Paul Wasicka
There aren't many tournament poker players who have made their name the way Paul Wasicka has. He came onto the scene with a fifteenth-place finish in 2006's WPT world championship, earning himself over $145,000 and serving notice to the poker world.
Just three months after that, Paul Wasicka had a runner-up finish in the WSOP Main Event, instantly becoming a poker celebrity. He won six million dollars for his second-place finish, but he had a competitive streak and he wanted to move on to bigger and better things.
In just five days Paul Wasicka, who goes by the nickname "Kwickfish", earned a fourth-place finish at the WPT Los Angeles Poker Classic for over $450,000. He won over half a million dollars at the NBC National Heads Up Championship, and winning there gave him more esteem and exposure in the poker world.
What his contemporaries may not know is that Paul "Kwickfish" Wasicka was already very successful as an online poker player. His switch to tournament play was a natural progression, and some have called Wasicka the most competitive upstart player in recent memory. His competitive streak and his multimillion-dollar tournament winnings have made Kwickfish one of poker's greatest stars.