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In a word, yes. Jonathan Duhamel can win it all again.
After all, he's in the field and done it before, anyone with a chip and a chair can win.
Will he win it? No. As a matter of fact, it would be the ultimate poker story if he even came close.
Any world champion has a target on their back. Why wouldn?t they? Everyone knows who they are and that they are capable of putting together a long run.
What does that mean for their chances? Well, it probably means that those players are likely to put the past champions at risk as often as they can.
They don?t want to compete with them in a long hand; they would rather make the defending champ but all the chips out and let the cards do the talking.
When all of the chips are on the table, skill is no longer an element; it?s now a matter of luck. The chips, and how they are used, is how the better players show their supremacy. Once they?re down, that chance is gone.
All of this is multiplied by about 10 when the player in question is not only a past champion, but the defending champion.
Everyone knows who he is and everyone knows that they will get on camera if they are the one that eliminates the defending champion?
That?s a pretty good way to get your 15 minutes of fame, is it not?
If it?s a professional, he won?t be so worried about getting his face on television, but he will put forth the same effort to eliminate the past champion.
No player since Johnny Chan has won back to back titles. Chan did it in 1987 and 1988, well before the WSOP took off to what it is today.
The only other players to repeat are Doyle Brunson in 1976 and 1977, and Stu Ungar in 1980 and 1981.
Greg Raymer made a quality run in 2005 after winning in 2004, but he was eliminated in 25th place. As great as that was, he was still 24 players short of winning it all.
Yes, anyone with a chip and a chair can win, but don?t expect a repeat. It?s hard enough to repeat when the rest of the field is about 30 instead of several thousand.
With the Main Event underway, tune to Bleacher Report's Poker Page to stay updated on everything happening at the 2011 WSOP.
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