Player Profile: Ian "Apokerjoker2" Steinman
Ian Steinman
Method of Qualification: WSOP.com Circuit Series Finale Casino Champion
If killing it on WSOP.com of late is a predictor for GCC success, there's probably no better player to look out for than Ian "ApokerJoker2" Steinman.
In early June, Steinman topped the WSOP.com Circuit Series Finale points leaderboard to punch his GCC ticket. The four-time ring winner had two final-table finishes and four other cashes for about $18K total to run his Circuit earnings to close to $200,000 lifetime.
He did even better a month later when the bracelet events began. In 31 events, he piled up a marvelous 15 cashes. And they weren't a bunch of min-cashes, either. In addition to two early top-six finishes that earned him $55K, Steinman snagged his first bracelet and $110K in Event #27: $400 No Limit Hold'em Freezeout. That magnificent performance earned him PokerNews' Performance of the Week honors and, more importantly, $18,000 for topping the series leaderboard.
So, he's essentially been the player of the series for back-to-back festivals on WSOP.com, in events that were loaded with regs who had nothing else to play. Safe to say a beastly run like that is far from a joke and marks Steinman as one to watch come Sunday.