Outside of these achievements, his hendonmob account shines with an astronomical $46.3 million, which makes him the world's number 9 and thus higher in the earnings rankings than, for example, Phil Ivey (11th) or wristband record holder Phil Hellmuth (23rd). In 2010, Seidel even received an honor when he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
An impressive career kicked off with his first entry back in 1988 when Seidel placed second in the WSOP Main Event when he lost heads-up to the legendary Johnny Chan. Footage of that game, incidentally, also appeared in the legendary film The Rounders, starring Matt Damon. Seidel took home a $280,000 prize for his second-place finish in 167 entries back then, and you can watch the final hand right in the film's arcade.
Despite the disappointment, this placement opened the door to a career full of wins, and entry by entry, Seidel slowly worked his way to the top of the world. At the venerable age of 64, he continues to play tournament after tournament even today and has already notched up more than half a million dollars in nine ITM placings this year.
What would you do in that situation?
However, every player runs into controversy at some point, and a similar thing happened to Seidel, who has successfully avoided scandal throughout his long career. In this case, news of an unblinded opponent hit the media - in the $10,000 Heads-up Championship event played in August 2020, Erik's opponent was Max Kruse. However, the former German professional footballer and recreational poker player failed to show up on time for the hand, which resulted in Seidel gradually robbing him of his blinds over a 12-minute period.
However, Seidel later said that if he had unblinded his opponent completely, he would have refunded his buy-in and added a % of his placement. He also defended that it was a mistake on his part and stated that it had happened to him many times. Several players spoke in favour of Seidel, but some accused him of unsportsmanlike behaviour. Many are of the opinion that in the world of cards, no one should give anything to anyone, and if it were the other way around, Seidel's opponent would not have had to behave in such a "sporting" manner.
What do you think about this? Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? What would you do in Erik's place? Leave us a comment on our social networks!
Source - YouTube, PokerNews, Twitter, HendonMob
