Love him or hate him, Chris Ferguson is a finalist for the 2021 Poker Hall of Fame, as is Antonio Esfandiari, Matt Savage, and seven other talented individuals.
Earlier this month, the WSOP accepted fan nominations for the one-person Poker HOF class. The results were tallied up and the 10 highest vote getters, all at least 40 years of age, advanced to the final stage in the voting process. Current living members of the Hall of Fame will now vote on a winner based on the fan nomination list. The player or industry star who receives the most votes will be inducted at a ceremony next month during the WSOP Main Event.
2021 Poker Hall of Fame Candidates
This year's list of fan nominations looks very similar to 2020. Missing from the list, however, is Patrik Antonius, Norman Chad and Lon McEachern, and of course Seed because he's already in the HOF. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Michael Mizrachi, and the late Layne Flack are the 2021 replacements. The full list of 10 players and industry personnel are as follows:
| Candidate | Category | Hendon Mob |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Esfandiari | Player | $27,810,802 |
| Ted Forrest | Player | $6,392,082 |
| Chris Ferguson | Player | $9,584,547 |
| Bertrand Grospellier | Player | $14,680,562 |
| Mike Matusow | Player | $9,750,072 |
| Eli Elezra | Player | $4,157,024 |
| Michael Mizrachi | Player | $17,326,423 |
| Layne Flack | Player | $5,081,152 |
| Matt Savage | Builder | N/A |
| Isai Scheinberg | Builder | N/A |
Making a Case for and Against All 10 Candidates
Only one of the 10 talented individuals above will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame next month. But they're all deserving of induction in at least one major way. Hence, why the fans nominated them to advance to the final step in the voting process. Let's take a look at the main reason(s) they each deserve consideration, and why they don't.
Antonio Esfandiari
Case For: Esfandiari is the first ever to win a $1 million tournament — the WSOP Big One for One Drop in 2012 — and has two World Poker Tour titles along with being a long-time ambassador for the game.
Case Against: Much of Esfandiari's claim to fame the past decade was that 2012 win, but he hasn't accomplished much in tournament poker since, mostly because he rarely plays anymore.
Ted Forrest
Case For: Considered one of the best stud players ever in cash games, but is also a six-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winners.
Case Against: Forrest has fallen off the map a bit the past decade, although he still competes in a number of WSOP events.
Chris Ferguson
Case For: "Jesus" is a six-time bracelet winner, 2017 WSOP Player of the Year, 2000 world champion, and one of the most feared players during the poker boom era.
Case Against: This one is pretty obvious, but he's never fully owned up to his transgressions during the Full Tilt Poker Black Friday scandal, and many poker fans refuse to forgive and forget.
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier
Case For: "ElkY" has over $4 million in WSOP cashes and two bracelets. He's been an online poker crusher for many years and arguably the greatest French poker player in history.
Case Against: His live tournament numbers don't quite stack up against many other candidates.
Mike Matusow
Case For: "The Mouth" has four WSOP bracelets, reached the Main Event final table twice, and was considered one of the top PLO/8 players in the world in the 2000s.
Case Against: Most no longer consider Matusow one of the top players in the game, and haven't for quite some time. He hasn't won a bracelet since 2013 and admittedly has gone broke numerous times.
Eli Elezra
Case For: Elezra is an Israeli poker and high stakes legend. He's won four bracelets and has been a regular in the big games at Bobby's Room inside Bellagio in Las Vegas for years.
Case Against: The overall tournament results don't stack up with some other candidates, and he's been rumored to have some outstanding debts with fellow poker players.
Michael Mizrachi
Case For: Mizrachi is a three-time winner of the WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship, the most prestigious non-hold'em tournament in the world. He has two additional World Series of Poker titles and two WPT wins.
Case Against: The case against Mizrachi is tough because anyone who wins three PPC titles would nearly be a lock for the Poker Hall of Fame without having accomplished anything else in poker.
Layne Flack
Case For: "Back-to-Back" Flack was a six-time World Series of Poker champion. He cashed for over $5 million lifetime in live tournaments and was one of the most entertaining poker players ever.
Case Against: The overall results in poker are worthy of the Poker Hall of Fame in certain years, but perhaps not quite enough against Mizrachi, Savage, and a few others on this list.
Matt Savage
Case For: Savage, the WPT's executive tour director, has played an integral role in setting standards and rules for poker tournaments all around the world. He's a beloved tournament director and a great ambassador for the game.
Case Against: Quite simply put, Savage isn't a player and many voters and fans don't think "builders" deserve induction into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Isai Scheinberg
Case For: Scheinberg, the PokerStars founder, was one of the key players in growing the online poker industry from the ground up.
Case Against: The argument against Scheinberg is similar to Savage in that his case for the Poker Hall of Fame isn't based on any poker playing accomplishments.
The Current Poker Hall of Fame
There are 59 current members of the Poker Hall of Fame, 32 of whom are still alive and have a vote. Huck Seed, the 1996 world champion, was inducted in 2020, the first year since 2004 in which only one person was voted in. The WSOP plans to continue inducting just one member annually barring unforeseen circumstances.
| Member | Year | Member | Year | Member | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Abdo | 1982 | Barry Greenstein | 2011 | Johnny Moss | 1979 |
| Crandell Addington | 2005 | Jennifer Harman | 2015 | Daniel Negreanu | 2014 |
| Bobby Baldwin | 2003 | Dan Harrington | 2010 | Scotty Nguyen | 2013 |
| Billy Baxter | 2006 | Murph Harrold | 1984 | David Oppenheim | 2019 |
| Lyle Berman | 2002 | Phil Hellmuth | 2007 | Henry Orenstein | 2008 |
| Joe Bernstein | 1983 | John Hennigan | 2018 | Walter "Puggy" Pearson | 1987 |
| Benny Binion | 1990 | James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok | 1979 | Julius Oral Popwell | 1996 |
| Jack Binion | 2005 | Red Hodges | 1985 | Thomas Austin "Amarillo Slim" Preston | 1992 |
| Bill Boyd | 1981 | Edmond Hoyle | 1979 | David "Chip" Reese | 1991 |
| Doyle Brunson | 1988 | Phil Ivey | 2017 | Brian "Sailor" Roberts | 2012 |
| Todd Brunson | 2016 | Linda Johnson | 2011 | Huck Seed | 2020 |
| Johnny Chan | 2002 | Berry Johnston | 2004 | Erik Seidel | 2010 |
| T.J. Cloutier | 2006 | John Juanda | 2015 | Mike Sexton | 2009 |
| Nick Dandolos | 1979 | Jack Keller | 1993 | Jack "Treetop" Straus | 1988 |
| Eric Drache | 2012 | Jack McClelland | 2014 | Dewey Tomko | 2008 |
| Barbara Enright | 2007 | Felton McCorquodale | 1979 | David "Devilfish" Ulliott | 2017 |
| Mori Eskandani | 2018 | Tom McEvoy | 2013 | Stu Ungar | 2001 |
| Fred "Sarge" Ferris | 1989 | Chris Moneymaker | 2019 | Red Winn | 1979 |
| Henry Green | 1986 | Roger Moore | 1997 | Sid Wyman | 1979 |
| T "Blondie" Forbes | 1980 | Carlos Mortensen | 2016 |
The criteria for selection is a tad subjective, much like any sports Hall of Fame nomination process. Candidates must be at least 40 years old, played against top competition at high stakes, earned the respect of peers, and stood the test of time. Or, for non players such as Matt Savage, a candidate in 2021, they must have contributed to the overall growth of poker in a significant way.
