John Phan wins two Player of the Year awards

DUBLIN, Ireland -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Full Tilt Poker pro John "The Razor" Phan has been named as both the Card Player and BLUFF Magazine 2008 Player of the Year after an incredible string of successes, including winning two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and over $2 million in prize money.

The 2008 Player of the Year races were two of the closest of all time. Fellow Full Tilt Poker pro David Pham had another amazing year, as he finished 2nd to Phan in the Card Player competition and 3rd in the BLUFF Magazine standings. Pham won the Card Player 2007 Player of the Year award and would've become the first player in history to win back-to-back titles had he emerged victorious this year.

Team Full Tilt's John Juanda, Erick Lindgren and Erik Seidel were also competitive in both Player of the Year races. Juanda and Lindgren each claimed a WSOP bracelet in 2008, while Seidel had one of the best years in his storied career with a WPT victory, two WSOP final tables and a 2nd place finish at the Aussie Millions Main Event. Seidel finished the year ranked 5th in the Card Player standings and 11th in the BLUFF Magazine standings.

But 2008 was John Phan's year. His streak during the summer was one of the most impressive runs in the history of tournament poker. Phan won his first WSOP bracelet in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold 'em event, walking away with over $430K in prize money, and followed this with a 2nd bracelet in the $2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball event one week later. Phan also experienced his first WPT win at the Legends of Poker in August, which awarded him over $1 million in prize money.

Further successes for Phan in 2008 included two additional WPT final tables, having finished in 6th place at the Bay 101 Shooting Star event and in 5th place at the Bellagio Cup IV. He completed the year with 14 cashes and now holds over $5 million in career tournament earnings.

To learn more about John Phan and all of the other Full Tilt Poker pros, please visit www.fulltiltpoker.com.

"Team Full Tilt" is a select group of the world's finest professional poker players, including Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius who have collectively won 35 WSOP bracelets. Full Tilt Poker offers players the unique opportunity to Learn, Chat and Play poker with the best poker pros in the game.