The third week of bracelet hunts at the 53rd Annual World Series of Poker added another big batch of first time winners and a few multi champions. Among them were Hong Kong player Chan Lok Ming who captured his first bracelet on his first ever visit, Brian Hastings for his sixth career gold, Robert Cowen, Steven Albini and Justin Pechie with their second career win on the world stage. The series has been underway since May 31 at its new home in Ballys and Paris Las Vegas Casino and will run through July 20. Over US$ 78.5 Million has been paid across 36 bracelet events. To date, a total of 52 coveted golds out of the 88 advertised are still up for grabs. Check out the latest highlights.
Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Hayley Hochstetler
Festival update
Event 1 – 36 prize pool: US$ 78,560,003
Entries: 57,956
Career 6th bracelet: Brian Hastings
Career 5th bracelet: Adam Friedman
Career 4th bracelet: David Peters, Scott Seiver, Brad Ruben, Jeremy Ausmus
Career 3rd bracelet: Norbert Szecsi
Career 2nd bracelet: Manig Loeser, Daniel Zack, Robert Cowen, Steven Albini, Justin Pechie
Most final tables: Yuval Bronshtein (3), David Peters (3)
Online Event 1 – 3: US$ 2,646,640
Online entries: 3,072
Event 26: Limit Hold’em Championship – JONATHAN COHEN – US$ 245,678
Jonathan Cohen – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Alec Rome
The US$ 10K Limit Hold’em Championship needed another day to complete with heads up battle between Jonathan Cohen and Kyle Dilschneider running into the wee hours of the night. When the chase continued, it clocked in another five hours before Cohen finally nailed it shut. The win was a dream come true for Cohen who came close to the gold twice in the past with a runner up finish at the 2012 $1,500 Shootout No Limit Hold’em and 7th at the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em in 2014.
To lock up the win, Cohen first had to get back on track after receiving a one round penalty for vaping at the table. Luckily, his lucky charm was sitting on his lap, Riley – his eight year old service dog, to provide plenty of coolness and inspiration. One of Cohen’s biggest takedowns was the elimination of recent bracelet champion Chad Eveslage in 6th place with a stunning quads on the board for the ace to play and dust pocket Sevens.
At three-handed, Cohen also knocked out bracelet champion Matthew Schreiber who was on his second final table with a 5th place finish at the Mixed Triple Draw Lowball. The grueling heads up match against Kyle Dilschneider followed with both players taking turns up top. After a couple of hours and no winner in sight, the players slept it off and resumed the next day. Despite the break, it was still a marathon to the title. It ran for another five hours before Cohen put a lid on it. For Cohen’s accomplishment, he pocketed a career high win of US$ 245,678. Same as well for runner up Dilschneider whose impressive run earned him his first ever series six figure payout.
Buy in: US$ 10,000
Entries: 92
Prize pool: US$ 857,900
ITM: 14 players
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Jonathan Cohen
USA
245,678
2nd
Kyle Dilschneider
USA
151,842
3rd
Matthew Schreiber
USA
107,978
4th
Matthew Gonzales
USA
78,435
5th
Joseph Couden
USA
58,226
6th
Chad Eveslage
USA
44,194
7th
Matthew Woodward
USA
34,314
8th
Amir Shayesteh
USA
27,269
9th
David Litt
USA
22,192
Event 27: Shootout No Limit Hold’em – MICHAEL SIMHAI – US$ 240,480
Michael Simhai – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Alec Rome
Considerably one of the most challenging formats is the Shootout No Limit Hold’em where players have to win their table to advance to the money round. 1,000 entered with 100 advancing to the money. Day 2 concluded with the field down another ten percent. The final table of ten was populated with WSOP circuit ring winners and one bracelet holder in Kevin Song. When Song was denied in 9th place, a first time winner was ensured. The last ring winner, Ravi Raghavan, was stopped in 4th place.
Among the top three remaining, it was Michael Simhai who had the least amount of WSOP experience with only two prior cashes recorded. Despite the short resume, Simhai stole the crown. He defeated David Dowdy at heads up to lock up his first gold bracelet and a career high six figure score of US$ 240,480. The final hand was quite a doozy with Simhai playing the board’s high two pair and his ace kicker. Dowdy’s pair of Sevens were canceled out to give him a seven high kicker. Simhai added this win to his impressive list of cashes mostly earned in Los Angeles ten years ago. He has over US$ 730K in live earnings.
