Rule, Britannia! Brits Taking Over WSOP (Again)

Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 10 June 2011 / Leave a Comment

2010 was no fluke, it appears. After claiming five bracelets at last year's World Series of Poker -- the most by any country other than the United States -- U.K. players are proving themselves once more through the first 10 days of play at this year's WSOP. With just a dozen events completed, the Brits have already grabbed two bracelets, seats at nearly every final table thus far, and the increasing awe of many opponents and observers.

"Poker is too easy for the Brits," announcer Nick Wealthall tweeted earlier this morning. "They should make us play with one hole card."

Talk of a "British invasion" was a constant topic of conversation at last summer's WSOP. Claiming bracelets for the U.K. at the Rio in 2010 were Praz Bansi ($1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, Event No. 5), James Dempsey ($1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em, Event No. 9), Richard Ashby ($1,500 Seven-Card Stud, Event No. 21), Mike Ellis ($1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, Event No. 30), and Steve Jelinek ($1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/8, Event No. 41). And this year's fast start by the Brits has everyone sounding a similar theme.

Jake Cody and Matt Perrins have claimed bracelets thus far for the U.K. Cody secured his win in the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship (Event No. 2). As Matthew Pitt reports, Cody had to negotiate a virtual murderer's row of opponents to take the title, defeating (in order) Brandon Adams, Frank Kassela, Dani Stern, Jonathan Jaffe, Anthony Guetti, Gus Hansen, and Yevgeniy Timoshenko to win the $851,192 first prize.

Meanwhile, Perrins' victory came in the $1,500 Deuce-to-Seven Lowball Draw (No-Limit) event (Event No. 9), a game Perrins reportedly only learned hours before entering the tourney, his tutelage primarily consisting of a quick review of a YouTube video. "My friends talked me into it," Perrins told Arthur Crowson of PokerListings. "They said it was fun. So, I decided to give it a try. I guess that kind of went well." Perrins bested a field of 275 to claim the bracelet and a cool payday of $102,105. Click here for more on Perrins' win.

Interestingly, both Cody and Perrins hail from Rochdale of Greater Manchester, a market town with a population of less than 100,000. As Adam "Snoopy" Goulding reports over on the Black Belt Poker blog, the pair have been friends since they were kids, having grown up together.

Snoopy spoke with Londoner Nik Persaud about the pair, and he sheds some light on the two bracelet winners' relationship and how it has helped both improve their games. "I think that the fun bit of the story is that Jake will say that Matt is the biggest influence on his poker career and the person who he has learned the most from," Persaud told Snoopy. Meanwhile, "when Jake wins a title, a little bit of that is Matt," too.

"The level of respect for British players is currently sky high," adds Snoopy. "No longer is it considered an upset if we take down a big tournament." Indeed, in addition to the wins by Cody and Perrins, there have been a number of near-misses for U.K. players already this year, with some representation at all but a few final tables thus far.

Jonathan Spinks of Exeter finished 4th in Event No. 5, the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event. Stephen Chidwick of Deal also took fourth in Event No. 7, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship. Sadan Turker of West Kensington came up just short of a bracelet in Event No. 8, a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, finishing runner-up to Sean Getzwiller.

The last few days have seen more Brits at final tables. Scottish player David Vamplew of Fife took fourth in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Short-Handed event (Event No. 10). Watford's Richard Ashby nearly claimed himself another bracelet, taking fourth in the $10,000 Omaha/8 Championship (Event No. 11). And Richard Trigg of Sheffield took sixth last night in the $1,500 Triple Chance No-Limit Hold'em event (Event No. 12).

(Incidentally, the WSOP.com site lists a couple of other 2011 final tablists as U.K. players who may or may not rightly be included in the tallying of Brit successes. French-born Nicolas Levi finished sixth in Event No. 7, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship, and Chris Bjorin of Sweden took second in the 2-7 No-Limit Draw event won by Perrin. Both currently live in London, and thus the British flag flies by their names in the results.)

How, then, to explain the Brits' success? Poker writer and commentator Jesse May -- interviewed here not long ago (Part 1, Part 2) -- is at the WSOP this summer and has been sharing some stellar commentary over on The Poker Farm website. In a recent piece, "Brits in Flow," May reflects on the camaraderie between the British players and what sounds like an unceasingly positive vibe surrounding them as perhaps contributing significantly to their success.

"It's not about the money, and it's not about showing up the Yanks," writes May. "It's unbridled joy, a love for the game." He goes on to discuss a special "spirit" -- occasionally fueled, perhaps, by the imbibing of spirits -- that has distinguished the British players during the first couple of weeks at the WSOP.

"It is this spirit that is in dark contrast to the hollow eyes and pained expressions of the zombies walking the halls," explains May. "It may look like a bunch of boys on the pis, but then you don't really understand. The attitude backs up the play, and the poker backs up the fun. And against this combo, how do the zombies with the straight lipped faces have any chance at all?"

Amid what has been an admittedly dark last couple of months for poker in America, May is clearly enjoying being able to bask in the mutually-supportive, optimistic light currently shining from the Brits. And he may well be on to something there, having identified the upbeat mindset of the U.K. players as possibly having produced a positive effect on their performance.

It will be interesting to see if the U.K. players continue to build on their fast start. Unless the WSOP takes up Wealthall on his suggestion to start handicapping the British players, it appears more likely than not we'll see the Brits continuing to rule.