Gus Hansen: Winner of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament Season 1

Owning one of the most respected records in the entire poker world, Gus Hansen increased his overall value in the international poker scene after winning the first ever season of the poker superstars invitational tournament. Aside from this, he also took part in a major poker event that owns the highest entrance fee set for a poker competition, which stands strong at $400,000. After starting out slow in the tournament, Hansen made his way back into the game with some pretty plays at the crucial stages of the contest.

In round 1 of the first series of this invitational poker tournament, Hansen only finished fourth overall, falling behind other outstanding poker competitors Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, and Johnny Chan. However, Hansen changed the complexion of the tournament after he surprisingly won the second round of the first series by overtaking T. J. Cloutier and Barry Greenstein for the top spot. While this win greatly contributed to his overall standings as he entered the final round of the first series, it was his win at the final round, where he outclassed Chan and Cloutier for the top spot, which helped him set the pace for the remainder of the tournament.

Moving into the second series, Hansen maintained his composure and his sizeable lead with some consistent plays, especially in the first round where he finished a decent second overall behind Lederer. Meanwhile, round two was quite a different story with Hansen finishing only fourth overall. Because of the sizable lead that he formed in the early parts of the tournament, his mediocre performance in the final round of the second series did not affect his impressive quest for the title. He finished only fifth overall after the final round of the second series.

At the grand finale of the poker superstars Invitational Tournament season 1, Hansen did not waste his opportunity by starting very strong right from the tip-off. In the end, not only did he finish respectably in the tournament, he also went away with the title, winning way above his opponents to win the championship. He finished higher than Chan who owned second place, Ivey who finished third best in the competition, and Cloutier who grabbed the fourth overall spot in the tournament.

Besides winning the first season of Poker Superstars, Hansen has already achieved a lot in terms of titles and other major victories in the international poker scene. Although he has yet to win a World Series of Poker bracelet, he has already won four major titles at the World Poker Tour. Aside from the titles and championships, he has also racked up eight money finishes and nine final table appearances in the same major poker event.