Season 1 (2004) – John Shipley
The UK’s John Shipley has been a staple in the poker world for nearly two decades, with his first cash coming back in April of 1994 when he finished ninth in a £500 No Limit Hold’em event at the Irish Poker Open for £500 – that’s right, he broke even. Over the next decade, Shipley notched numerous four and five-figure scores, including a seventh-place finish in the 2002 World Series of Poker Main Event for $125,000.
Shipley, who was a part of the groundbreaking Late Night Poker, then made history as the first-ever EPT London winner in October 2004. That year 175 runners paid the £4,000 buy-in and created a prize pool of £763,379. Notables Marcel Luske and Noah Boeken both made the final table, but finished in seventh and sixth respectively for £14,800 and £16,800. As you know, Shipley prevailed and captured the £200,000 first-place prize.
Since then Shipley has continued to play poker and rack up cashes, most coming at the WSOP in Las Vegas. For instance, in 2008 Shipley finished ninth in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event for $56,782, and three years later he placed third in the 2011 WSOP $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship for $369,575 – his biggest career score. Most recently, Shipley finished 472nd in the 2012 WSOP Main Event for $24,808.