A Name From the Past

[user66118]

That guy at Table 6. He looks awfully familiar. Where the heck do we know him from?

Oh, right! That's Noel Furlong! Against all odds, we've spotted the 1999 WSOP World Champion in our field. J.J. "Noel" Furlong is from Dublin, Ireland, and he cashed three times in that 1999 WSOP, including a $1,000,000 score for taking home the big prize, the Main Event bracelet. That final table included Erik Seidel and Huck Seed, but Furlong hasn't become quite the household name those guys have. Alan Goehring, Chris Bigler, and fellow Irishman Padraig Parkinson were also a part of that nine-handed match. Furlong also finished in 6th in the 1989 Main Event, which Phil Hellmuth went on to win for his first (of eleven) gold bracelets.

As far as we're aware, Furlong has not played the WSOP since the year after his last-millennium victory. Still, it took until 2005 for Andy Black to pass him as Ireland's all-time leading tournament earner. He's mostly stuck around his home country since then, picking up a few small wins and a couple five-figure cashes. He's back in the big time now, though, playing for a second Main Event bracelet, which we don't have to tell you, would put him in some pretty elite company.

Furlong is still around his starting stack with about 32,000 right now.

Tags: Noel Furlong