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We don't quite know what happened with Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov at the 2024 NHL Skills Competition, but the end result was a performance so lackadaisical that it almost shot the moon to become entertaining again.
The Skills Competition was held Friday and featured a who's who of the NHL's most dynamic players, with the whole group competing for a $1 million prize. As the NHL's current leader in assists and points, Kucherov was a natural pick to take part.
Unfortunately, Kucherov either decided the competition wasn't worth his effort or ... something else was going on, because what happened simply doesn't seem conceivable from a player of his skill. He not only finished last, he finished emphatically last, posting only 0.5 points. No other player had fewer than four points.
Kucherov came in last in every challenge that actually involved skating, and still only came in seventh out of 10 in accuracy shooting and fifth in the one-time competition.
The first indication he was in trouble was the passing challenge, when he skated so leisurely the Toronto crowd started booing and a broadcaster said "This is not a good look, quite frankly."
The stick-handling competition was even more awe-inspiring. Kucherov completed the course in a whopping 44.178 seconds, six seconds longer than the next-slowest.
For reference, here's what the fastest competitor, Connor McDavid, looked like at 25.755 seconds. McDavid would go on to win the whole thing a few challenges later.
Heck, Elias Pettersson, who fell, finished nearly 15 seconds ahead of Kucherov.The jokes from fans were just too easy.
Kucherov isn't the first player to report for duty at an All-Star event and give not even half effort, but this was an effort (or lack thereof) that was particularly brazen. Now we wait and see how much he's feeling the actual game on Saturday.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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