Men Lie, Women Lie, Numbers Don't

Facts and figures. They make the world go around and, more often than not, tell a story without letting opinions or biases get in the way. Which numbers from this past week tell that story and what quick opinions do we have?

$381,500 – The second World Poker Tour Tournament of Champions played out this weekend at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with just over a $1,000,000 prize pool up for grabs. The six-handed final table was stacked, with legends Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Erik Seidel headlining the field. When the dust settled though, it was Daniel Weinman on top, claiming $381,500, a brand new 2018 Audi S5 Coupe and another career defining win.

10.5 hours – Midway through the PokerStars Championship Macau Main Event, we mentioned how Day 4 of that event was short and sweet. The final table, was the exact opposite, with the heads up battle between Canada’s Elliot Smith and China’s Terry Tang lasting the better part of ten and a half hours. Smith eventually was the victor, claiming a HK$2,877,500 score, and keeping the PokerStars Championship trophy in North America, after the US’s Christian Harder and Kenneth Smaron claimed the first two Main Event titles earlier this year.

$1,277,783 – Heading into the weekend, there were a few opportunities for players below Daniel Negreanu on the all-time money list to make up some ground. Daniel Colman, who is currently 3^rd on that list, was at the final table of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown event, where $660,000 awaited the eventual winner, and Erik Seidel, who sits right behind Negreanu, made the final table of the WPT Tournament of Champions. Unfortunately for both, they were unable to pick up the maximum at either final table, but Seidel did inch closer. He now sits just under $1,300,000 behind Negreanu, and if either make a deep run in the Super High Roller Bowl this summer, they could overtake Kid Poker.

73 – Try, try and try again. Before Sunday, Sergio Garcia started 73 majors and had failed to win 73 times. That all changed this weekend though, as “El Niño” kept his cool on the back-nine and bested Justin Rose in the first hole of a sudden death play-off to claim his first major and the green jacket. Garcia also won just shy of $2,000,000, which could give him some buy-ins heading into this summer’s World Series of Poker.

42 – There are some records and figures in sports that aren’t supposed to be broken or bested. Oscar Robinson’s 41 triple-double record, that stood since the 1961-1962, is one of those records. Then, on November 12, 1988, Russell Westbrook was born and 28 years later, Robinson didn’t stand a chance. Westbrook recorded his 42^nd triple-double of the season last night, before hitting a buzzer-beater to beat the Denver Nuggets and if Westbrook doesn’t win the 2017 MVP Award, I will be marching in protest.