And the Player of the Year is … Greg Merson

2013 Jan 02

What a year of poker it’s been, and the player who came out on top is none other than Greg Merson. It was a good year for him too as he took on the 7,072 field in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and beat the lot of them. However, that wasn’t the only big one for him, as he also took down the WSOP $10,000 NLHE Six Max Championship.

Big earnings

In 2012 Merson’s total earnings in live tourneys added up to a staggering $9,664,179. This amassed him 5,100 Player of the Year points. Although he started the year in winning form, he still managed to cash in and earn points at a few events.

It was after the WSOP $10,000 NLHE Six Max that he made his mark on the POY score board. He had a hard task in front of him at the final table with plenty of good players standing in his way. When he won this one, he also took 1,800 POY points with him and leapt to 27th on the leader board.

Troubled times

Before he took to the live games Merson was an accomplished online player, and many were predicting that he would make it good at the live games. It hasn’t all been plain sailing as he’s had to fight against drug addiction, and last year was also a milestone in his battle. In December he told the world that he had been clean and sober for the entire year. Well done, Greg!

When he played online and was winning big he didn’t get any recognition so found it difficult to justify his career to friends and family. Now he’s making it big in the “live” poker world, they can see that he definitely made the right career choice, and being sober for the year certainly helped him get where he is today. Here’s to another good year!