Josh Arieh criticized Shaun Deeb for his strategy at the WSOP Main Event

Seven-time World Series bracelet winner Josh Arieh called Shaun Deeb an idiot over his possible intentional bust-out from the WSOP Main Event. Last year, Deeb said that for the sake of Player of the Year race points, he wanted to either bag a big stack or bust the Main Event quickly and keep playing in other tournaments.

Deeb stated: "I'll get to 500,000 chips or bust." Commentator Jeff Platt asked Arieh about his attitude toward such a strategy during the Main Event broadcast.
"I treat the Main Event as the greatest tournament on earth, and Deeb is a complete idiot if he even entertains the thought of dumping it. He literally doesn't care.

He wants to bust the Main Event — it's just... There's no other tournament like this. It's the tournament everyone has always wanted to win and always will want to. And Shaun spends his day off sitting at some $600 tournament.

That's not my approach; for me, the Main Event is priority number one. As soon as it's over, I'll sit down and see what's left on the schedule. After that, I'll decide whether to keep playing now or wait for the Bahamas and fire there," Arieh said.

Shaun Deeb finished flight 2d in 105th place in the chip count, bagging 368,500 chips (184 BB). In the break between Day 1d and Day 2d of the Main, the nine-time WSOP champion played the $600 Ultra Stack NLH tournament but failed to make Day 2. Josh Arieh finished flight 2abc of the Main Event with 118,000 chips (147 BB).