Profile

Biography

Daniel Colman burst onto the poker scene in 2014 with one of the best years in poker history winning an incredible $22,389,481.

After 2017, Colman stepped away from poker publicly. His last cash, which came of December of that year, brought his lifetime tournament earnings to $28,925,058 (as of October 2022) according to the Hendon Mob.

Background

Born July 11, 1990, Colman hails from Holden, Massachusetts. He began playing online poker under the names "mrGR33N13" and "riyyc225" and has had tremendous success on the virtual felt, primarily at the high-limit hyper-turbo sit-and-gos.

Colman notched his first live tournament cash a fourth-place finish in the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) $5,000 Verona Main Event for $23,275 back in 2008, and through 2013 put up modest results including $229,344 in tournament winnings in 2011 and $194,000 in 2013.

Breaking Out in 2014

Prior to 2014, Colman had $504,699 in lifetime tournament earnings. In April of that year, he won the European Poker Tour (EPT) $100,000 Super High Roller for $2,127,398, the first of what would be four seven-figure cashes that year.

At that years WSOP, he finished third in Event #40: $10,000 Heads-Up Championship for $111,942 and 10 days later won the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop for a career-high $15,306,668.

He then took third in an ARIA $100,000 Super High Roller for $796,821, finished runner-up to Olivier Busquet in the EPT Barcelona 50,000 Super High Roller for $1,118,479, and two weeks later won the high-profile Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event for just shy of $1.5 million, besting a bevy of top pros at the final table including Joe Kuether, Shawn Cunix, John Dolan, and the eventual runner-up Mike Leah.

Colman's run of a lifetime would continue when he would win the WPT Alpha8 London event for his sixth score of greater than $750,000 in 2014.

As a result of his excellent year, Colman was named Player of the Year by BLUFF Magazine, Card Player Magazine, and ALL IN Magazine. He was also named the 2014 Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year.

Here's a look as some of the impressive results Colman posted in 2014:

Date	Tournament	Finish	Prize
April 24	EPT Grand Fnal Monte Carlo Super High Roller	1st	$2,127,398
June 19	WSOP $10,000 NLHE Heads-Up	3rd	$111,942
June 29	WSOP $1,000,000 The Big One for One Drop	1st	$15,306,668
July 10	Aria $100,000 Super High Roller	3rd	$796,821
Aug. 18	EPT Barcelona Super High Roller	2nd	$1,118,479
Aug. 28	Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $5,300 Main Event	1st	$1,446,710
Oct. 6	WPT Alpha 8 London	1st	$957,396
Nov. 1	APPT 2014 Asia Championship of Poker Super High Roller	7th	$373,932

World Series of Poker

As mentioned above, Colman became a WSOP bracelet winner in 2014 when he topped a 42-entry field to win the second-ever $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop for $15,306,668. He did so by defeating Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu in heads-up play.

Colman notoriously shied away from the spotlight after his win and had to be cajoled into taking a lackluster winners photo.

Dan Colmans Top 5 WSOP Results

Year	Event	Place	Prize
2014	$1,000,000 Big One for One Drop	1st	$15,306,668
2015	$111,111 High Roller for One Drop	3rd	$1,544,121
2016	$10,000 Main Event	31st	$216,211
2017	$111,111 High Roller for One Drop	16th	$187,772
2014	$10,000 Heads-Up Championship	3rd	$111,942

Controversies

In 2014, Colman finished runner-up to Olivier Busquet in the EPT Barcelona Super High Roller for more than $1 million. He used his final table appearance as an opportunity to make a political statement, as he would don a t-shirt that said "Free Palestine" while giving Busquet a t-shirt of his own to wear that said "Save Gaza." As a result, PokerStars later changed their rules banning shirts that made political statements.

Colman wouldn't end the year quietly, however, as he took to the forums. This time his target was Phil Hellmuth and Colman had this to say about the all-time leader in WSOP bracelets:

"It's embarrassing that we have to share our profession with whores like this guy," Colman wrote. "After I [won] One Drop, he immediately [came] on stage to shake my hand in front of a camera and congratulate me. As if he's the gatekeeper to the poker world and welcoming me inside.

"It is truly pathetic that a 40-year-old would behave the way he does at the table, not to mention how spineless he is, just willing to take any sponsorship regardless of the company's integrity. 'Hey, anything for a payday!' Really makes me sad to think there's a chance some people may look up to this charlatan. People of his attitude and character are a cancer to this world."

Colman would later issue a clarification on his comments by stating "I understand I come off poorly attacking Phil [Hellmuth] in the way I did. Let's agree that I was harsh and over the top and didn't do myself any favors. Im happy to have a dive taken in my almighty Two Plus Two street cred as long as we can focus some parts of the discussion on [Hellmuth's] overall behavior and his representing of [Ultimate Bet]."

After winning the Big One for One Drop, Colman also caused a bit of a controversy when he shunned media interviews and barely agreed to a winner photo. He later posted on 2+2 that I really dont owe anyone an explanation but Ill give one.

He proceeded to explain, It bothers me that people care so much about pokers well-being. As poker is a game that has such a net negative effect on the people playing it. Both financially and emotionally.

Colmans personal views didnt sit well with a large segment of the poker community, though there were those who respected it such as Negreanu, who even addressed the controvery in a post of his own.

Did You Know?

• In 2013, Colman won $1 million in a calendar year playing online hyper-turbo tournaments, becoming the first player in history to do so. Whats more, he did it in just nine months!
• Colman was just 23 years old when he won the $1 Million Big One for One Drop in 2014.
• Prior to winning the Big One for One Drop, Colman had just $159,010 in career WSOP earnings.
• In 2017, Colman won a Triton Poker title by taking down the 6-Max event in Manila for $473,408.
• Colman is a World Poker Tour (WPT) champ having won the 2014 WPT Alpha8 London for $959,622.

PokerNews Covered Events

Event	Place	Prize
2017 Triton Super High Roller Series ManilaHK $250,000 6-Max Event	1st	3,641,600 HKD
2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas$5,000 Main Event	59th	$11,560
2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas$50,000 Single-Day High Roller	4th	$341,240
2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas$100,000 Super High Roller	3rd	$759,660
2014 PokerStars.com EPT Season 11 Barcelona50,000 Super High Roller	2nd	€843,066
2014 World Series of PokerEvent #57: The $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop	1st	$15,306,668
2014 World Seriesof PokerEvent #49: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em	19th	$22,309
2014 World Series of PokerEvent #40: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship	3rd	$111,942
2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final100,000 Super High Roller	1st	€1,539,300
2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure$25,000 High Roller	27th	$59,300
2012 World Series of PokerEvent 56: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em	179th	$3,324
2012 World Series of PokerEvent 43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em	95th	$4,674
2012 World Series of PokerEvent 14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout	113th	$5,295
2011 PokerStars Caribbean AdventureNAPT Bounty Shootout	19th	$10,000
World Series of Poker Europe 2010Event #1: 2,650 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em	14th	£7,350