WSOP Record

For the third consecutive year, the record for youngest World Series of Poker winner has been broken. Back in 2004, Gavin Griffin became the youngest player in history to win a gold bracelet. Even then, with so many young people turned on to poker, it seemed just a matter of time before a younger star would emerge and eclipse the record.

Next came 2005, when Eric Froehlich won the $1,500 buy in Limit Hold’em championship. At 21 years, three months, and three days of age, Froehlich established a new benchmark for the youngest poker champion. Now in 2006, the record has been shattered again.

Jeff Madsen, aged 21 years, one month, and nine days, has likely set a record that will not be broken for quite some time. Madsen defeated a whopping 1,578 players, who each put up $2,000 to enter Event #22 on this year’s World Series of Poker schedule. First place paid $660,948. Not bad for a young college student preparing to return to school next month for his senior year.

It took two long days to eliminate most of the huge field. On Day Three, the nine finalists took the stage at the Rio Las Vegas to play for the championship. The final table included several well-established tournament veterans. However, this was the first open event in 2006 not to include at least one former gold bracelet winner.

John Shipley was the first player out. The British pro was low on chips and was forced to play a sub-par hand in the end, resulting in elimination. Shipley, who won the European Poker Tour championship in London two years ago and also made the final table of the WSOP main event in 2002 (one of two players at this table to do so), received $60,349 for ninth place.

When heads-up play began, Jeff Madsen enjoyed a slightly better than 2 to 1 chip lead versus Paul Sheng. It didn’t take long for the final hand of the tournament to come. Madsen had jack-seven versus Sheng’s ace-seven. All the chips went into the pot on the turn when the board showed 10-9-8-6. Both players had a seven, good for a straight. However, Madsen also had a jack, which meant a higher straight. It was a brutal way for Sheng to lose, but there was not much defense against a higher straight.

As the runner up, Paul Sheng received $330,485. The Taiwanese-born software executive, who now lives in San Francisco, had his best showing ever at the WSOP. This is Sheng’s third year to play on poker’s biggest stage and certainly won’t be his last.

Following his win, Jeff Madsen demonstrated why he has been so successful in poker at such a young age. Madsen displayed none of the bravado that one might expect from someone who had just won $660,948 at the World Series. Remarkably, this was Madsen’s second big cash at this year’s WSOP. He also finished third in the Omaha High-Low championship held two weeks ago – good for $97,552.

Madsen is currently a film student at UC-Santa Barbara. He says he hopes to eventually get into film and perhaps try his hand at directing. “I will definitely finish college,” Madsen said afterward. “College is very important, so it will be part of my life. But the reality is — I’m still young, so I have some time to figure things out.”

Despite his youth, Madsen has played live casino poker for nearly three years. He played regularly at various California Indian casinos near his home, where the legal gambling age is 18. Due to Nevada state law, this is the first year he was eligible to play at the WSOP.

Madsen expects that his record might stand for quite some time. “It’s going to be tough (to break),” Madsen said. “I’m just lucky that my birthday was so close. It’s going to be hard, since I’m 21 and one month. It will sure be tough to break that record.”

Event #22
$2,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Final table results:

1. Jeff Madsen $660,948
2. Paul Sheng $330,485
3. Julian Gardner $172,427
4. Troy Parkins $132,194
5. Robert Dylan Cohen $112,077
6. Robert Bright $94,835
7. Michael Chow $83,340
8. Billy Duarte $71,845
9. John Shipley $60,349