Did Scott Seiver Just Punch His Ticket to the Poker Hall of Fame?
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Scott Seiver won his fifth World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet last night and in doing so may have secured his place in the Poker Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible next year.
Seiver, a longtime pro from New York who poker fans may remember from his appearance on the Big Game in the early 2010s, took down Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship (8-Handed) for $426,744 after an intense and grueling final table battle that eventually saw him denying Jonathan Cohen a second bracelet.
Seiver turns 40 next April and thus will be eligible for the Poker Hall of Fame, a club home to other five-plus bracelet winners like Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Erik Seidel and Phil Hellmuth.
Not only is the Hall of Fame already on Seiver's mind, it's the 39-year-old's primary motivator.
“It’s literally the reason I’m doing this right now," the five-time bracelet winner told PokerNews. "I think that some people that are supremely familiar with poker might have forgotten me as much. I’ve been really playing mostly cash games, very high-stakes nosebleed games, but more out of the tournament scene, which makes it more out of the public eye. And turning 40 next year, that’s why I wanted to come play these tournaments and just put some cherries on top of the resume.”
Read About Seiver's Latest Bracelet Victory!
Is Seiver HOF Bound?
While there's a long backlog of perennial HOF nominees like Mike Matusow and Matt Savage still waiting for entry, other poker players have gotten in quickly. That includes six-time bracelet winner Brian Rast, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year after becoming eligible in 2022.
Seiver sees parallels between himself and last year's Poker Players Championship winner, telling PokerNews that “I think I’m pretty analogous to a career of like Brian Rast."
"Honestly, I’ve been one of the best in the world at cash games, heads-up no-limit tournaments, literally almost any form of poker there has been," he said. "And I just feel that it was important to let people know that I’m still here and doing this.”
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A Special Victory
Seiver's first bracelet dates back to 2008 when he took down $5,000 NLH for $755,891, which remained his biggest career cash until a sixth-place finish in the 2014 Big One for One Drop for $1.6 million. He didn't win another bracelet for another decade but then proceeded to win bracelets three and four in the next four years.
The latest bracelet victory came two years to the day after Seiver won a fourth bracelet and $320,059 in $2,500 Freezeout NLH. Seiver said this win is even more special.
“This bracelet actually means a lot to me. Everyone (who) plays a tournament, they always want to win," Seiver told PokerNews after the victory. "But I came into this summer with a real desire to try and win as many bracelets as I can, to truly focus on tournaments. I made a lot of bets with a lot of people on trying to win bracelets. I really told myself ‘I’m going to see what happens if I just push myself as hard as I can. And here I am, first 10k, first victory.”
Scott Seiver's Bracelets
| DATE | EVENT | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2024 | $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship (8-Handed) | $426,744 | |
| June 2022 | $2,500 Freezeout NLH | $320,059 | |
| June 2019 | $10,000 Razz | $301,421 | |
| June 2018 | $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship | $296,222 | |
| June 2008 | $5,000 NLH | $755,891 |
