Nick Schulman’s WSOP Main Event Comments that cost him his job
Cult poker commentator Nick Schulman made some questionable comments during ESPN’s WSOP Main Event coverage that cost him his job. Find out here what he said and what he probably meant below.
During the coverage of the WSOP Main Event on ESPN Nick Schulman was asked what people who wish to improve their own poker game should watch for.
Nick Schulman replied:
“Maybe they shouldn’t watch the Main Event. There are a lot of resources with which you can kind of poach to improve in poker. Think critically, really watch, really analyze. If you watch with a watchful, critical eye, it’s a good thing.”
These words, especially the first few, stirred quite a lot of controversy online. A fan even called him out on Twitter.
1/2 When @NickSchulman says on national television that “if you want to get better at poker, then don’t watch the main event”…how does that look from a recreational perspective? They view the @WSOP main event as a prestigious tournament with the best in the world playing-
— David Stewart (@TreeBandz) July 10, 2019
Watch Nick Schulman’s statement here:
In response, Nick Schulman made a video clarifying his stance.
— Nick Schulman (@NickSchulman) July 12, 2019
In it, he stresses that he does think the WSOP Main Event has a lot of prestige, calling it “our biggest event of the year”.
However, he also broke the news that he had been removed from the broadcast. While the chain of events evidently upset Schulman, he also said that he doesn’t believe ESPN or PokerGO censored him.
The latest episode in the Nick Schulman Controversy
The online poker community rushed to the defense of Nick Schulman with the hashtag “#FreeNick”.
However, some suggest that his removal wasn’t because of his comments on air. Daniel Negreanu and Norman Chad claim that it was due to something much more mundane, a scheduling conflict.
Schulman is an accomplished poker pro who is playing many events in this year’s World Series. He has won 3 bracelets so far.
One of them is from this year – he won $10,000 PLO Hi-Lo 8-or-Better event. The suggestion is he plays too much to properly focus in his duties as a commentator.
Many regard Nick Schulman as the best poker commentator including Daniel Negreanu
From my understanding Nick Schulman was not removed due to any comments he made. They love Nick as does the entire poker community.
I’m hearing it was a scheduling conflict and they hope to use Nick as often as possible going forward.
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 11, 2019
Evidently, many are skeptical about that. Negreanu had some harsh words to those people in one of his popular vlogs on his YouTube channel.
Daniel Negreanu made some other comments during the unfolding controversy which beg some questions.
He stated on Twitter earlier that he thinks that Schulman is by far the best poker commentator out there. So much so that he puts the poker coverage on mute whenever someone else is in the commentary booth and that he does not have a second favorite commentator.
These words can be considered very tacky given that fact that Daniel Negreanu has known friendships with Maria Ho and Joe Stapleton. Both call poker tournaments frequently for various events.
What Nick Schulman Probably Meant
The people who come to Schulman’s defense interpret his comments about the WSOP Main Event this way.
It is undeniably true that the World Series of Poker Main Event is the most coveted and most covered title in poker each year.
However, this means that it draws a lot of daring casual poker fans. Anybody willing to pay the $10,000 buy-in can enter.
This results in gigantic player field. This year, for example, was the second largest in WSOP history, 8,569 players. A field this large is will inevitably be watered down with softer players.
Nick Schulman and many in the poker community believe that while the WSOP Main Event is very prestigious, the highest level of play isn’t played there. It’s the super high buy-in high rollers that draw the only very best players in poker.
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