The eyes of poker players and fans all over the world are aimed at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas today as the World Series of Poker championship final (WSOP) enters its second and last day. The WSOP championship final kicked off yesterday with nine players from six different countries vying for the first place prize of $10,000,000, the other eight places sharing a total prize amount of $18,480,121.
The "November Nine"
The 45th WSOP championship began five months ago with some 6,683 players and it came down to these nine skilled players who had earned the nickname the "November Nine". The nine players are playing in a $10,000 buy-in Main Event for the huge prizes but also for cementing their names in the annals of poker and winning the coveted golden bracelet.
This year's WSOP final lineup is unique in the sense that it presents the competition with the youngest team to date, the average age standing at around 28. To compare, the youngest player in the 2010 WSOP finals was 37 years old; among the nine playing today, the oldest is 32. Even more unique is the fact that none of the finalists have ever won the title before, making the competition fresh and exciting.
The Appeal of Online Poker
One of the possible explanations for the youngest lineup of players at the final can be traced back to the rising popularity of online poker. From anywhere and at anytime, players can hone their skills against other live opponents in online poker, a tool with which they can gain experience much faster. Recent years have already seen online poker players being able to buy in into big offline poker events including the many competitions in the WSOP, playing at leading online poker rooms the likes of bet365 Poker and Winner Poker.