Two-Time November Niner Mark Newhouse looking for Redemption

Every year there are plenty of great stories to be found on the WSOP Main Event final table. And the 2014 November Nine is no exception, especially when you consider that several different nationalities are looking to win the first ME title for their country. But if there's one story that overshadows them all, it is definitely Mark Newhouse.

Last summer Newhouse ran through a field of 6,352 players to reach the 2013 Main Event final table with 7,350,000 chips, ranking him eighth to start. Given his chip disadvantage, he wasn't exactly a favorite to win the tournament. However, Newhouse also didn't appreciate what ultimately happened - a ninth-place finish and $733,224 payout.

Mark Newhouse refuses to lose

"I absolutely refuse to finish 9th this year," he PokerListings. "That was very devastating, even though I didn't think it would be, going in, it ended up being. (I) Didn't prepare myself for it, so maybe try to prepare myself better."

Now Newhouse is back and he's already set some history. The North Carolina native became the first poker player to make the November Nine twice. He's also the first player since Dan Harrington in 2003 and '04 to make back-to-back Main Event final tables. Of course, when you consider the increased field sizes of today's ME tournaments, Newhouse has had the toughest road out of anybody in regard to this accomplishment.

Is Newhouse the WSOP 2014 favorite?

Looking at the November Nine this year, both in terms of chip counts and previous results, nobody immediately jumps out as a clear-cut favorite. But Newhouse definitely has one of, if not THE, best chances to win the 2014 WSOP Main Event.

First off, he ranks third with 26,000,000 chips, which isn't an insane amount behind the leader, Jorryt van Hoof and his 38,375,000 chips. And the one thing that Newhouse has that the other eight players don't even come close to having is experience in this type of high-pressure setting. Just one year removed from his first November Nine appearance, Newhouse contends that he's more relaxed this time around.

Of course with poker, anything is possible and Newhouse could be the first one headed to the rail again. But armed with a nice chip stack and experience, the more likely scenario is that he'll be one of the strong contenders for the $10 million top payout.