then made two final tables at the WSOP
and cashed in 4 events at the Legends of Poker before winning the California
State Poker Championship main event. He capped off the year with a 2nd place
finish in the $1,500 no-limit hold'em event at the Five-Diamond World Poker
Classic. With his 14 cashes in events with buy-ins over $1,000, few players
in 2005 had a tournament record to match that of Tony Ma.
Amir Vahedi
While Vahedi is probably best known among casual players for his appearance at
the 2003 WSOP Main Event final table, he hasn't rested on his laurels by any
means. He made 9 final tables over the course of the year - in limit,
pot-limit, and no-limit hold'em - and at 4 of those final tables he managed
to end up holding all the chips once the final hand had been played out. The
LA Poker Classic saw him win both the $500 limit hold'em shootout and the
$1,500 limit hold'em tournament. At the Mirage Poker Showdown he took 1st
place in the $2,000 pot-limit hold'em event. Finally, in November, he won
the $10,000 Ultimate Poker Challenge no-limit hold'em main event. He only
managed to cash in one event at the WSOP, but the rest of his year was a
study in success.
Mark Seif
Mark Seif has been honing his game for a long time, and in 2005 all his
efforts finally paid off as he reached a high water mark that most people
can only dream about. After a small handful of positive tournament results
at the start of the year, Seif made the journey to the Rio in Las Vegas for
the WSOP. He cashed in the first event of the series, placing 53rd in the
$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament. Then he made the sort of run that makes
people remember your name years down the road. First he waded through the
field of the $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout to claim first place, $181,330,
and his first WSOP bracelet. Then, less than a week later, he outlasted an
even larger field in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event to take home $611,145
and his second bracelet. He finished off the year by making two WSOP Circuit
final tables, cashing at the World Poker Finals main event, and making two
strong finishes at the US Poker Championships: 1st place in the $2,500
Seven-Card Stud tourney and 11th in the main event. Seif will be
hard-pressed to win another two bracelets in 2006, but he'll stand a solid
chance of making a run at them.
Max Pescatori
The man known as the Italian Pirate finally decided to focus on tournaments in
2005 - and in retrospect it's easy to say he made the right decision.
Pescatori made an amazing 16 final tables in 2005, in a variety of games,
and cashed in 14 more tournaments along the way. Less than two weeks into
the year he took home his first title, winning the $1,500 limit hold'em
event at the inaugural WSOP Circuit in Atlantic City. He then moved on to
the LA Poker Classic, where he made final tables in Seven-Card Stud and
No-Limit Hold'em events. He placed in his first Omaha Hi-Lo tournament of
the year at the Mirage Poker Showdown, and also took 2nd place in the $2,500
No-Limit Hold'em event. Then came the WSOP, where Pescatori cashed in 6
events including the $2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tourney. The Harrah's Las Vegas
WSOP Circuit saw him take home his 2nd title of the year, this time in the
$2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event. He finished out the year with solid showings
at the Festa al Lago IV, the National Championship of Poker, and the
Five-Diamond World Poker Classic. After such a strong showing in his first
year of concentrating on tournaments, the poker world will be watching the
Italian Pirate to see if he can continue his success.
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