Ante Up Magazine Chooses Mizrachi as Their Player of the Year

Ante Up Magazine has named Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi their official Poker Player of the Year. The magazine’s editor Chris Cosenza said that a number of different factors went into his selection but the biggest reason was how impressed they were with the way he bounced back from his problems with the IRS earlier this year.

"To not only succeed but to thrive during a time when he easily could've tossed in the towel and gone into hiding is a testament to his professionalism and poker courage," said Cosenza.

"We salute the Grinder on his amazing achievement."

Mizrachi hasn’t played very many tournaments over the last few years but this summer he pulled out all the stops and had one of the most memorable WSOP performances in recent history. Over the course of this year’s WSOP, Mizrachi won a bracelet in the $50k Players Championship event, placed sixth in the 10k Seven-Card Stud event, placed eighth in the $10k Limit Hold'em Championship, placed twenty-sixth in the $2.5k Mixed Event, and became part of the November Nine for the Main Event.

In just under two months Mizrachi earned more than $2.4 million and he still has a good shot at the $8.9 million Main Event prize. If he can pull off the major win he will also earn the much coveted WSOP Player of the Year race which Frank Kassela currently leads in.

Cosenza admitted the magazine had a tough choice between Mizrachi and Kassela but ultimately they felt that Mizrachi’s story was just too tempting to ignore.

"We'd like to congratulate Kassela on a fantastic effort," said Cosenza. "We're certain the two gold bracelets on his wrists will help him deal with the disappointment of not winning our award."

With nearly four months left until the WSOP Main Event Finale, Kassela still has a long way to go to find out whether or not he will have the honor of being the Player of the Year for the WSOP. Mizrachi on the other hand has already begun to garner a lot of attention.