Martin Jacobson was the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event Winner
The World Series of Poker always includes drama, shocks, and turn-arounds. Unusually, this wasn’t the case in 2014, when Swede Martin Jacobson claimed the big prize. The ex-chef had already pocketed twelve pay outs of $100,000 or more in his poker career - and was good enough and experienced enough to take the next step.
How the 2014 WSOP Played Out for Jacobson
The tournament started brilliantly for Martin Jacobson. At the end of day 1A he had the chip lead. As any poker player knows, however, that early lead can quickly evaporate. Especially in a tournament with more than 6,500 players.
Jacobson maintained his stack all the way to the final table, although he entered the ‘November Nine’ in eighth place with just over 7% of the chips in play. Jacobson did however go into the final table with confidence, knowing he was the biggest winner at previous WSOP events at the table.
All-Scandinavian Head-Up Battle
Other players disappeared, while Jacobson’s chip stack grew and grew. By the time the tournament entered the heads-up stage, Jacobson was back in the lead, facing Norway’s Felix Stephensen. This battle of the two Scandinavians lasted 35 hands.
In the final hand, the chips went in with Jacobson holding two red tens and Stephensen held the Ace and Nine of hearts. The flop saw Jacobson hit a set of tens (only an incredible turn and river combination could have saved Stephensen at this point, but it never came) and the title was his.
Other Major Tournament Cashes and Wins
The first major cash of Martin Jacobson’s career was a second-place finish in the WPT Championship in Venice, winning more than $300,000. In 2010 and 2011 Jacobson would impress at various European Poker Tour events. He had runners-up spots in both Vilamoura and Deauville and a fourth place finish in Berlin. At this stage he was making an incredible name for himself - but was yet to have his big breakthrough at the World Series of Poker.
This came in 2013 when he played in the High Rollers event against a quality field with a buy-in of $111,111. Jacobson came 6th in a field of 166 and pocketed a check of more than $800,000, his biggest ever win at this point. Just a year later came the win at the main event. In 2017 following his big win, he played the same $111,111 event and finished 6th again.
Playing Style and WSOP Strategy of Martin Jacobson
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Jacobson has always been known for having a calm demeanor at the tables and showing great respect for his opponents, even when he is taking their chips. He has employed a tactical based game where he feels out his opponents and works out where any weaknesses can be exploited.
In addition to this, he is an advocate for being fit both physically and mentally as an aid to being a professional poker player.
Before and After the World Series of Poker
Jacobson’s poker career would start off with him playing at internet cafes aiming to make a breakthrough. Although a trained chef who had worked a Swedish Royal Navy ship, his dream was always poker. In his early poker career, he found a fascination for playing in satellite events, finding these the perfect way to qualify for the biggest tournaments.
Jacobson made it to the World Series of Poker in 2008 this way, which ultimately proved fruitless. He then qualified for an EPT London in the same, which once again saw him fail to cash. However, qualified for the EPT Budapest via an online satellite. He finished third in the tournament and picked up just shy of $200,000. This was only his third live event. He won the award of ‘Online Qualifier of the Year’ at the European Poker Tour Awards, having eventually qualified for six.
After his WSOP Main Event win, Jacobson would become a brand ambassador for 888Poker. As of 2021, Jacobson has cashed in 39 WSOP events and has worldwide tournament earnings of more than $17 million.
Can You be the Next WSOP Champion?
While Chris Moneymaker might have grabbed the headlines as an online qualifier who won the WSOP main event, you could also look at Martin Jacobson as a fine example of what you can achieve playing online. His entire poker career was built on those early online satellite successes. Anyone can enter a satellite to play at a major event such as the WSOP Main Event with some of the entry fees being tiny in comparison to the entry fee – sometimes just a few dollars. Could you be the next Martin Jacobson?
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Image credit: Wikipedia, with a little help from free picture editor Canva.