On Monday, another 10 new players were confirmed for the 2014 World Series of Poker $1 Million BIG ONE for ONE DROP, including the first ever female participant, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst!
"I'm so excited to be taking part in The BIG ONE for ONE DROP this year," said Selbst. "I didn't get to play in 2012, but after seeing how much fun everyone had with the event as well as how profound an impact it had on ONE DROP, I knew I had to be a part of it this time around."
Here's some information on all the new particpants (text from WSOP's website)
Vanessa Selbst - Largely considered the best female player in the game today, Selbst breaks new ground again, becoming the first female to confirm her participation in the event. She's a two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and a Yale University graduate. The Brooklyn-born Selbst ranks second all-time in WSOP earnings by a female.
Jean-Robert Bellande - He once was featured on the reality TV hit show Survivor: China trying to win a million dollar first place prize. Now he will put up a million dollars to try and win potentially $20 million. We will see if one of the most colourful players in the game has what it takes to outlast, outwit and outplay the competition.
Anthony Gregg - The Maryland poker pro won last year's One Drop High Rollers event at the WSOP, turning his $100,000 entry fee into a $4.8 million payday and captured his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Fabian Quoss - The German poker pro has only two cashes to his name at the WSOP, his biggest a second place finish in 2009 good for $427,912. But Quoss is no stranger to high buy-in events, and he should feel right at home in this high stakes game despite being a first-timer.
Max Altergott - This young German pro has never cashed in a WSOP event before, or anywhere in North America. Altergott won nearly $2.3 million in a poker tournament in Monte Carlo one year ago and looks to translate his recent success into the biggest game in the world.
Tobias Reinkemeier - Reinkemeier played in the inaugural Big One event and is the only one of the new confirmed names to have played the event previously. Sitting third on the all-time German player poker money list, Reinkemeier has three previous WSOP cashes to his credit.
Igor Kurganov - This Russian poker pro sits atop the all-time Russian money list, and has final tabled high roller events in Macau, Melbourne and Monte Carlo. The first-time Big One entrant hopes to make his first WSOP final table. Kurganov cashed for the first time at last year's WSOP, finishing 11th in the $25,000 buy-in 6-handed No-Limit Hold'em event.
Christoph Vogelsang - Another German player, Vogelsang has only two previously recorded cashes in major poker tournaments and both have come in the last year. He has never played in a WSOP event before and will make his debut in the largest buy-in event on the schedule.
Niklas Heinecker - Perhaps it is the Pius Heinz effect. As the winner of the 2011 WSOP Main Event, Heinz from Germany, has really helped push the game of poker to new heights in his home country. Heinecker becomes the sixth German poker pro to enter this event. Heinecker comes in as the winningest player in online poker in 2013, amassing $6,190,599 in earnings - more than twice as much as the next highest finisher. Heinecker has three previous WSOP cashes, including an 80th place showing in the 2007 WSOP Main Event for $106,382.
Anonymous Asian Businessman - The last of the newcomers, will be a first-time Big One for One Drop participant looking for his first-ever WSOP cash. While he asked that his identity be kept confidential for now, he's sure to be one of the most intriguing additions to the event this year.
In total, 33 players have signed up for the event so far - which means that 23 seats still are up for grabs with about 1,5 month to go before "kick off". The BIG ONE for ONE DROP will be played over three days, from June 29 to July 1, 2014, and ESPN will film it all for television (will be broadcasted mid-July).
source: wsop.com
