Photo Finish
I first met Marvin Rettenmaier at the Aussie Millions in early 2012. He’d written on Facebook how disappointed he was with his finish in the 2011 BLUFF Player of the Year race (he came in seventh) and was lamenting the fact that we had significantly changed the scoring system for 2011.
Fast forward nine months to the WSOP Europe in Cannes. Marvin and I talked again, at length, for a feature interview that was to be the cover story for our November issue. At the time, he was second in our POY race and Dan Smith had a comfortable lead. Only a win in a major event would boost Rettenmaier to the top spot. We wanted to make sure we recognized Rettenmaier’s amazing year and also give readers a chance to get to know the likable German a little bit better.
There was no way he could pass Smith, right?
Cue the drama. Marvin went and won an EPT High Roller event to pass Smith and capture the title. It was the last event possible for Rettenmaier to score enough points.
Marvin told me last January, then reminded me again in September, that he was going to win Player of the Year even if it meant traveling all over the world to do it. He was hungry for it. He couldn’t explain why but he knew that finishing second would sit with him for the rest of his life.
He won’t need to worry about that any longer. Marvin’s POY win earns him his second BLUFF solo cover inside of four months — a record that will likely never be broken — and the last laugh. I haven’t checked his Facebook status lately but I’m willing to bet that Marvin has no issues with the scoring system now.
Lance Bradley
Editor in Chief
