3 People vying for Poker Hall of Fame’s Youngest
The late Chip Reese’s legacy will always be cemented among poker fans and players. And the fact that he was the youngest person ever selected for the Poker Hall of Fame at age 40 only furthers his reputation as one of the greatest of all time. However, there are 3 players vying for the Hall of Fame this year who could break his record. Phil Ivey (age 37), Daniel Negreanu (age 35), and Tom Dwan (age 23) all theoretically have a chance to be the youngest person ever inducted.
I think Ivey definitely has the best shot since he is not only regarded by many as the best all-around poker player of today’s era, but also has 7 WSOP gold bracelets along with a record 8 final table appearances in the World Poker Tour. If Ivey doesn’t get in this year and become the youngest ever selected to the HOF, I’d be really surprised.
Negreanu is another person who has a decent shot at getting 75% of the media and living Poker HOF members vote. He holds 4 WSOP bracelets, has 2 WPT wins, and is third behind Ivey and Jamie Gold in all-time live tournament winnings. However, I just don’t know if Negreanu is quite ready for the HOF yet, and I think he’ll need at least a couple of more WSOP bracelets to make it in.
The last person who could upstage Reese’s record is Tom Dwan. Dwan is definitely the youngest person out of this group at 23, and he would probably be the youngest person ever elected to the Poker Hall of Fame for a long time to come. However, I really don’t see Dwan getting picked since he doesn’t have any WSOP rings, and his high stakes cash game prowess is difficult to measure in terms of awards and accolades. It would definitely be cool if he did get into the Hall though!