Sorel Mizzi is a Canadian professional poker player who made his first live-event cash in 2006. In the first 5 years of his career, Sorel cashed 64 times, made 31 final tables, won 8 events, cashed at the WSOP 18 times, and earned close to $4.2 million.
Sorel was born on April 16, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the youngest of 3 boys. While growing up, he loved to play games, and would wager on everything from Scrabble to Wheel of Fortune. While attending A. Y. Jackson Secondary School, Sorel started playing poker in home games with friends, and while in college, started playing poker online. Playing as \\\”Imper1um\\\” on Full Tilt Poker, it wasn’t long before he was making deep runs in big online tournaments, including booking wins in FTOPS events. On PokerStars where he plays as “Zangbezan24,” he had several big scores, including winning a $750,000 Guaranteed for $149,737, and a SCOOP event for $118,500.
Sorel was ready to play live, but since he wasn’t 21 yet, he started playing events in places like Aruba and Barcelona where he was of legal gambling age. In 2006, he made his first live-event cash when finished 10th in the $5,000 NLHE Ultimate Bet Aruba Classic event to earn $29,800. His only other cash that year was at the Ongame Network Poker Classic Barcelona, where he took 11th in the $5,000 NLHE to earn $21,243.
In 2007, Sorel cashed 7 times, which included making the money at the WSOP 3 times. At the Vienna Spring Poker Festival, he cashed twice, winning the €200 NLHE for €12,110. His first big cash of the year was at the Paddy Power Irish Open, where he finished 3rd in the €3,300 NLHE for €210,000. For his next big cash, he was at the Five Star World Poker Classic, where he took 15th in the $25,000 WPT NLHE Championship to collect $154,705.
Sorel made the money for the first time at the WSOP in 2007 when he cashed 3 times. He finished 17th for $18,745 in $1,000 NLHE, cashed for $15,557 in the $1,500 NLHE, and earned $51,398 in the Main Event.
The first of Sorel’s 12 cashes in 2008 was at the Irish Open where he cashed in the Main Event. After cashing at the EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo, the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Palace, and the WSOP, he finished runner-up in the £5,000 PLO at the WSOP Europe London to earn £132,000. He went on to cash at the European Poker Championships, the WPT Main Event at the North American Poker Championship, and the Master Classics of Poker. To end his year, he made his biggest cash at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, where he cashed 3 times, and won the $3,000 NLHE to collect $143,050. This was also the year that Sorel turned down a deal from Full Tilt, and signed a deal as a sponsored player with Betfair poker.
In 2009, Sorel cashed 8 times, starting with a pair of cashes at the Aussie Millions, where he finished 5th for A$37,895 in the A$1,000 NLHE, and took 16th in the A$10,000 NLHE to earn A$65,000. At the WSOP, Sorel had an amazing run, making the money 5 times, cashing in the Main Event, and just missing earning his first bracelet when he finished runner-up in the $5,000 PLO to earn $253,048. For his next and last cash of the year, he made a final table at the EC Poker Tour, Vittoriosa.
The first pair of Sorel’s 26 cashes in 2010 was at the PCA where he finished 5th for $17,600 in the $5,000 Heads-up event, and took 13th in the $5,000 NLHE for $16,295. The same month, he was at the Aussie Millions Championship when he came in 3rd for A$715,000 in the A$10,000 NLHE Main Event, starting his streak of 7 final tables in a row.
At the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic he cashed twice, finishing runner-up for $20,530 in the $545 NLHE, and taking 6th in the $1,065 NLHE to earn $9,210. In March, he started his streak of 3 wins in a row. At the Wynn Classic, he cashed twice, winning the $2,000 NLHE for $85,147. His next pair of wins was at the EPT Snowfest where he won the €1,000 NLHE for €70,450, and won the €500 NLHE to earn €34,500.
After cashing at the NAPT Mohegan Sun, Sorel won the $7,200 NLHE East Coast Championship at the Borgata Spring Poker Open to earn $170,313. In Europe, he made a pair of final tables when he took 6th for €143,400 in the NLHE High Roller event at the EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo, and earned €120,000 for his runner-up finish in the €20,000 NLHE High Roller event at the WPT Rendez-Vous à Paris. In recognition of his tournament accomplishments in 2010, Sorel was awarded the Bluff Player of the Year Award. He also found a new sponsor when he was signed as a Titan Poker Team Pro.
At the 2010 WSOP, Sorel cashed 3 times, which included a 6th place finish for $22,235 in the $1,500 Stud, a 25th place finish for $15,062 in the $2,500 NLHE, and a cash in the Heads-up Championship. He then earned €74,097 at the EPT Tallinn in the High Roller Event, cashed at the Partouche Poker Tour Cannes, took 5th for £47,350 in the High Roller Turbo at the EPT London, finished 7th for $88,802 in the $9,700 NLHE Championship at the World Poker Finals Mashantucket, and cashed at the Caesars Palace Classic. To finish the year, Sorel cashed twice at the L.A. Poker Classic where he won the $1,585 NLHE Bounty for $10,405, cashed twice at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic where he took 9th for $59,123 in the WPT Main Event, and cashed at the EPT Prague.
In January 2011, Sorel made another deep run in the $10,000 NLHE Championship event at Aussie Millions, finishing 9th to earn A$130,000. At the WSOP, he cashed 5 times which included making the money in the Stud Championship, the Main Event, and cashing for $15,089 in the $1,500 NLHE.
To wrap up 2011, Sorel won the WPT Rendez-Vous à Paris High Roller Event for €234,495, made his first Epic Poker League cash when he finished 9th in the Mix-Max Main Event for $50,920, and finished 3rd in the $25,000 Mixed Game Championships at the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker event in London for $45,000.
To make it easier to play live events and play online, Sorel splits his time between Las Vegas and Toronto. He is the leader of Team Titan Poker where he plays as “Imper1um”, and represents the online poker site at major live events all over the world. In his spare time, Sorel enjoys tennis, listening to music, and hanging out with his friends.
