The year 2020 has been terrible for both poker as well as players. It has been a year in which only sadness has been found as not only have we seen several prestigious live poker festivals being cancelled or moved online due to the Covid-19, we have lost several popular poker players including the poker legend and celebrated commentator Mike Sexton who died early this month at the age of 72 after a battle with prostate cancer. In the early hours of Sunday morning, Poker Night in America developer Todd Anderson broke the sad news of Darvin Moon passing away at the age of 56 years.
A self-employed logger and amateur poker player, Moon, who hailed from Oakland, Maryland, passed away due to complications from surgery on September 19, according to Todd Anderson.
Although not a professional poker player, Moon almost won the world’s biggest and most prestigious annual live poker tournament. In 2009, the self-taught poker player won his way into the $10K buy-in WSOP main event through a $130 buy-in satellite and managed to navigate his way through a tough field of 6,494 runners to eventually enter the coveted final table as the chip leader.
Moon outlasted several big name players at the final table, including 10-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey and Jeff Shulman to finally enter the heads-up against Joe Cada. Moon ultimately finished runner-up for a career best $5,182,601, while Cada shipped the title to become the youngest ever winner of the Main Event at the age of 21. He walked away with a whopping $8,546,435 in top prize.
In total, Moon raked 10 cashes, totaling $5,210,576 in earnings. Moon purchased some investment properties and pickup trucks for his family with his poker winnings. He also purchased the farm where he grew up. He is survived by his wife Wendy and will always be remembered for his final duel of a historical WSOP that will never be forgotten. The WSOP paid a moving tribute to the player.
We would like to end it by saying, you were the ‘ultimate recreational player’ and your legacy in the game of poker will live on as long as people enjoy playing and watching the game. Rest in peace.