This Week in Poker: Jesus, Triple Crowns, TOC Change, and More

With non-stop action around the globe, there are sure to be story lines and news that slips through the cracks. Poker Central’s “This Week in Poker” fills those cracks though, highlighting headlines, news, and big events with quick-hitting recaps of the biggest story lines from around the poker world.

He is Risen

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson entered World Series of Poker Europe with the WSOP Player of the Year lead and with just a few events left before that series concludes, it looks like Ferguson has all but locked up 2017 POY honors. Ferguson got off to a fast start in Europe, cashing in five events to keep himself atop that POY leaderboard and after winning his 6^th career bracelet in a €1,650 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event, “Jesus” has officially risen.

Three’s Company

This past summer, two players completed poker’s Triple Crown. Mohsin Charania was the first, beating Cary Katz heads up for his first career World Series of Poker bracelet in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event, and Harrison Gimbel won his first WSOP bracelet a week later in a $3,000 No Limit Hold’em event. The World Series welcomed another player to that illustrious group this week, when Niall Farrell won the €25,000 High Roller at WSOP Europe. With the win Farrell comes the 8^th player in history to win the Triple Crown, which is now tough to win thanks to Poker Stars’ live events rebrand that has eliminated European Poker Tour events from the yearly schedule.

Searching for Phil Ivey

Where is poker’s favorite son? Thanks to million dollar lawsuits with casinos in both the United States and Europe, we’d guess in a meeting with lawyers, but where will Ivey be when all of his legal troubles get sorted out? No one knows the answer to that question, but this week on the Poker Central Podcast, a few theories were thrown out. The guesses range from coming back hungry for bracelets, to never playing in the public eye again, but regardless of whether or not Ivey does return, the search for Phil Ivey will continue until the poker community has a definitive answer to that question.

TOC Change of Venue

Over the last year, the World Poker Tour has increased their foothold in international market, with new events in South America, Asia, and a bigger schedule across Europe, but they haven’t forgotten about the domestic front either. Earlier this week, the WPT announced a new venue for the 2018 Tournament of Champions, with the Season XVI ending event set to be held at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. This move has already been met with support from players both in and out of the WPT Champions Club, which could mean that this year’s TOC will be the biggest in history.