Shaun Deeb is "not a fan" of changes to the WSOP Player of the Year race, but that's not going to stop him from making a run at back-to-back titles this summer.
Chasing WSOP POY what Deeb does every year, and a few rule changes aren't going to stop him. This year's race now also includes spring's WSOP Europe, so the eight-time WSOP bracelet winner has taken the trip to Prague for the festival's first ever iteration in the Czech capital.
Deeb nearly struck paydirt on bracelet #9 at the final table of the €3K Mixed PLO/PLO 8/Big O on Wednesday, but an all-timer bad beat struck when his king-high flush was no good against quads.
Either way, the second-place finish has Deeb off to a great start in the 2026 POY race, and there are still a pile of points to pick up in Prague this week.
We caught up with Deeb at WSOP Europe the morning after his runner-up finish for more on the bad beat and other POY thoughts.
'We're going to be splashing'
You've set out for a back-to-back run. Pretty good start here in Prague. What does this mean for going forward with Player of the Year for you?
I mean, that score wasn't a lot of points with the new system. But that's definitely be one of my top 15 scores. So, it's an anchor in there. I'm going to need a lot of those with the new system but this is a great one to start. So, obviously, I wish I won. I expect to win every event I play. I have Phil Hellmuth to thank for that mentality, but it's a lot of fun. It's interesting with this counting again for Player of the Year. It's even crazier with it first. I thought more POY contenders might travel here, but I don't see Daniel (Negreanu) or Phil (Hellmuth), so sucks for them that I got a even bigger lead in equity over them.
Today we're in the Colossus. What is the plan going forward for Prague? Just max fire and go for everything?
I like to gamble. These stakes aren't that high, so I'm definitely going to splash around. You may or may not see me with the quadruple straddle on calling with nine-high, but no, it's not that serious of stakes, not that serious of poker, so it's fun. And there's a lot of people here to gamble with me. So, if I get the right table with Martin (Kabrhel) or Texas Mike (Moncek), we're going to be splashing and we're going to have a good time. I think gambling needs to be brought back in poker and I'm doing my best for that.
You won the $100K PLO this past summer. Here we are with the deep run in another PLO event. We know you play all the games, but is PLO on top of it right now?
I've always liked my PLO tournament game. I think there are much better PLO players, but most of them don't have my tournament experience, so I end up thinking that helps in some stack size situations and ICM spots. And yeah, I've had insane bracelet results in PLO events. That's why I expected to win. It was unfortunate to lose but that deck screwed me so I was never going to win with that once that was that flop was dealt.
That last hand was brutal. Did you think you won the the pot at first?
Oh yeah, I slow rolled myself. I saw the dry ace in his hand which I felt like he had a lot when he raised the flop with that sizing. So I was just going to check call him all-in and I had the nut low draw to back up as well. And yeah, he just happened to have kickers that made pots. So it's kind of crazy.
That would have made you the fastest player to nine bracelets ever. You turned 40 recently, so we're starting to talk about Hall of Fame. Are you thinking about that already?
I think my resume is already strong enough. It's not to insult anyone else who is eligible and up for the discussion. I just think that for how little I play, my results, the hell I play year round. Obviously, I play the most of the World Series, but that's what I try for. And I'm going for a POY every year and I've had so many first and seconds in that. I find a way to compete in every game.
Images courtesy of WSOP.
