There wasn’t much going on in the month of April as far as major tournaments go… except for the WPT Championship which saw nearly every great poker player in the world make the trip to The Bellagio in Las Vegas.

By the end of the WPT Championship though, Gus Hansen was the only truly recognizable player left at the final table – unless you count John Roveto who may be more known for his days as an NFL place kicker than a poker player.

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Surprisingly, despite his huge chip lead going into heads up play, Hansen was not able to take home the top prize as he was upended by David Chui in an excellent display of one-on-one ability.  Chui’s incredible efforts have earned him a spot in the May poker power rankings.

10. J.C. Tran 

Hometown: Nha Trang, Vietnam

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 46^th place in WPT World Championship (No-Limit Hold’em)

Comments: There is little chance that Tran will repeat as the World Poker Tour Player of the Year after finishing 46^th at this year’s championship.  But the finish is good enough for Tran to keep his position amongst the top players along with his other appearance, a 7^th place finish at the Bay 101 Shooting Star

9. Nam Le

Hometown: Irvine, California

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 4^th place in 2008 LA Poker Classic (WPT) No-Limit Hold’em Championship

Comments: Though Nam Le has been off the radar for a little while, he came back strong playing in one of the smaller WPT Championship Hold’em events where he won over $411,000 for a fourth place finish.  His last major showing was another 4^th place finish at the LA Poker Classic Main Event.         

8. Steve Wong

Hometown: Haarlem, Holland

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 24^th place in Caesars Palace Las Vegas (WSOP) No-Limit Hold’em Main Event

Comments: Steve Wong must’ve been getting bored as he suddenly decided to not only make an appearance at the WPT Championship where he took 31^st, but also showed up at the WSOP event at Caesars Palace where he had another consistent finish at 24^th place.

7. Danny Wong

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 23^rd place in Caesars Palace Las Vegas (WSOP) No-Limit Hold’em Main Event     

Comments: You might think Steve and Danny were twins separated at birth.  They not only share the same last name but they also finished right next to each other in both the WPT Championship (30^th and 31^st) and the Caesars Palace event (23^rd and 24^th).  I’m sure they wouldn’t mind finishing 1^st and 2^nd in the upcoming WSOP Main Event.  

6. David Chui

Hometown: Rowland Heights, California

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 1^st place in WPT World Championship (No-Limit Hold’em)

Comments: David Chui has played in many major poker events over the years and has over $6 million in lifetime tournament earnings to his name.  But he’s been one of the quietest multi-million dollar players in pro poker until now after displaying some amazing heads up play to complete an unbelievable comeback and win the WPT Championship.

5. Lee Watkinson

Hometown: Cheney, Washington

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 9^th place in 2008 Bay 101 Shooting Star (WPT) No-Limit Hold’em Championship

Comments: Watkinson didn’t make much of a mark at the WPT Championship unlike many other people in this month’s power rankings.  But his final table appearances at Harrah’s Rincon and Borgata certainly still warrant a top ranking. 

4. David Tran

Hometown: El Monte, California

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 14^th place in WPT World Championship (No-Limit Hold’em) 

Comments: Despite being one of the top tourney players of all time, Tran hasn’t been too active this year on the live tournament circuit until taking 8^th place at the Bay 101 Shooting Star.  To further show that he has no signs of rust, he was able to make a run at the WPT Championship final table before finishing 14^th. 

3. Gus Hansen

Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 2^nd place in WPT World Championship (No-Limit Hold’em)

Comments: Before blowing one of the biggest chip leads in heads up play history to David Chui, Hansen made an incredible run to dispatch everyone at the final table except for Chui.  But there was certainly no shame in finishing runner-up at the WPT Championship.

2. Phil Ivey

Hometown: Absecon, New Jersey

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 10^th place in 2008 World Poker Challenge (WPT) No-Limit Hold’em Championship

Comments: The Tiger Woods of poker has been looking a little more like John Daly as of late with some early tournament exits and low placings.  But with his overall reputation, and win at one of the biggest tournaments in the LA Poker Classic, it’s almost hard to not leave Ivey number one.

1. Men “The Master” Nguyen

Hometown: Phan Tiet, Vietnam

Most Recent Major Tournament Result: 26^th place in WPT World Championship (No-Limit Hold’em)

Comments: Some people wondered if Nguyen would be able to have a strong showing at the WPT Championship after such a tough month of March where more complaints of him being a cheater surfaced.  But Nguyen showed the same consistency that he has all year in live tournaments and was able to take 26^th place for another solid showing.  It will be hard to imagine Nguyen not making at least some noise in the WSOP as well as he’s played.

New Faces this Month: Gus Hansen, David Chui, Danny Wong, Steve Wong

Out this Month: Erick Lindgren, David Pham, John Phan, Phil Hellmuth