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 1,000
Prize pool: US$ 1,335,000
ITM: 100
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Michael Simhai
USA
240,480
2nd
David Dowdy
USA
148,618
3rd
Anant Patel
USA
111,226
4th
Ravi Raghavan
USA
84,047
5th
Timothy McDermott
USA
64,129
6th
Roongsak Griffeth
USA
49,414
7th
Austin Peck
USA
38,455
8th
David Yonnotti
USA
30,227
9th
Kevin Song
USA
24,001
10th
Derek Sudell
USA
19,253
Event 28: High Roller Pot Limit Omaha – ROBERT COWEN – US$ 1,393,816
Robert Cowen – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Alec Rome
With the exception of the Main Event, up until this series, Robert Cowen was playing events with buy ins of up to $5K. Last year, his gold hunt came to fruition at the US$ 1,500 buy in 6-Handed Pot Limit Omaha. Returning this year minted with confidence, Cowen took on his biggest WSOP live tournament challenge, the US$ 50K buy in High Roller Pot Limit Omaha where he went up against some of the world’s elite players.
After three days of competition, big guns Daniel Negreanu, Josh Arieh, Phil Ivey, Stephen Chidwick, and Erik Seidel were nowhere in the final lineup. Neither was top PLO pro from Finland, Joni Jouhkimainen, who fell short in 10th. Among the players that reached the final table were bracelet winners Scott Seiver (8th), Jason Mercier (6th), Ben Lamb (3rd) who won the $10 PLO Championship in 2011, and Dash Dudley who has two PLO bracelets both from 2019. In the end, the title could have gone either way with Dudley clawing from behind to catch Cowen however, a runner runner flush was still not enough to defeat Cowen’s straight turned runner runner full house. Cowen seized his second WSOP bracelet and a career high takedown of seven figures worth US$ 1,393,816. This boosted his total live earnings to over US$ 2.8 million.
Buy in: US$ 50,000
Entries: 106
Prize pool: US$ 5,074,750
ITM: 16 places
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Robert Cowen
UK
1,393,816
2nd
Dash Dudley
USA
862,442
3rd
Ben Lamb
USA
622,861
4th
Veselin Karakitukov
Bulgaria
458,016
5th
Jared Bleznick
USA
342,626
6th
Jason Mercier
USA
260,819
7th
Aaron Katz
USA
202,103
8th
Scott Seiver
USA
159,464
9th
Aaron Mermelstein
USA
128,159
Event 29: No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw – MAXX COLEMAN – US$ 127,809
Maxx Coleman – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Seth Haussler
Golden dream finally fulfilled for Maxx Coleman but it was under the unlikeliest of events. Coleman has cashed multiple times at No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha, but his first bracelet was secured at the $1,500 buy in No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. Impressively, this was also his first cash under this variant. On the path to victory, Coleman eliminated 2x bracelet champion Yuri Dzivielevski into 4th place, and after Thomas Newton halted 8x ring winner Roland Israelashvili in 3rd place, it was a tug of war for the gold. Once Coleman built a substantial lead against Newton, he held on to win it to pocket the US$ 127,809 top prize.
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 437
Prize pool: US$ 583,395
ITM: 66 players
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Maxx Coleman
USA
127,809
2nd
Thomas Newton
USA
78,997
3rd
Roland Israelashvili
USA
53,828
4th
Yuri Dzivielevski
Brazil
37,379
5th
Kenneth Po
USA
26,464
6th
Tomas Szwarcberg
Mexico
19,108
7th
Max Kruse
Germany
14,078
Event 30: Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed – DANIEL WEINMAN – US$ 255,359
Daniel Weinman – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Spenser Sembrat
Early in the series, Daniel Weinman was stopped at victory’s doorstep, just missing his first bracelet at Seven Card Stud (Event 9). Ten days later, the story was the opposite. Weinman cruised to victory at the Pot Limit Omaha 8-handed to finally lock up that coveted gold. After railing Germandio Andoni in 4th place, Coleman sent the next two out – Eduardo Bernal Sanchez and Jamey Hendrickson – in quick succession to claim the win and the US$ 255,359 first prize. The champion climbed over US$ 1.55 Million in WSOP earnings across 68 cashes. Also running deep were Chino Reem, decorated series champion Stephen Song, and ring winner Ruslan Dykshteyn. Flying Asian flags, Yi Wei Peng reached the furthest of 18th place, China’s Yin Wu in 21st place, and Manan Bhandari in 32nd place.
