Five American Circuit Players to Watch for the 2019 WSOP
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It's nearly World Series of Poker time again, so for the third straight year, PokerNews will be highlighting some players to watch from the American Circuit.
While the biggest stars in the game will command the most sweats in their runs gunning for bracelets, this yearly piece serves to showcase some of the more under-the-radar grinders who deserve recognition and merit attention in their own attempts to win WSOP gold.
In 2018, it was another year and another airball in terms of PokerNews horses finding WSOP gold, as only Jonathan Tamayo found himself at a final table — 10th place in Event #45: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em (30 Minute Levels). The other selections — Eddie Blumenthal, Shirley Rosario, Nick Pupillo and Aaron Johnson — all achieved some modest cashes as well, but top-level success eluded them.
Still, we'll once again try to tab some breakout stars. The following five players have each found success on the American tournament circuit, thereby potentially setting themselves up to put their stamps on the 2019 WSOP.
Kou Vang
Kou Vang (pictured above) has been solidly grinding for years in the Midwest, putting together six straight six-figure years coming into 2019. And this year looks nearly certain to be a personal best as he already has over $200,000 in cashes.
Vang has booked second-place finishes on both the Mid-States Poker Tour and WSOP Circuit over the past seven months, adding another fifth-place showing on the Heartland Poker Tour for good measure. His runner-up in the WSOP-C Tulsa Hard Rock Main Event paid out $132,930, a career-high.
Hailing from Minnesota, Vang will be spending his summer splitting time between the Rio and the Venetian, with 23-25 bracelet events most likely on his schedule, all no-limit hold'em tournaments with buy-ins below $10,000.
Nothing is set in stone for Vang, however, because as he explains in the past he's made schedules but wound up burning himself out. For that reason, he's looking to narrow his focus by taking things day-by-day in hopes of achieving his top summer goal — more consistently bringing his best stuff.
"A successful summer to me would just be playing my A-game every day and hitting tournament with an unflappably positive mindset," Vang says. "I've been in the game long enough to know that the A-game doesn't guarantee monetary results. Variance has its own ways of coming around."
He does admit that one tournament keeps him up at night, though.
"Think I'm 0-for-9 cashing in the Main, so that's a priority for me this year."
Michael Perrone
While the rest of the players on this list make their hay almost exclusively in no-limit hold'em, Michael Perrone, who was recently a guest on the LFG Podcast, prefers to look down at four cards rather than two. Pot-limit Omaha is his game, as he showed in a scorching stretch this spring on the WSOP Circuit.
At WSOP-C Horseshoe Hammond, Perrone topped a field of 149 in the $600 PLO event, coming back from a short stack at the final table to claim his first gold ring and pocket $21,485. As if looking to prove the win was no fluke, Perrone snagged ring No. 2 less than a month later, getting through a final table that included Will Berry and Ray Henson en route to a $12,937 top prize in the WSOP-C Tulsa Hard Rock $400 PLO.
It's making for quite a first year on the felt as an aspiring pro for Perrone, who stepped away from a career in psychology and finds himself unexpectedly traveling the Circuit after gaining enough points to aim for a seat in the $1 million Global Casino Championship.
"I definitely feel like I have a knack and a feel for it," he says of PLO tournaments. "I'm hoping that this carries over for some success [this summer]."
In that vein, Perrone will be jamming as much PLO as possible into his schedule in Las Vegas. That will pull him away from the Rio some as he has events like Wynn's $1,100 PLO Championship circled.
In terms of bracelet events, he's looking forward to the $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha, as well as the $1,500 PLO Bounty. If things go well, he'll also take a shot in the $3,000 Six-Max PLO.
On the hold'em front, he's firing the Monster Stack, the Mini-Main, and the Main Event. However, he admits seeking out value there will cost him some enjoyment.
"The PLO bracelet events are by far the most memorable and fun events I've played," Perrone says. "You're with people who are just loving the game. Even during a downswing, I wake up in the morning and I'm just pumped to play."
Perrone won a small Wynn event for $26,000 back in 2016 and he's hoping to bring something home to join it and the two rings on his mantle.
"My Wynn trophy is lonely," he says. "It could use a big brother."
Steve Buell
Another player in the thick of the Global Casino Championship chase is Steve Buell. Like Perrone, a late push has seen Buell get his head above water after grinding hard over the final few stops of the season to inch into the top 50.
