Edward Sabat

One of the friendliest faces in poker, Edward Sabat is a live tournament specialist that has been making appearances on the circuit since 2007. He began his life as a pro in style, winning a major tournament less than one year into it. This feat came at the 2008 APPT HK$25,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event in Macau. The University of Southern California graduate booked a $453,427 win after triumphing over a list of in-the-money finishers that included multi-time bracelet winners John Juanda and Kevin MacPhee.

Although the American hasn’t won a major title since then, he has accumulated almost $3,000,000 in live tournament earnings after his 2008 victory. More impressively is the fact that Edward has reached no less than five WSOP final tables – making them back-to-back between 2011 and 2013. This sort of hot streak doesn’t come without being a highly-skilled player. Each of these runs earned him six-figure scores and saw him outlast some of the toughest names in poker.

To kick off this period of deep runs, Sabat finished fifth at the $2,500 NLH event in 2011. To make it to the final five, the California resident got past high roller regulars Matt Berkey, Thomas Marchese and Bryn Kenney. 2012 saw Edward make it one closer to the gold when he came fourth at the $10,000 NLH Six-Handed event which earned him $300,753. He equalled this position the following year at a similar event, making it three final tables in three years.

While Sabat did not make it four for four in 2014, he came agonisingly close in the biggest event in poker – the WSOP Main Event. Unfortunately for the American, he exited just seven places short of the November Nine, earning a $347,521 score that never felt so disappointing. Reflecting on the moment a couple of months later, he admitted:

‘I loved that I got that far. You always aim to get that far, but your expectations get even greater the deeper you get into a tournament. To get that deep and bust, it does hurt. It still hurts!’.

Even after a decade in the game that has thrown a rollercoaster of ups and downs his way, Eddy still has the same passion for and commitment to the game that he did back in 2007. As his Twitter bio simply reads, ‘I love poker’.