Buy in: US$ 1,000
Entries: 1,891
Prize pool: US$ 1,682,990
ITM: 284
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Daniel Weinman
USA
255,359
2nd
Jamey Hendrikson
USA
157,819
3rd
Eduardo Bernal Sanchez
Colombia
116,751
4th
Germandio Andoni
USA
87,167
5th
Chino Reem
USA
65,685
6th
Ferenc Deak
Hungary
49,962
7th
Stephen Song
USA
38,363
8th
Ruslan Dykshteyn
USA
29,739
Event 31: Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship – BRIAN HASTINGS – US$ 292,146
Brian Hastings – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Rachel Kay Miller
American mixed game pro Brian Hastings became the eighth player to win a career sixth WSOP bracelet after his victory at the $10K buy in Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship. Hastings topped a star studded final table lineup that included multi bracelet champions Shaun Deeb (who was hunting his sixth as well), and 2x title-holders Marco Johnson and Yuval Bronshtein. This was Bronshtein’s third final table and Johnson’s second. Also seated in the round was Daniel Zack who recently won his career second bracelet and nearly strapped another here but fell short in 3rd place by one point against Eric Wasserson. Heads up Hastings was ahead of Wasserson and held it throughout to claim the title. For his win, Hastings added a new bling to his heavy treasure box collected from Pot Limit Omaha, H.O.R.S.E. 10-Game Mix, two Seven Card Studs, and Heads Up No Limit Hold’em Championship. In cash, Hastings pocketed US$ 292,146 for his victory to bring his WSOP total earnings over US$ 3.3 Million.
Buy in: US$ 10,000
Entries: 118
Prize pool: US$ 1,100,350
ITM: 18 places
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Brian Hastings
USA
292,146
2nd
Eric Wasserson
USA
180,559
3rd
Daniel Zack
USA
129,670
4th
Shaun Deeb
USA
94,606
5th
Marco Johnson
USA
70,139
6th
Jordan Siegel
USA
52,854
7th
Yuval Bronshtein
Israel
40,494
Event 32: H.O.R.S.E. – STEVEN ALBINI – US$ 196,089
Steven Albini – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Rachel Kay Miller
In 2018, Steven Albini captured his first ever WSOP bracelet at Seven Card Stud, which at the time was just his sixth ever WSOP cash. Three years later with two more cashes added to the list, Albini took a stab at this year’s $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event and shipped it for his career second bracelet. The achievement also earned him a series high score of US$ 196,089 to bump up his series earnings to US$ 369,136.
Tamon Nakamura – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Danny Maxwell
A confessed recreational player who rarely plays live tournaments, Albini’s impressive run witnessed him outlast a substantial field of 773 entries, which was slightly up from its 2019 run of 752 entries. Among the players that reached the final table was Japanese pro Tamon Nakamura finishing in 8th place. This was Nakamura’s deepest ever series run.
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 773
Prize pool: US$ 1,031,955
ITM: 116 places
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Steven Albini
USA
196,089
2nd
James Morgan
Canada
121,195
3rd
Jason Daly
USA
85,943
4th
Richard Bai
USA
61,862
5th
Kyle Loman
USA
45,209
6th
Peter Brownstein
USA
33,552
7th
Eddy Vataru
USA
25,294
8th
Tamon Nakamura
Japan
19,373
9th
David Williams
USA
15,080
Event 33: 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em – NINO ULLMANN – US$ 594,079
Nino Ullmann – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Rachel Kay Miller
Last year, German pro Nino Ullmann ran deep at the $3K buy in 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em event in 40th place out of 997 entries. With a larger field to navigate this year, and the same name event attracting 1,348 entries, Ullmann overcame the challenge to seize his maiden bracelet and a WSOP career high payout of US$ 594,079. The newly minted champion bested top players in the final table lineup such as David Peters who was on his third final table and WPT multi champion Darren Elias who was still in search of that elusive first gold. Ullmann defeated Timothy Flank at heads who also collected a personal high US$ 367,181 and just on his fifth series cash. Among the numerous decorated pros that dipped in the sizable US$ 3,599,160 prize pool was Taiwanese bracelet holder Pete Chen in 19th place.
