Greg Mueller WSOP final table run follows a friend's blunt push
Greg Mueller nearly skipped the WSOP Main Event, ESPN reports, but a tense talk helped send him into Monday’s final table with $10 million in play.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Greg Mueller’s WSOP final table run almost did not happen. ESPN reported that the 55-year-old Canadian poker pro was unsure he even wanted to enter the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event before a sharp conversation with longtime friend Shawn Buchanan changed the tone of his summer.
According to ESPN, Mueller and Buchanan were leaving the Paris Casino ballrooms after a day of WSOP action when Mueller questioned whether he wanted to sit through the grind of the Main Event. Buchanan, who has known him for more than 20 years, did not soften the message: if Mueller did not want to be there, Buchanan told him he should not register.
Mueller later described it to ESPN as “tough love.” Buchanan told ESPN he had become frustrated watching Mueller arrive late to tournaments and appear more excited about golf, dinner, cash games or other plans after busting than about the tournaments themselves.
How did Greg Mueller reach the WSOP final table?
Mueller entered the Main Event anyway, and the numbers started moving his way. ESPN reported that the tournament began with 9,208 players, and Mueller survived the first two days as the field shrank to 3,294.
His surge came late on Day 3. Mueller told ESPN he moved from a difficult table to a better spot and turned 600,000 chips into 1.1 million in the final hour. He ended the day 13th out of 1,386 remaining players.
That sparked memories of his previous deep Main Event runs in 2013 and 2017, when he reached Day 5 before going out. This time, he told ESPN, he felt Day 5 would not be the endpoint.
Mueller kept adding chips over the next three days. Then on Day 8, after starting among the shorter stacks, he found the hand that poker players wait for: pocket aces against Romain Lewis’ pocket kings. ESPN reported that the hand knocked out Lewis and lifted Mueller to 30 million chips with 16 players left.
The climb continued. Mueller doubled through Rami Hammoud with pocket jacks against pocket nines, then doubled through Michael Gagliano with pocket queens against ace-king. By the time the field hit the official final table after Traynor exited in 10th place, Mueller had 48.5 million chips.
Why is Mueller the familiar face at this final table?
Mueller enters Monday’s final table as one of the most accomplished players left. ESPN reported that he has three WSOP bracelets and $4.5 million in lifetime tournament earnings, along with past Main Event exposure that made him recognizable to poker fans.
The winner is set to claim $10 million and the world championship. For Mueller, the run also carries a personal twist: ESPN reported he might have been back home in White Rock, British Columbia, golfing or skating if Buchanan had not challenged him before registration.
During the break before the final table, Mueller has been back in White Rock, a city about 40 minutes outside Vancouver. ESPN reported that he has golfed with friends and gone to the rink to film a segment for the broadcast. Mueller, a former professional hockey player who appears with the Vancouver Canucks alumni team in charity events, said the final table has even followed him into his dreams.
Mueller has also spent time preparing with Buchanan, going through hands and strategy. He told ESPN he knows some of Monday’s outcome will depend on the cards, but he wants to give himself the best chance to finish the job.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.