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.
This year's race now also includes spring's WSOP Europe, and the eight-time WSOP bracelet winner nearly won his ninth on Wednesday but got coolered heads-up when his flopped king-high flush was no good against turned quads.
Either way, the second-place finish has Deeb off to a great start – and there are still a pile of points to pick up in Prague.
We caught up with Deeb 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 and had a pretty good start here in Prague. What does this mean for your POY bid?
I mean, that score wasn't a lot of points with the new system. But that will 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. Obviously, I wish I'd won, but I expect to win every event I play, and I have Phil Hellmuth to thank for that mentality.
I thought more POY contenders might travel here, but I don't see Daniel [Negreanu] or Phil [Hellmuth], so it sucks for them that I've got an even bigger lead in equity over them.
Taking the POY title off of Shaun Deeb won't be easy in 2026.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. And there are a lot of people here to gamble with me. 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. I was never going to win once that flop was dealt.
That last hand was brutal. Did you think you won 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 me up as well. And yeah, he just happened to have kickers that made quads. 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 the 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'm going for POY every year, and I've had so many firsts and seconds in that. I find a way to compete in every game.
Images courtesy of WSOP.
