Mike Matusow and Victoria Coren-Mitchell Begin Comeback Quests
7 years ago
11 May
Comebacks in poker are not an entirely new phenomena, but the latest pair to hit the trail promise nothing but enjoyment for the viewing public - Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow and Victoria Coren-Mitchell are back in the game!
It would be hard to find a more strikingly different couple than Matusow and Coren-Mitchell. One is a brash, loud-mouth, American who is never far from controversy whenever he plays; the other is a mild-mannered, thoughtful, and intelligent English rose, a joy to share a table with by all accounts.
However, both have multi-millionaire status in the game and both have been absent from big-time poker for some time.
Matusow has been dogged by a painful recuperation from a spinal operation, and although he made a decent run at last year’s WSOP Main Event, he hasn’t cashed in anything of note for two years now.
However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel for ‘the Mouth’, his Twitter feed springing to life with plans not only for this year’s WSOP but also a twice-weekly Twitch stream.
“I've been out of the loop so long didn't even know what twitch was but looking forward to doing this gonna be fun,” he tweeted, and although it appeared on April Fool’s Day, there will be many out there looking forward to watching his no-nonsense approach to the game live online.
Making a dent in the WSOP after a lengthy absence may turn out to be a whole lot more difficult, but his birthday tweet a fortnight ago shows he has the appetite to give it a go.
Today's my birthday ,don't know how I've made it 48 yrs and 20 yrs of playing poker I hope this year makes up for last 2#wsop2016
— Mike Matusow (themouthmatusow) April 30, 2016
Coren-Mitchell, on the other hand, has already hit the felt – putting in an appearance at the Monte Carlo Grand Finale last week.
“I'm sitting down to play EPT Monte Carlo - my first EPT in 18 months. After that kind of gap, frankly, I'd be embarrassed not to win it,” she tweeted in her trademark humorous style.
Of course, she didn’t take the event down – eventually busting out with pocket Jacks against AK.
Out of the EPT! Jacks v. AK, a traditional coup if I remember rightly from my old playing days. Never mind was fun to be back on the horse.
— Victoria Coren M. (VictoriaCoren) May 2, 2016
The one thing both Matusow and Coren-Mitchell do have in common is a huge history of winning ways. Matusow has earned almost $10million from tournament play alone and was a regular in the High Stakes TV games for years.
Coren-Mitchell has similar pedigree, winning two EPT titles and amassing £2.5 million in live tournament play.
Her absence from the EPT felt co-incided with her decision to leave PokerStars late in 2014, citing the poker giant’s move into casino games as the main reason for her departure from their sponsored pro ranks.
I cannot professionally and publicly endorse it, even passively by silence with my name still over the shop,” she wrote on her blog at the time. “Poker is the game I love, poker is what I signed up to promote.”
She was extremely forthright in her explanation, stating:
Although PokerStars assured me I would not have to actively promote the casino arm, I know in my heart that continuing in my current role could risk helping to send people to a place where they would encounter something I think is dangerous,” adding, “That’s not the way I want to make a living.”
Whether Matusow and Coren-Mitchell can find a way back to their winning ways of a few years ago remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure – poker is a much richer game with them in the fold.
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