Final Table Bios: Seat 2, Craig Marquis (10,210,000)

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23-year-old Craig Marquis seems to have figured out the formula for success: If you want to be a successful poker player, hang out with one… or in his case, a few. Over the summer, Marquis roomed with David Benefield and Joe Commisso – each of whom experienced tremendous WSOP success. Benefield cashed three times this summer, including a deep run in the Main Event (73rd place - $77,200). Commisso had just one cash but it was a whopper; Joe took down Event 46 – a $5,000 buy-in no limit hold’em tournament – earning over $900,000. Perhaps the least experienced of his poker crew, Marquis upstaged them all by reaching the Main Event final table.

Marquis only started playing poker a couple a years ago under the tutelage of Benefield. He plays predominantly online and started grinding it out at the $2/$4 tables. Before long he progressed to $200/$400 and has earned the respect of his online peers as a formidable opponent. Marquis said he prefers the speedy pace of online play over the sluggish grind of live play in which he admits he often becomes distracted. We have a feeling he’ll have little trouble maintaining focus today, however, with over nine million dollars on the line.

Marquis is currently enrolled at the University of Texas, Arlington where he studies finance. At 23, were Marquis to win, he would eclipse Phil Hellmuth’s mark as the youngest player ever to win the Main Event. Hellmuth was 24 years old when he won the title in 1989.

“Getting this far is like winning the lottery,” Marquis said. Never afraid to speak his mind, Marquis garnered some extra attention for his televised squabbles with Tiffany Michelle. When this now-infamous episode aired, the Marquis-Michelle beef found its way to the forums and has been a hot topic since. Suffice it to say we doubt Marquis will be calling the clock on anyone over the next two days.

Marquis enters the final table ranked eighth in chips with 10,210,000.

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