Definition of runner-up
The term runner-up is mostly used in poker tournaments. The player who wins the tournament is the champion and the player who finishes second is the runner-up. Finishing runner-up is a situation that can cause a lot of frustration for poker players. On the one hand, the runner-up finishes in 2nd place in a tournament for a lot of money, so that's good, but on the other hand, finishing runner-up feels like you came so close to winning.
Why is it frustrating to finish runner-up?
Let's take the example of the 2019 World Series of Poker main event. In this event, the majority of the money was concentrated at the final table. The majority of the money awarded to the tournament's prize winners was awarded at the final table. The runner-up in this event was Dario Sammartino who won US$6 million. The winner, Hossein Ensa, took home US$10 million - almost double! The gap between first and second place in terms of poker money is big. Of course, you have to put it into perspective and say that it is a good result to win 6 million dollars in a poker tournament, but when you are so close to the goal...
