Huckleberry Seed Becomes the 59th Inductee to the Poker Hall of Fame

The votes are in and joining the prestigious Poker Hall of Fame (PHoF) in 2020 is 1996 WSOP Main Event champion Huckleberry Seed (cover image)!

1996 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Huckleberry “Huck” Seed @HuckleberrySeed is the 2020 inductee to the Poker Hall of Fame !
More details : https://t.co/NDygkrqv4I pic.twitter.com/BOjrhzGet8

— WSOP (@WSOP) December 30, 2020

Besides shipping the WSOP Main Event in 1996, Seed has won the coveted gold bracelet on three other occasions, including Event #3: $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha (1994) for $167,000, Event #17: $1,500 Limit Razz (2000) for $77,400 and Event #27: $5,000 Limit Razz (2003) for $71,500. The 51-year-old former college basketball star presently has $7.64 Million in live tournament winnings and is ranked #11 on Hendon Mob’s All-Time Money List.

Sharing his excitement on entering the PHoF, Seed said, “Hearing the news that I am being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame this year brought back memories of my early poker days, walking into the Binion’s Horseshoe, about to start a poker session, admiring all the Poker Hall of Famers on the wall. It feels good to be included with all the poker legends that I once idolized and competed against over the years. Thank you everyone.”

While Seed wasn’t exactly a runaway favourite, the announcement has received high praise from the poker community, including GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu who openly lobbied for the PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg.

Was happy to see @HuckleberrySeed finally get the call for the Poker Hall of Fame, his induction was long overdue.

He was a hero of mine growing up in Vegas trying to make it. We used to go for drinks then play $200-$400 Stud 8 heads up for hours.

He won.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) December 30, 2020

Congrats to @HuckleberrySeed , well deserved! https://t.co/YOcfLoNx4G

— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel) December 30, 2020

Congrats Huck Seed!! Well deserved my friend!!

Huck Seed Inducted into Poker Hall of Fame | PokerNews https://t.co/OJUAbrlkf6

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) December 31, 2020

Big Congrats to my Buddy @HuckleberrySeed for being voted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

— Todd Brunson (@ToddBrunson) December 30, 2020

Congratulations to the OG @HuckleberrySeed on his 2020 induction to the Poker Hall of Fame. It has been a long time coming for you, well deserved! pic.twitter.com/aHLWrHDQ7n

— Matt Savage (@SavagePoker) December 30, 2020

Huck Seed is such an amazingly worthy new member of the Poker Hall of Fame. His accomplishments are more than “Hall-worthy” and the stories of him off the felt would have lasted forever even if he were not voted in. I am very happy for him.

— Lon McEachern (@lonmceachern) December 31, 2020

This year’s voters were limited to the 30 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame. Each member was allotted 10 points to spread among the 10 candidates. In total, there were 300 points available, and the individual who scored most points won.

Here is how the votes were eventually distributed:

2020 Poker Hall of Fame Votes

Though the WSOP has inducted two members each year, this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic derailing most of the major live poker tournaments, the number of inductees was reduced to one. So, the competition was even tougher this year, with some of the most illustrious names of the industry contending for the honor.

Seed becomes the 59th individual inducted into the PHoF and follows in the footsteps of Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim, who comprised the class of 2019.