Can Jonathan Duhamel Buck the Trend?
As we mentioned in our opening piece, Jonathan Duhamel is making a run at completing something that is vary rare since the poker boom.
With only 59 players remaining in Event #8, Duhamel is just several hours away from making a final table, and although his skills have already been proved through his victory in November last year, a final table today - let alone a win - will underline his ability and prowess as a poker player.
Taking a look at how the World Champions have fared since winning the title, each player's results have been broken down into WSOP Cashes the direct year after winning the Main Event and the total cashes, along with final tables in the year following as well as combined.
| Player | Country | WSOP Cashes (year after winning) | WSOP Cashes (total) | Final Tables (year after) | Final Tables (total) | Bracelets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Duhamel | Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Cada | USA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Eastgate | Denmark | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry Yang | USA | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Gold | USA | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Hachem | Australia | 4 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Greg Raymer | USA | 3 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Chris Moneymaker | USA | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Varkonyi | USA | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlos Mortensen | Spain | 3 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Chris Ferguson | USA | 6 | 48 | 2 | 18 | 3 |
A look at the table makes some sad reading for the majority of the World Champions in the modern era apart from four of the big names of poker.
Joe Hachem won the Main event in 2005 and pocketed $7,500,000 for his efforts, however his efforts in the following year saw him collect four cashes including two final table appearances and a runner-up finish to Dutch Boyd in the $2,500 Short-Handed. The Australian however is still without a second WSOP Bracelet. The man that Hachem followed was Greg Raymer, and after he pocketed $5,000,000 in 2004, he went on to snag three cashes including a sixth-place finish in a $1,500 No Limit Holdem event.
However it is the next two players who have really set the precedent and extremely high expectations for World Champions. After winning the big dance in 2001, Spaniard Carlos Mortensen went on to capture three cashes the following year including victory in the $5,000 Limit Holdem event for $251,680. In the same year that Mortensen ensured Main Event victory, 2000 Champion Chris Ferguson was busy collecting six cashes while also securing a bracelet in the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better for $164,735 before eventually adding another two in 2003 to take his tally to five career bracelets.
Duhamel may not even make the final table, but if he does, many will be rooting for this Canadian to buck the trend of the modern-era of World Champions and their lack of success by fighting hard to take home the Event #8 gold bracelet!