With only a few days remaining until the long awaited debut of WPT Season X on Fox Sports Net (FSN), World Poker Tour is unveiling the new WPT Ones to Watch. This segment follows the game’s rising stars through entertaining profiles both in and out of the poker room.
Maria Ho and William Reynolds, two of last season’s most popular personalities, will be returning to join five new players: Dan O’Brien, David “Doc” Sands, Dylan Hortin, Ebony Kenney and Matt Marafioti. This eclectic group has enjoyed various levels of success on the World Poker Tour prior to Season X. However, all are competing to become the first WPT Ones to Watch to win a WPT Main Event.
Anticipation is building for the WPT Season X premiere on FSN this Sunday, February 12th at 8:00pm and 11:00pm local time — Check out the above clip of Maria and Dan hanging at the WPT Final Table from the brand-new episode.
Of all the WPT Ones to Watch, Dan O’Brien certainly comes with best WPT track-record. During WPT Season VII, O’Brien cashed three times for $120,463 and in WPT Season VIII finished 3rd ($292,800) at the Bay 101 Shooting Star. However, O’Brien has yet to cement his place in poker history as a WPT Champion and is still seeking a breakout win. With experience under the limelight, expect O’Brien to be cool under pressure when his next WPT final table opportunity comes.
David “Doc” Sands – @Doc_Sands
David “Doc” Sands began to learn and love poker during his time at Hamilton College, where he graduated Suma Cum Laude with an honors degree in International Politics. As an online tournament player, David caught fire in September of 2008 and kept going from there. In 2010, “Doc” Sands became the world’s top-ranked online tournament player according to PocketFives. Sands had plenty of live cashes prior to last year, but 2011 was truly his live break out year. Now a Season X WPT Ones to Watch, David’s stature will only continue to grow.
Although young in age, Dylan Hortin has seen more than his fair share of poker hands. As an accomplished online player, Hortin has accumulated over $1,700,000 in online tournament earnings. In 2009, the Utah native flew to the WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona where he cashed in 14th place. Since then, Hortin has been looking for his first WPT win and is definitely a talent to watch out for on the World Poker Tour.
After learning poker from her then-boyfriend, Ebony Kenney took to the felt in Florida and scored immediately. Currently living in Miami, Ebony is a professional poker player who also models in her spare time. Beyond shooting for print, Ebony has been featured in seven music videos over the past year. With a fierce game and disarming smile, Ebony is an up-and-coming force on the tour.
Canadian Matt Marafioti has enjoyed immense success playing both live and online poker. With career tournament earnings in excess of $3,000,000, $1,800.00 of which came from playing live tournaments without a major cash, Marafioti is a force to watch on the felt. Having cashed for three consecutive seasons on the World Poker Tour, Marafioti looks to building on this momentum and take down his first major title.
Along with William Reynolds, Maria Ho returns as a veteran WPT Ones to Watch. Maria Ho is a high-stakes cash game player that has amassed live tournament earnings of more than $1.2 million dollars in just a few short years. She is currently ranked 13th in the world among female poker players for total career earnings and is also known for her appearance on the Emmy Award winning television show “The Amazing Race.”
William Reynolds – @ReynoldsXO
Following a strong showing last year which included a WPT final table appearance at the Hollywood Poker Open (3rd – $110,788), William Reynolds returns to the mix as an established personality. Known for his energy and sense of humor, Reynolds is dangerous on the felt but charming away from the tables. This season will further delve into the mind and game of William Reynolds.
Check out the WPT Season X Ones to Watch gallery below:
