The "World" Series
International players were first drawn to the World Series of Poker in the early eighties, most notably from the Eccentric's club in Dublin, Ireland. They were attracted by the large prize pool, ambition to play for the title of world champion, and for the inclusion of the game of Omaha in the WSOP lineup of events. Terry Rogers ensured that the 1981 Irish champion from the Eccentric's Club had one of the first seats in the 1981 WSOP main event. Rogers was inspired by his first visit to the WSOP to start a large buy-in poker tournament of his own, the Irish Open, which still runs today and just celebrated its silver anniversary in 2006.
Johnny Chan became the first foreign-born player to win the WSOP main event in 1987. Mansour Matloubi became the first foreign-national player to win the title of world champion just three years later in 1990.
Five countries were represented at the main event final table in 2007: Canada, Russia, South Afirica, United Kingdom, and United States, while seven countries of origin produced the final nine players. Eighty-seven countries were represented at the 2007 WSOP, including the second-smallest country in the world - Monaco (which is very conducive to gambling), but not the smallest - Vatican City (which is anything but conducive to gambling).
It remains to be seen how many total countries will compete in the 2008 WSOP (the total and new record heading into the main event was 104 countries, UPDATE: 118 countries with the main event). And who knows whether the main event final table will match the international affair it was last year or not. But one thing is for sure, the winners during the second half of the preliminary events at the WSOP have been decidedly more international.
The first 21 events of the Series saw North America (U.S.A. and Canada) take down each and every one of the titles. Nenad Medic, who won the first event, was born in Serbia, but he now claims Niagara Falls, Ontario as his place of residence. Svetlana Gromenkova was born in Russia, but she now claims New York City as her place of residence. It should also be noted that during this time many international players challenged for a bracelet. Londoners were present at five of the first seven final tables with James Akenhead coming the closest with a runner-up finish to Grant Hinkle in Event No. 2 (London might very well be the town with most players present at a final table that doesn't win a bracelet when the main event comes to a close - assuming a Londoner does not become the world champion).
It wasn't until Event No. 22, when Jens Voertmann from Dortmund, Germany won his first bracelet that a European player captured a bracelet at the 2008 WSOP, but since that point in time, international countries have accounted for 12 bracelets won in all of the preliminary events leading up to the main event. Here is the list:
No. 22: Jens Voertmann - Dortmund, Germany
No. 24: Max Pescatori - Milan, Italy
No. 27: Vitaly Lunkin - Moscow, Russia
No. 30: Rob Hollink - Groningen, Netherlands
No. 31: Dario Minieri - Rome, Italy
No. 33: Sebastian Ruthenberg - Hamburg, Germany
No. 36: Jesper Hougaard - Copenhagen, Denmark
No. 37: David Benyamine - Paris, France
No. 38: Davidi Kitai - Brussels, Belgium
No. 43: Martin Klaser - Rheinbach, Germany
No. 48: Alexandre Gomes - Curitiba, Brazil
No. 50: Martin Smyth - Belfast, Ireland
Each and every time one of these players made a final table the fever pitch along the rail held elements of a World Cup match. The players and fans from these countries really band around one another when one of them is at a final table. The Italians were out in force for the wins of Max Pescatori and Dario Minieri that took place just four days apart. In both cases Italian flags were flying and Italia jackets adorned many in attendance. The German contingent of the crowd was present for Sebastian Ruthenberg's win as well. German bracelet winners showed a 
nice display of solidarity when Voertmann, Katja Thater, and Michael Keiner were all present to support Ruthenberg on his big night. A few days later another German joined these ranks when Martin Klaser won his first bracelet to take the German bracelet count up to 3. This is the most of any country outside of North America and it is a testament to the huge growth in popularity poker in Germany has experienced despite having online gaming regulations similar to UIGEA.
While the flag of the country changed with each of these wins (just look at the pictures) the atmosphere stayed the same. These international players and fans also love to celebrate their wins. Danish player Jesper Hougaard was very quick to admit at the press conference directly following his big win that he wouldn't be available until a few days later for further interviews because he was going to party with his countrymen, and Irishman Marty Smyth had quite the victory party of his own a few days ago. These non-American players who have stormed the Amazon room this summer bring a zest for the game that serves as a shot of adrenaline to the event.
Here is a look at the bracelet count for the summer:
U.S.A. - 38
Canada - 3
Germany - 3
Italy - 2
Belgium - 1
Brazil - 1
Denmark - 1
France - 1
Holland - 1
Ireland - 1
Russia - 1
The bracelet count for the U.S. was 44 at the 2007 WSOP so the country that has become synonymous with the game above all others is still the dominant force at the WSOP, but it looks like the trend of international bracelet winners is here to stay. It would be interesting to see what percentage of main event participants came from overseas this year. Thanks to a weak U.S. dollar against the British Pound and the Euro an influx of European players looking to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate may very well be the reason that the main event field grew from 6,358 in 2007 to 6,844 in 2008.
