Two days ago, we brought you an article that focused on a hot topic in the poker world. Namely, the community didn't like the behavior of WSOP 2024 Main Event winner Jonathan Tamayo and his rake. In fact, his raily was Dominik Nitsche with a notebook, who provided Tamayo with information from the solvers after almost every hand. Names such as Henrik Hecklen, Sam Greenwood, Sam Grafton, Fedor Holz and even Daniel Negreanu have spoken out against such practices, calling on the organizers to strictly ban the use of any kind of ancillary software.
It all played out in the final heads-up, where pro Tamayo faced off against amateur player Jordan Griff. Jordan, however, was not helped or advised by anyone, and played his game. Jonathan Tamayo didn't enjoy such glory for long, and a wave of criticism immediately descended upon his head. The whole issue of the use of simulators and solvers on the final day of the WSOP Main Event even made its way through the poker community and was picked up by various mainstream media outlets around the world.
Of course, the topic has not escaped the attention of poker player, YouTuber, owner of The Lodge Card Club and investigative reporter Doug Polk, who decided to give a voice to runner-up Jordan Griff. He accepted the invitation and so we have an interesting new interview. Before we get into Griff's comments, we should add that Pokernews reached out to Tamayo himself for comment, but he declined to comment on the case.
What runner-up Jordan Griff thinks about the case
Amateur player Jordan Griff entered the final heads-up with a stack worth up to 108 blinds, while pro Jonathan Tamayo had "only" a 40 blind stack. Jordan finished second for $6 million, and as the whole affair unfolded, public questions began to arise as to whether Jordan had stolen the title. Doug then asked Jordan if he knew what his opponent was doing between hands with his rail.
"I saw him deal some stuff in there, I saw him go to the rails, but you know, I never saw what was on the laptop, and I didn't even try to eavesdrop on what he was talking about. I figured if they were doing something wrong, after all, there were cameras that would have caught it, and they would have been alerted to it. But when I was at the table at that moment, I was just focused on the game. I wasn't focused on, ooh, does he have solvers? I was there to play my game," Jordan Griff said.
Doug Polk subsequently expressed that he was surprised at the WSOP staff's inaction, that they did not take any action to stop the railed assist. Doug then asked his guest if he thought Tamayo was favored by the railed assist.
"Hard to say. I think using the RTA will give an advantage. Everyone can argue about how useful it is and how much it really helps a person. I think it's hard to quantify," Griff replied.
Griff then went on to make a statement defending Tamayo and indicating that he did not think Tamayo cheated. Likewise, he doesn't think Tamayo would have lost if he didn't have an assist from Riley. He also voiced criticism towards the poker community, which he said focuses more on conspiracy theory than celebrating the beautiful stories that came out of the Main Event.
Is Griff considering legal action?
Polk went on to ask what Jordan would do if he knew his opponent was likely using solvers with his rails. To which Griff replied: "Ugh, that's a good question. If I had 100% confirmation that there was a simulator or solver running, maybe I would have said something then."
In closing, WSOP Main Event runner-up Jordan Griff noted that he is not currently considering any legal action against winner Jonathan Tamayo, but he did not rule out the possibility if he found these allegations to stand on a relevant basis.
Source - YouTube Doug Polk Poker, Pokernews