He told PokerNews he values a mental break to prep for the WSOP, so he had planned a fishing trip to Canada with his family. However, in need of more points to secure his seat into the Global Casino Championship, the Wisconsin native hit New Orleans and added a few more cashes.
"My plan was to take most of the month of May off," he says. "Get my mind and body in good shape."
He wanted a "mental reset," but at least his game won't be rusty. It's just more of the same for Buell, a grinder who has amassed over $640,000 in cashes without any single score being for more than five figures.
When it's time to head to the desert, Buell says he'll be in Las Vegas for the whole summer, though he doesn't have a schedule locked in yet. Experience has taught him that making a schedule will likely wind up being a waste of time, as he'll end up changing direction anyway at some point.
One thing he does expect to do is to spend more time at the Rio than in years past.
"It looks like they drastically improved everything," Buell says. "They improved the structures and the buy-ins are more reasonable for no-limit events. The last few years I've played a lot at Venetian and Wynn, but I think for the most part I'll be playing a lot of the $1,500s and under at the Rio."
He's also looking to keep a little streak going: he's cashed the WSOP Main Event three years in a row. The $22,648 (2016), $31,170 (2017), and $21,750 he won constitute three of his seven biggest cashes to date, but he's yet to put together a truly deep run.
He hopes this is the year he does, but his main goal is simply to perform his best after acknowledging some burnout and lost focus in past year.
"Just play the best that I can and put the best version of myself out there," he says. "If I do that, I know results will follow."
Ian Matakis
The only player on this list without a single dollar of WSOP cashes, Ian Matakis, has good reason for being 0-for-life — he only turned 21 last fall. Despite that, he already has almost $200K in live cashes since his home state of Minnesota welcomes players 18 and up to its tournaments.
Matakis already has a few years of live grinding under his belt and counts five 5-figure cashes among his scores, including two top-four finishes in MSPT events — fourth place at MSPT Canterbury last September and second at MSPT Meskwaki last November.
He earned a little bit of big-time experience when he stepped it up to the World Poker Tour and grabbed his first cash there at Seminole Hard Rock in April.
For his first summer grind, Matakis will pop all over the city to wherever he thinks he can find the most value, including playing most of the no-limit hold'em and PLO bracelet events below $5K. He's especially looking forward to the $3,000 Six-Max No-Limit Hold'em. And, after years of watching it on TV, he's excited to fire the Main Event the first year he's eligible.
"I've been watching it since I was like 10," he says.
Many players can find the Vegas lifestyle a distraction, especially when they are in the city for the first time, but Matakis doesn't believe it'll be an issue for him as he says he'll be completely focused on poker. He's been studying up and playing nearly every weekend in preparation and he's going in with a grounded mindset.
"It probably sounds cliche but I try not to set goals," he says. "Main goal is to play my best day in and day out and not focus on results."
Stephen Song
Rounding out the five American circuit grinders to watch for is arguably the top player on the WSOP Circuit this season, Stephen Song.
With an eye-popping 392.5 points as of May 16 and nearly $300,000 in cashes, Song has rampaged through the Circuit like few others before him. Overall, the 23-year-old has already amassed just shy $1 million in tournament cashes despite not having a documented score until 2016.
He credits his tremendous success at such an early stage in his poker career to good fortune, but not the kind that has anything to do with cards.
"Really just being at the right place at the right time," says Song. "Meeting the right group of friends and having a group to motivate each other to prove ourselves in the poker community."
He's certainly proven himself to be a solid competitor thus far, and he'll be playing a full schedule of no-limit tournaments at the Rio this summer — nearly everything below $5K while mixing in the odd tournament at Venetian or Wynn.
Song says he's especially looking forward to the marquee events like the Monster Stack and Millionaire Maker. That said, he admits he preferred the old $1,500 chip structures because "you'd either be deep in the tourney or out quickly."
Song did find himself deep twice last year, finishing seventh in one for $41,257 and 11th in another for $18,360. While adding to his bankroll is his top priority, he wouldn't turn up his nose at the chance for a piece of WSOP gold.
"I'd be lying if i didn't say money was the main priority when it came to poker but a bracelet is definitely up there on the bucket list," he says. "Had a final table last year but couldn't close. Would be great to get back there this year and lock it up."
Steve Buell photo courtesy of WSOP
