Australian Rob Campbell Wins Wsop Player of The Year

It was a banner poker year for Australian poker pro Robert Campbell. He won two gold bracelets at the summer World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, and he was one of the top contenders for the 2019 WSOP Player of the Year title.

Then came the WSOP Europe in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. A multi-way race for the title ensued, and Daniel Negreanu won, beating Campbell and Shaun Deeb.

But then someone checked the numbers. Points were erroneously awarded in a tournament over the summer, which benefited Negreanu. And with that information, the WSOP recalculated the points and awarded Campbell the Player of the Year title.

Stellar Summer

Campbell headed to Las Vegas for some WSOP action this summer. He started well right at the beginning of the series, finishing eighth in one tournament and then fifth at the final table of another.

Then he played the $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw tournament and won it for $144K and that coveted gold bracelet. He then made the final table of a Razz event, cashed in two more tournaments, and won a second bracelet. That happened at the beginning of July in the $10K Seven-Card Stud-8 Championship, which paid more than $385K for first place.

He had a very successful summer in Vegas.

End-of-Summer Standings

When the last of the 90 tournaments finished, there had been 49 days of action and therefore, so many millions of dollars awarded to players.

It was also time to tally the Player of the Year points. Robert Campbell sat firmly atop the leaderboard. These were the standings as of July 19, 2019:

• Robert Campbell (3,418.78)
• Shaun Deeb (3,280.13)
• Daniel Negreanu (3,166.24)
• Daniel Zack (3,126.13)
• Phillip Hui (2,881.67)

The Aussie from Melbourne was in the lead, but there were more tournaments to play. Campbell had to decide if he was going to King’s Casino in the Czech Republic in October to try to earn more points. It was likely that Deeb was going to try, as was Negreanu.

Campbell Defends but Negreanu Soars

Campbell did go to Rozvadov, as did Negreanu and Deeb. The three battled against others on the leaderboard like Phillip Hui and Anthony Zinno. Others also did well, as Dash Dudley earned a second 2019 bracelet and Kahle Burns – a fellow Aussie – captured two WSOP Europe bracelets

When the 15-event series was over and Deeb busted from the final tournament, the Player of the Year leaderboard showed Negreanu as the champion, barely edging out Campbell. The WSOP tallied the final points for the year, and it showed this:

• Daniel Negreanu (4,074.88)
• Robert Campbell (3,961.31)
• Shaun Deeb (3,710.64)
• Anthony Zinno (3,322.0)
• Phillip Hui (3,186.17)

Negreanu won…and it was his third title, as he had also won previously in 2004 and 2013.

Not So Fast!

Days later, a Russian poker journalist began posting on Twitter and on a popular online poker forum that he calculated the points and found an error. And Alex Elenskiy was correct.

The WSOP agreed. What happened was chalked up to a clerical error.

When a WSOP employee input the results for Event 87, in which Negreanu earned 213.1 points for an in-the-money finish, the employee also mistakenly copied those results into Event 68, which had finished two weeks prior. The mistaken double entry also happened for 32^nd place through 46^th place. So, Negreanu was given points for a tournament in which he didn’t cash.

With that, the WSOP recalculated the points and also issued an explanation and apology. Campbell was the 2019 Player of the Year.

The WSOP updated all of the totals, which also resulted in changes for the top three players:

• 1^st place: Robert Campbell (3,961.31 points)
• 2^nd place: Shaun Deeb (3,917.32 points)
• 3^rd place: Daniel Negreanu (3,861.76 points)

Negreanu conceded the win to Campbell without question, calling it an “unfortunate situation.” However, he said, “mistakes happen and life goes on”. He continued that he was also genuinely happy for Campbell “because I know what it meant to him and frankly, the entire country of Australia.”

Campbell was elated. He also thanked everyone for their support and congratulatory messages and accepted the win with class.

For instance, his points came from these finishes in 2019 WSOP events:

How Robert Campbell Claimed 2019 WSOP Player Of The Year

• WSOP LV Event 10 – $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed – 8^th place ($13,681)
• WSOP LV Event 18 – $10K Omaha Hi-Lo-8 Championship – 5th place ($102,868)
• WSOP LV Event 33 – $1,500 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw – WIN ($144,027)
• WSOP LV Event 54 – $1,500 Razz – 7^th place ($12,837)
• WSOP LV Event 60 – $1,500 PLO-8 – 63^rd place ($4,083)
• WSOP LV Event 63 – $1,500 Omaha Mix – 101^st place ($2,249)
• WSOP LV Event 67 – $10K Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo-8 Championship – WIN ($385,763)
• WSOP LV Event 84 – $1,500 NLHE Closer – 174^th place ($3,500)
• WSOP LV Event 85 – $3K PLO 6-Handed – 33^rd place ($10,351)
• WSOP EU Event 2 – €550 PLO 8-Handed – 48^th place (€908)
• WSOP EU Event 3 – €1,350 NLHE Mini Main – 50^th place (€2,596)
• WSOP EU Event 8 – €25,500 NLHE High Roller – 8^th place (€59,189)
• WSOP EU Event 15 – €550 NLHE Colossus – 148^th place (€1,325)