This is a reputation you’d higher begin studying the remainder of the summer time — Darius Samual. That is not a family identify in poker but, however it is going to be quickly.
The poker participant from England entered the 2024 World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) with lower than $100,000 in dwell event cashes, in response to The Hendon Mob. Twelve days into the sequence, there’s an argument to be made that he is one of some “gamers to beat” concerning WSOP Participant of the Yr.
And, here is what’s actually loopy — Samual gambled half his poker bankroll in a single occasion simply to get thus far.
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Summer season of Goals
Coming into each summer time, the identical handful of names come up among the many Participant of the Yr favorites. The standard suspects — Daniel Negreanu, Shaun Deeb, and many others. — are at all times talked about round poker circles. However there are at all times a few contenders who weren’t on anybody’s checklist earlier than the sequence started.
Ian Matakis was a shock winner final 12 months, as was Robert Campbell in 2019. This 12 months’s early shock contender is Samual, who’s among the many ultimate 18 in Occasion #23: $1,500 SHOOTOUT No-Restrict Maintain’em. You’ll be able to observe alongside the ultimate day dwell protection proper right here at PokerNews.
No matter the place he finishes within the SHOOTOUT, Samual will earn sufficient factors to succeed in the highest of the unofficial Participant of the Yr leaderboard, relying on how different high early contenders carry out on Sunday. At current, Robert Mizrachi is formally the chief with Samual in fourth place, however that will probably be altering after Samual collects his SHOOTOUT factors.
Samual has locked up his fourth money of the summer time, and his largest went for $500,000 for successful Occasion #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Restrict Maintain’em Championship. In that occasion, he risked half his poker bankroll simply to enter and instructed PokerNews after taking it down that he does not “give a f**okay about bracelets.”
Who’s Darius Samual?
Earlier than the beginning of Sunday’s ultimate desk, PokerNews caught up with the potential WSOP Participant of the Yr to search out out extra about who he’s and if he even cares about these types of awards.
“I have not thought of it, to be sincere,” Samual, who lives in London, England, stated about his curiosity in chasing Participant of the Yr. “If i get a number of factors for this or one thing, perhaps I’ll have a look at it and go for one thing, however you realize it is early.”
Samual, who works in the actual property business and sometimes performs poker, stated he hasn’t mapped out his total summer time but. He’ll be returning dwelling to England for every week or so after which returning to Las Vegas to renew his WSOP motion. He admitted he was unaware of the WSOP Participant of the Yr scoring system however appeared concerned with the opportunity of successful the award.
“I do not understand how all this works. If I win one other bracelet, I am going to look into (WSOP Participant of the Yr scoring system) for positive,” Samual continued.
First place within the SHOOTOUT pays $305,849, bringing Samual’s summer time cashes to over $800,000, practically a 1,000% enhance over his pre-WSOP lifetime dwell event cashes.
As Samual stated, it is nonetheless early in the summertime, and the Participant of the Yr race will seemingly change considerably over the subsequent few weeks. But when there’s an early favourite, it is likely to be a participant who wasn’t on anybody’s radar every week in the past.
Observe Darius Samual’s Chase for a Second Bracelet Dwell on PokerNews