The biggest poker tournament worldwide is currently underway in Las Vegas as the world’s best poker players compete in the World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold’em, which is the main event of what has been an entertaining World Series of Poker.

Only the players that will contest the final table of the main event will be decided this month.  The qualifiers that reach the final table will have to wait until November to see if they have what it takes to win world poker’s most prestigious event on the planet.

All the other events at this year’s series have taken place with established players and new names winning bracelets alike.

The WSOP Player of the Year Award for 2008 has been won by Erick Lindgren.  The 31 year-old poker professional has been recognised as one of the best poker players on the circuit to never have won a WSOP bracelet.  This has all changed this year as the Full Tilt pro won event number four of the series, the Mixed Hold’em event.  He also had an impressive display in the famous H.O.R.S.E event coming close to winning a second bracelet, but he eventually had to settle for third place.  Lindgren lost out to Scotty Nguyen who received almost $2 million for winning the WSOP’s second biggest event.  Lindgren has won five cashes in total in this year’s series which includes four final table appearances enough to crown him WSOP Player of the Year.

The WSOP Player of the Year Award is decided on a points system on how well the player does in all of the events of the WSOP excluding the main event.  Lindgren finished on top of the league table with 245 points.  He has earned well over $1 million from the events he has competed in, in the series and hopes to top off the series with a cash and ultimately victory in the main event.

On winning the award Lindgren reflected on this year’s WSOP by saying, “Everybody was here playing tournaments, so I would say Player of the Year this year, meant more than it has in the past.  For sure I’m very proud of it.”

“Before the (WSOP) started, I said to myself that I was going to give it everything I have this year.”

Lindgren was pushed all the way for the accolade of best player at the WSOP by Barry Greenstein.  The Californian resident actually had more cashes than Lindgren with six, but Lindgren had better placed finishes to secure the award.  He also won a bracelet at this year’s series, winning the Razz event.  Greenstein finished in second place in the WSOP Player of the Award table with 235 points.

Nikolay Evdakov had the most money finishes as he cashed in 10 events in the series, which is a WSOP record.  Despite this he only finished on 100 points and was well down on the leaderboard.

The only player to win two bracelets in this year’s series is John “Razor” Phan.  The Vietnamese-American played well to win both the $3,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em and the 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.  Of course John Phan’s record could be equalled if one of the player’s who have already won a bracelet this year, win a bracelet in the main event.

Source:http://www.onlinecasinopress.co.uk/