The seven-time WSOP bracelet winner Scott Seiver made the absolute most of his summer in Las Vegas and has been announced as the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year. As a result, Seiver’s banner will hang in either the Horseshoe or Paris casino in Las Vegas next year as players look to emulate an incredible series with three outright bracelet wins coming for the American.

Rival Ausmus Tips His Hat

“Counting the top 10 results and one online max is a big improvement to the formula.” ~ Jeremy Ausmus

A stunning series of 17 cashes, almost $1.5 million dollars in results and five final table appearances saw the superb Seiver dominate the World Series of Poker and with further opportunities for greatness coming later in the year at the WSOP Europe and WSOP Paradise festivals, the 39-year-old is rightly being hailed as a legend by one of his closest challengers across eight weeks of events in Las Vegas.

“Congrats to Scott Seiver for winning WSOP POY.  You’re an all-time legend and winning three bracelets over the summer is an amazing accomplishment.  It was a fun battle with several people having a shot down the stretch.”

Ausmus was also highly complimentary about the new structure of the Player of the Year competition, with only players’ top 10 cashes in the live space and single top cash in the online arena counting towards any player’s overall points.

“I have to say only counting the top 10 results and one online max is a big improvement to the formula,” he said. “In my opinion, it shouldn’t be about who wants to multi table and play every single event for [six] weeks, so nice change.”

Seiver’s Victory Hints at Hall of Fame Nod

“I’ve dedicated a lot of my life to this game and this profession, and it would mean a lot to me to show that I’ve left my mark.” ~ Scott Seiver

While other players have achieved three bracelet wins in a single World Series, Seiver has done so in poker’s second boom and by far the hardest era of the game to be competitive in, let alone dominant. Seiver, who turns 40 in 2025 before next year’s Poker Hall of Fame nominees are announced, will undoubtedly be in the mix along with seemingly perennial nominees Josh Arieh, Mike Matusow and Barny Boatman, has gone from four bracelets to seven this summer. That achievement will not be forgotten in 12 months time. Speaking to CardPlayer, Seiver was honest in saying that the Hall of Fame means a lot to him.

“It’s always been something in the back of my mind, and as I’ve gotten older and more people I know have gotten in,” he admitted. “I realized that I’ve dedicated a lot of my life to this game and this profession, and it would mean a lot to me to show that I’ve left my mark on this field. By coming out here this summer and [winning], I’m reminding people that I am someone that came through poker.”

Becoming just the seventh player to win three bracelets in a single series, Seiver won Event #10, the $10,000 Omaha 8 or Better Championship, topping 197 for his fifth lifetime bracelet and the top prize of $426,744. Next up in his magical trio, Seiver won Event #40, the $1,500 Razz event, this time finishing first out of 547 entries wo earn a $141,374 top prize and his sixth overall WSOP win, his second of the series. In Event #72, Seiver won the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Single Draw Lowball Championship for $411,041 after seeing off 185 opponents.

New Structure Benefits ‘Focused’ Champion

Also coming third in the $10,000-entry WSOP Online Championship for $182,214, Seiver’s delight at winning the No Limit 2-7 Single Draw Lowball Championship was evident at the close of the action.

“It means everything to me. I was really devastated when I got second in this two years ago,” he said. “I’ve always wanted this bracelet so much. This final table was unbelievably difficult. From two tables down, everyone was tremendous and honestly, that makes it even more special. I am good at this game, but I am not like world-class great. Getting to play with Jason Mercier and Billy Baxter was very special.”

Seiver’s humility around his peers also lends a lot of weight to Hall of Fame talk. Winning the leaderboard with 4,403,85 points – well clear of second-placed Michael Rocco (3,804) and the aforementioned Jeremy Ausmus (3,687) – is an astounding achievement. This year, at least five cashes and no more than ten cashes set a thinner margin for error and didn’t reward min-cashing, instead prioritising player who put it all on the line.

With over $27.2 million in career earnings to his name, Seiver was the star of the series, but one last nod should go to Ausmus, who cashed 21 times and made a record-tying seven final tables, a feat he shares with ‘Poker Brat’ Phil Hellmuth.

“Man! I set this record in 2021,” said Hellmuth on X. “They said it would never happen again – seven official final tables in one summer at the WSOP – and then here comes Jeremy Ausmus! Nice job Jeremy, congratulations.”