Top 5 to Watch at 2008 WSOP

Last year, it was James "mig.com" Mackey and Dan "rekrul" Schreiber who came from nowhere (read: the interweb) to make dominating bracelet-winning performances.

Who are the best bets to do the same this year?

Here's your hipster poker fan's guide to the Top 5 players who will likely leave this year's World Series of Poker with a bracelet or two jingling on their wrist.

1) Tom Dwan (pictured) - Dwan, alias durrrr online, has been crushing the highest stakes online for the past few years. Newly 21, and already a multimillionaire, this will be his first WSOP.

And if he can bring himself to give up all the profit he could potentially make in Bobby's Room and focus on these low-stakes donkaments, you can bet he will annihilate the competition - much like he's done in his first-ever WPT Championship.

Eric Liu.

2) Eric Liu - Known as p3achy_keen online before signing on as a red name Full Tilt pro, Liu has been crushing high-stakes games for a while now.

There's no denying his poker talent, and a recent 16th-place finish in the EPT Season 4 Grand Final says he's interested in taking his tournament game to the next level. Look for him to obliterate anyone who stands in his path.

Chad Batista.

3) Chad Batista - The infamous Lilholdem954 on PokerStars, jse81 on Full Tilt and M8kingMoves on Party Poker has over $2 million in winnings in online tournaments alone.

You can also count on him rocking a diamond grill and a crooked hat to the back as well as playing a ton of events and likely making a fair bit of scrillah in the process. This isn't Batista's first WSOP (he had a final table and a $129,064 cash in Event 52, No-Limit Hold'em w/ rebuys last year), but it will likely be his biggest.

Andrew Robl.

4) Andrew Robl - Good2cu online, Robl is another in the "22 and rich as an astronaut" crowd. This ShipitHolla balla has been killing the high-stakes online games.

His recent foray into live tournaments has led to immediate successes, including a very-late-in-the-game chip lead at the L.A. Poker Classic, and you can expect him to put some serious time in at the tables this WSOP.

Isaac Baron.

If the cards cooperate you should expect to see him at some final tables.

5) Isaac Baron - Known under the pseudonym "westmenloAA" online, Baron is fresh off a 2007 Online Player of the Year award and 11th- and fourth-place finishes in EPT Season 4 events in April.

He's a serious multi-table carnivore with over $1.5 million in winnings and you can absolutely guarantee that his online success will continue to carry over to the live poker world.

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