After the events of ‘Black Friday’ the poker world trundled along without much fuss, perhaps even stagnating slightly since the days when Tom Dwan and Viktor Blom burst into the scene under their online pseudonyms and took the world by storm. When an online pro by the name of Daniel Colman triumphed in the EPT Grand Final Super High Roller for $2 million, it didn’t exactly turn many heads. Most people hadn’t heard his name, but for the few who had, his list of online accomplishments was impressive.
‘mrGR33N13’
Playing under the name ‘mrGR33N13‘ he finished 2nd place in the SCOOP $21,000 heads up high roller in 2013 for $160,000. Later that year he went on to finish 1st place in the WCOOP heads up High Roller for a further $172,000. With an outstanding win rate at the very highest stakes of heads up hyper turbo tournaments, he managed profits of well over $1 million in just a 9 month period, alongside those two big results in online heads up events. It was certainly no surprise to see him reach the last four players in the $10,000 heads up event at the WSOP in the summer of 2014, but this was just the beginning of a truly remarkable run.
Big One for One Drop
What transpired shortly afterwards in the $1 million buy in ‘Big One for One Drop’ event was the catalyst that really got the poker world talking.
Under the lights and steady gaze of the cameras he faced off against poker legend Daniel Negreanu in a heads up battle which would decide the destination of the bracelet and the 1st prize of over $15 million. Daniel Colman quickly overpowered Negreanu before refusing to give interviews to the media, and having to be persuaded to participate in a winners photo next to the mountain of cash he had won.
Full Story: The day that Daniel Colman Won $15m and shocked the poker world
Poker is “a dark game”
He later shed light on this subject in an articulate post on a popular poker forum, stating his conflicted views on poker, which he described as a “dark game”. His view that the game has a “net negative effect” on its participants apparently led to his unwillingness to advertise the game in any way. The divided opinions within the poker world unfolded over the following weeks, with some expressing admiration that he had spoken out about his reservations, while others were scornful of the seemingly hypocritical statements made by a man who was happily winning millions of dollars of other people’s money, whilst verbally attacking poker.
The greatest run in poker history?
That would be an interesting story in itself, but as 2014 went on, the astounding results, and the strong opinions of Daniel Colman didn’t abate. Less than two weeks later he took 3rd place and $796,000 in the Aria Super High Roller tournament before crossing the Atlantic the following month to take 2nd place in the EPT Barcelona super high roller for a further $1.1 million. He then came back to the USA ten days later and entered the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in which he bested 1,499 players to take 1st place and another $1.4 million. Shortly after, he was back in Europe to play the WPT Alpha8 tournament in London, which he won, for another $957,000. In early November, he then went on to finish 7th place in another Super High Roller event at the Asia Championship of Poker in Macau. Merely $373,000 for that one, which seems almost insignificant in the context of his accomplishments this year. Daniel Colman has now found his way to 3rd on the list of all time cashes in live tournament poker, and has done so within the space of one calendar year.
Controversy
If he hadn’t raised enough eyebrows already, his comments about the most decorated player in WSOP history, Phil Hellmuth jr, soon put him back in the spotlight. He referred to Hellmuth as “pathetic” and “spineless” before calling him “a cancer to this world”. He argued that a sponsorship deal with a site that wound up engulfed in controversy, made Hellmuth a charlatan with no integrity. Colman went on to condemn the manner in which the thirteen time bracelet winner seeks attention by jumping in front of cameras and telling everybody that he’s the best in the world. One thing is clear, when it comes to attracting attention and placing oneself in the spotlight, Hellmuth could certainly learn from Colman. The combination of amazing results, disparaging remarks about poker, and vocal contempt for players he disapproves of should ensure he remains the focal point of the poker world for some time.
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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