The 2016 World Series of Poker is Over (Mostly). Here’s What We Thought.

Another World Series of Poker is in the books. Well, most of it at least, since we’ve still got the completion of the WSOP Main Event to look forward to in a few months. The world’s largest poker series certainly didn’t dissapoint as we saw some truly amazing individual performances, massive multi-million dollar prize pools, record-breaking field sizes, and much more.

As always, PokerNews was on site to soak up all of the excitement, and the team reflects on this year’s summer in Las Vegas.

What was the biggest storyline as you saw it from this year’s WSOP?

Martin Harris: It has to be Jason Mercier’s overall series (good enough to clinch WSOP Player of the Year), and in particular that three-event stretch in which he finished first, second, and first. Justin Bonomo picking up two runner-ups and two third-place finishes and Brian Rast winning a second $50K Poker Players Championship were both noteworthy accomplishments and interesting stories as well.

Pamela Maldonado: Aside from Mercier’s performance, the return of both Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer. Everyone was expecting one or none, and we were “blessed” with both. That being said, their return had little-to-no impact on the WSOP.

Marty Derbyshire: With his chase for three bracelets and a 180-to-1 triple-bracelet bet with Vanessa Selbst, Mercier stole all the headlines at the WSOP this summer. Of course, he didn’t get there, but with three $10,000 championship event final table appearances and two bracelet wins in a seven-day period mid-summer, he had a week that will go down in history as one of the best the WSOP has ever seen. Considering he won WSOP Player of the Year going away, Mercier was the easy choice for this one, but there was another headline grabbing story that came out of the summer.

Online poker legend Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy made the final table of the 2016 WSOP Main Event and will have the chip lead when it begins at the end of October. Josephy is widely known for dominating the satellite game in online poker’s heyday, previously backing a large stable of young online players including 2009 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Cada, winning two WSOP bracelets, and being an all-around great guy. If he can go wire-to-wire at the final table and win poker’s most prestigious title, Josephy will become an instant shoo-in for the Poker Hall of Fame.

Frank Op de Woerd: Without a doubt for me the biggest storyline was Jason Mercier’s bracelet bet, and the drama surrounding it. His winning the first one in the $10K 2-7 was already exciting, but things got really interesting when he immediately made a second final table in the $10K Razz. Vanessa Selbst felt the heat and some small drama followed. He failed to win a second bracelet in the Razz, but then won it the $10K H.O.R.S.E. a couple days later.

After that, his quest for bracelet number three was basically the first thing I checked up on each morning — was he deep in another tournament? He did make another final table but busted early on, and cashed a bunch of times after that, but the thrill was real every time. Just the size of the bet reminded me of the times the likes of Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, and Daniel Negreanu had those huge bracelet bets. It’s exciting!

What was this year’s biggest surprise at the WSOP?

Sarah Herring: The biggest surprise was the return of the Full Tilt Poker drama in the form of Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson. Players finally had them right in front of them to vent their rage, and boy did they. I saw some pretty awful things, including people yelling at them and filming while lambasting them. I didn’t witness the throwing of drinks, but I definitely heard about it.

Frank Op de Woerd: To be honest, and I don’t want to sound salty, but it really surprised me that the staff made the starting times of the Main Event 12 p.m. again after Day 2c players complained. I thought they wouldn’t budge once the 11 a.m. starting time had already been communicated to the 2a/b players, but they did. I think it really was the good move, and it shows they can listen and act when needed. So while I list this as a surprise, it really should be perceived as a compliment toward the WSOP.

Benny Glaser winning two bracelets also came as a surprise. I mean I’ve covered him before in a bunch of tournaments and he was definitely on the radar after snagging his first bracelet in 2015, but his winning two this year was something else. For a player to win two (or more in a year), you almost always have to enter the big buy-in events that are non-hold’em. There’s a select group of players who have the bankroll or connections (to sell shares) for these events, and I didn’t think Glaser was one of them. With his winning his first …

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