Chris Ferguson in Contention for 2017 WSOP Player of the Year

This is hardly the headline that poker fans would like to hear, but nonetheless Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson is currently a strong contender for the 2017 WSOP Player of the Year award.
2016
The 54 year-old Californian pro returned to the WSOP arena back in 2016, after lying low for five-year as he waited for the anger surrounding his part in the Full Tilt debacle of 2011 to subside. At the time, news that the majority of affected players had finally received the money they had gone missing was enough to encourage Ferguson to come out of hiding, and that year he recorded a total of 10 WSOP cashes, including a 4th place finish at the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Championship for $183,989. All told, the 1,469 points he subsequently received was good enough for an 11 place finish on the 2016 WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard.
2017
This year, Chris Ferguson wasted no time in entering the fray once more, and recorded his first cash in Event #5: $565 No Limit Hold’em – The Colossus III for $4,129. To the chagrin of the poker community, Ferguson and Howard Lederer then formed an unholy alliance for Event #10: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em – Tag Team, eventually booking a minimum cash in the tournament, and all told Chris Ferguson has now made the money in 12 events this year, including a 12th place finish at the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Championship for $22,396.
However, it is his most recent cash that has given him a real shot at the title, after making it all the way through to the final table of Event #51: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, eventually finishing in 4th place for a $150,929 payday. As a result, Ferguson has now moved up from 8th to 2nd place on the leaderboard, and currently sits on 599.50 points, just behind Raymond Henson on 614.87 points.
At this rate, Chris Ferguson could very well end up collecting the WSOP Player of the Year honor by the Series’ end, which would certainly make for some very uncomfortable photo opportunities if he does manage to succeed in his one man crusade at the Rio in Vegas.