Will Shillibier is the Managing Editor of PokerNews and has labored within the business for a decade, working at a number of the world’s largest poker festivals together with the World Sequence of Poker, European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour. The views and opinions expressed on this article are solely these of the writer.
The Poker Corridor of Fame is sleepwalking right into a disaster. And subsequent yr, that disaster will come to a head.
Too many gamers will turn out to be Corridor-eligible within the coming years, with 2025 proving to be a bumper yr. Except the Corridor’s induction coverage modifications, lots of them will miss out — in the event that they have not carried out so already.
Poker followers, gamers and media have been highlighting the issue for years now, and plenty of have opined on how you can clear up this downside. Regardless of the resolution, everybody agrees that one thing needs to be carried out.
The Class of 2025 and Past
Many imagine that 2025 would be the tipping level, with an enormous variety of gamers, all youngsters of the poker growth, turning into Corridor-eligible.
If a participant was 21 the yr Chris Moneymaker (pictured) received the Predominant Occasion, they may flip 40 subsequent yr, the magic yr when they’re eligible for the Poker Corridor of Fame.
Many of those gamers have sufficient poker achievements to get into the Corridor many instances over, and but, barring any modifications, modifications which were urged by the poker neighborhood for a few years, solely one in every of them shall be inducted.
Vanessa Selbst, the winningest feminine participant of all time, barely enters the dialog subsequent to the likes of two-time Predominant Occasion closing tablist Ben Lamb, or reigning WSOP Participant of the Yr Scott Seiver. Throw within the likes of Phil Galfond, Nick Schulman and anybody from the 9 un-inducted nominees this yr, and you may see the issue.
Did Scott Seiver Simply Punch His Ticket to the Poker Corridor of Fame?
A New Poker Corridor of Fame Induction Course of
When searching for an answer, I instantly seemed to the 4 main US sports activities and their respective Halls of Fame. The processes for every of them are too lengthy and different to expound on right here, however sure issues remained constant throughout all 4, and I’ve used these to give you an induction course of that is smart for poker whereas addressing a number of the core issues I’ve talked about.
4 new Poker Corridor of Fame Nomination Committees shall be created to display screen and nominate candidates. The primary three committees are made up of gamers, whereas the final is made up of operator, on line casino and poker tour workers members.
The 4 committees are as follows:
American Nomination CommitteeInternational Nomination CommitteeWomen’s Nomination CommitteeIndustry Nomination Committee
Every committee is made up of six members thought of “of excellent standing” by the Corridor of Fame who’re invited to serve on the committee for a three-year time period. The committees meet to appoint candidates for induction to the Corridor of Fame.
The American Nomination Committee nominates 5 candidates, the Worldwide Nomination Committee nominates three candidates and the Girls’s and Trade Nomination Committees nominate one candidate every.
The checklist of 10 nominees — the identical quantity as below the present system — is then offered to the Induction Committee.
The Induction Committee consists of eight residing Corridor of Fame members and two representatives from every of the nomination committees. The Corridor once more invitations these representatives, who serve three-year phrases and aren’t a part of the preliminary nomination course of.
In the meantime, the eight Corridor of Fame members rotate each three years and will need to have been within the Corridor for no less than 5 years.
A secret poll is then held among the many 18 members of the Induction Committee, and any participant who receives the help of 75% of the committee is inducted into the Poker Corridor of Fame.
What Would This Obtain?
I imagine this new course of would treatment a number of points dealing with the Corridor. Basically, this new course of allows extra folks to be inducted every year. This enables the present backlog to be remedied, permitting sure “slam-dunk” candidates to be inducted, and it additionally units the Corridor on a brand new path for the long run.
The inclusion of a girls’s and business nomination committee ensures candidates from these under-represented areas of the business are thought of every year.
Listed here are the ten nominees the Nomination Committees may select to choose below this new system:
American Nomination Committee: Scott Seiver, Phil Galfond, Nick Schulman, Josh Arieh, Michael MizrachiInternational Nomination Committee: Barny Boatman, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Max PescatoriWomen’s Nomination Committee: Kathy LiebertIndustry Nomination Committee: Isai Scheinberg
Would all of those 10 gamers attain the 75% threshold throughout the Induction Committee? Who is aware of. Possibly they’d. However is {that a} dangerous factor? Not less than below this new course of, they’d all get a good likelihood at induction.
What About Present Inductees?
Many fear that growing the variety of inductees would dilute the Corridor’s character. I imagine the way in which to deal with this might be to create a brand new “tier” throughout the Corridor of Fame.
Elevating some present Corridor members to a newly created ‘Legend’ standing would assist the Corridor retain a few of its status. This needs to be a definite honor, nearly separate from their preliminary induction.
Who’s to say that Patrik Antonius (pictured), inducted on the minimal age of 40, will not obtain extra within the subsequent 25-30 years? This two-tiered method to the Corridor permits present gamers to be inducted, together with these inducted instantly upon reaching 40, whereas additionally retaining the power to proceed a legacy that enshrines them additional into the poker historical past books.
There is no set timetable for the induction of ‘Legends’, simply when the Corridor of Fame feels it applicable. As of 2024, I really feel there are 4 present Corridor of Fame members that might be eligible for ‘Legend’ standing had been it to be launched:
Johnny Moss: Inaugural and three-time WSOP Predominant Occasion champion Doyle Brunson: Godfather of Poker, two-time WSOP Predominant Occasion champion and ten-time bracelet winner Stu Ungar: Three-time WSOP Predominant Occasion championPhil Hellmuth: 17-time WSOP Predominant Occasion champion
Closing Ideas
We do not do many op-eds on PokerNews. In any case, we’re a information web site, not a gossip column. However I do know this piece will spark debate amongst poker gamers, followers and business folks alike. It would even make its means in entrance of some members of the Corridor of Fame.
My message to the Corridor is evident: everybody agrees one thing wants to vary. And now’s the time, earlier than the Corridor turns into a shadow of what it’s now, with numerous uninducted and but absolutely deserving gamers and business personnel. It is already heading that means and with this resolution — certainly, any resolution — we are able to keep away from shedding a cherished a part of the sport everyone knows and love.
Managing Editor
