In the early months of 2011, the Epic Poker League formally launched with a set of criteria in determining the players who are qualified to accept its prestigious membership card. The Main Event of the competition that offers $20,000 was made available to players who have remarkable performance in live competitions all over the world. Nevertheless, the criteria were no longer applicable to Doyle Brunson’s case for he was officially honored by the institution with its first lifetime membership card, making him the first player to be qualified as an eligible player to every competition the League holds regardless of his accomplishment records.

To date, Brunson, who is also famously referred to as the “Godfather of Poker,” has won more than $6 million live tournament winnings, 10 bracelets from the World Series of Poker, and a title from the World Poker Tour. Furthermore, he is famous for having the toughest high-stakes player, who has authored the famous guide to playing Texas Hold’em: Super System.

Nevertheless, Brunson was not able to attend the $20,000 Main Event of Epic Poker League despite earning a two-player card based on the set of criteria. While he may be utmost gracious about the lifetime membership award, he maintains that he will not be playing more tournaments in the future.

In a statement for the Associated Press, he said, “As I’m getting older, these tournaments are getting too hard to come through. It’s probably not worth it to me anymore to really go on the tournament grind, so I don’t plan on playing a whole lot of tournaments the rest of my life. I much prefer to play cash games.”

Source: Epic Poker