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It is very possible we have seen the end of an era in tournament poker.

Before the beginning of the 2011 WSOP $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship, Doyle Brunson stated the following on Twitter:

If this is the end of Doyle's tournament career, we will all miss Doyle's classic smile.

TexDolly @PokerLawyer Thanks, you might be watching my last tournament. If I don’t play well (up to my standards), I may retire from tournament poker.

Doyle made it to Day 2 of the event, but failed to make Day 3.

After such a poor showing, Doyle tweeted that he will not be playing the 2011 WSOP Main Event due to losing his passion after Black Friday.

There has been speculation for quite a while as to whether Doyle was nearing retirement. He has not been traveling around nearly as often as in the past, nor has he been playing in live games as often.

Is it his age? Well, considering the fact his is 77 years old, it is entirely possible that age has caught up with him.

Doyle has been proving for years that while he may have lost a step, he was still capable of going deep more often than one of his age should.

However, as all the great ones know, there comes a time where age or deteriorating skills force someone to retire or take a step back.

I am not saying that Doyle should quit poker altogether. I personally have played with men in their 90s.

However, the days of Doyle being a regular fixture in poker tournaments appears to be over.

Does this mean he will only play cash games from this point on? Possibly.

Will he play poker tournaments in the future? I have no doubt he will. However, they will be few and far between is my estimation.

While in a way it is sad to see Doyle’s time come to an end, at the same time I applaud him for recognizing that the time may be here.

If this is the end of his tournament career, he will finish tied for second all-time in WSOP bracelets with 10 and he will finish with over $6 million in career earnings. He also has one WPT title to his credit.

Is this really the end? Time will tell.

If it is, I feel privileged to have gotten to meet him in the past and cover him since 2008.

For daily recaps of all the action at the 2011 World Series of Poker, check our WSOP news section.