On July 18, 2024, Jonathan Tamayo won the record-breaking 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event, walking away with $10 million in prize money and a gold bracelet. A win that could have been the highlight of his career stirred up debates in the poker community, overshadowing his victory.
The poker community has shifted their discussion to the support Tamayo received from poker pros Dominik Nitsche and Joe McKeehen, who have supported him during the heads-up battle. This sparked a debate about whether their assistance breached the rules or just the spirit of the game.
Both Dominik Nitsche and Joe McKeehen had laptops and phones open on the rail, where they were watching the main event live streaming and using real-time assistance (RTA).
Runner-up Jordan Griff says that he was completely unaware of what Tamayo’s group was doing. In a live space on X, he commented that this main event might have put the poker in a poor light.
Griff said, “I don’t want people to look at this event and say, Oh crap, I need to hire coaches, I need to learn RTA To get to the final table and heads up.”
“The main event dream is going to die, if that’s what the future of poker is,” Griff added.
Seven-time bracelet winner and GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu shared his thoughts on the Doug Polk podcasts, stating “It’s not cheating but it’s unethical and it’s wrong.” He was “shocked” that none of the other players on the rail intervened while it was happening.
In that podcast, the seven-time bracelet winner Negreanu said, “It’s less about specifically the laptop,” “Laptops have been around at the final table for a decade. The team would typically be watching the stream. It’s a question of what you’re using the laptop for. What’s new now that didn’t exist for the last decade is the tools available today, like the AI solvers and RTA.”
He said, “I think it’s probably a good thing this happened on the biggest stage because now we all have to discuss whether this is the direction we’re heading or if we’re going to do something to fix it.”
Negreanu added that WSOP needs to make rules as clear as possible, such as no use of solvers at any point in the tournament area, which is defined by the entire room, and any use of this could lead to disqualification.
Despite criticizing the use of tools, Negreanu showed his support for the Main Event winner Jonathan Tamayo.
While there are no responses from the WSOP officials, WSOP is not going to ignore the issues. Everyone is now looking forward to the WSOP Paradise in December, which has a GTD of $50 million in its Super Main Event.
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Image Credit: WSOP