Buy in: US$ 3,000
Entries: 1,348
Prize pool: US$ 3,599,160
ITM: 203 places
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Nino Ullmann
Germany
594,079
2nd
Timothy Flank
USA
367,181
3rd
Anthony Hu
USA
257,821
4th
Darren Elias
USA
183,616
5th
David Peters
USA
132,662
6th
Lander Lijo
Spain
97,256
7th
Fred Goldberg
USA
72,363
Event 34: Freezeout No Limit Hold’em – JUSTIN PECHIE – US$ 364,899
Justin Pechie – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Spenser Sembrat
The third No Limit Hold’em freezeout format scheduled came with a buy in of US$ 1,500. A large crowd of 1,774 players pulled up seats with 266 earning a portion of the US$ 2,368,290 pot. After three days of intense play, USA’s Justin Pechie was the last man standing to snag himself the gold bracelet and a cool US$ 364,899 payout. This win comes 10 years after he strapped his first bracelet at the 2011 $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout. To help Pechie on his way to the latest gold, he landed a huge double up at three-handed with a straight on fourth street against Maxime Parys’s two pair at the flop. From there, he kept a tight grip on the lead, disposing of Samuel Bifarella at heads up. This win increased Pechie’s total WSOP earnings over US$ 1.1 Million.
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Players: 1,774
Prize pool: US$ 2,368,290
ITM: 266 places
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Justin Pechie
USA
364,899
2nd
Samuel Bifarella
France
225,506
3rd
Maxime Parys
France
164,469
4th
Kenny Robbins
USA
121,224
5th
Steve Zolotow
USA
90,306
6th
David Dibernardi
USA
68.002
7th
Michel Leibgorin
France
51,766
8th
Jeremy Wien
USA
39,843
9th
Dwayne Sullivan
USA
31,009
10th
Orson Young
USA
24,407
Event 35: Mixed Big Bet Event; CHAN LOK MING – US$ 144,348
Chan Lok Ming – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Spenser Sembrat
Hong Kong player Chan Lok Ming aka Lok Chan, one of the most accomplished players in the Taiwan circuit, made his first trip to Las Vegas worth every penny. He entered the $2,500 Mix Big Bet Event and after three days of play, he emerged capturing a coveted gold bracelet and a career high score of US$ 144,348. Chan became the third player from Hong Kong to win at the series, following in the steps of Danny Tang and Anson Tsang who has two bracelets.
Taking a look at Chan’s prior accomplishments, in 2019 he took the Taiwan scene by storm winning numerous live tournaments at nearly every local and live international festival. He has won at least 14 tournaments in a span of a few years and collected over US$ 330K in earnings prior to the Las Vegas trip. With these stats, it was no surprise to see Chan seek out bigger challenges. His victory on his first visit clearly displays his prowess on the felt.
Buy in: US$ 2,500
Entries: 281
Prize pool: US$ 625,225
ITM: 43 players
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Lok Chan
Hong Kong
144,348
2nd
Drew Scott
Canada
89,206
3rd
Rami Boukai
USA
61,675
4th
Michael Trivett
USA
43,378
5th
Galen Hall
USA
31,045
6th
Aaron Kupin
USA
22,617
7th
Ryan Moriarty
USA
16,777
Event 36: Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better – ALI ESLAMI – US$ 135,260
Ali Eslami – Photo credit – WSOP / PokerNews – Seth Haussler
After 28 WSOP cashes that consisted of 7 final tables, Ali Eslami finally snatched up his career first bracelet at the ongoing series. Eslami topped the 471 entries of the $1,500 buy in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better to win the gold and collect US$ 135,260. The win came just a few days after placing 10th at the $10K Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship. Prior to these deep runs, in 2011 Eslami recorded his best year at the series with three final table finishes. One of them was 7th place at $1,500 Seven Card Stud and another was 8th place at the $10K Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championships.
To finally capture the elusive title, Eslami outlasted several decorated players at the final table that included 4x bracelet champion Jeff Madsen, bracelet winner Kenny Hsiung, 7x ring winner John Holley, and 2x ring winner Thomas Taylor. At heads up, Eslami gave no room for Chris Papastratis to overtake and closed it out in just under one hour.
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 471
Prize pool: US$ 628,785
ITM: 71 places
Final table payouts in USD
1st
Ali Eslami
USA
135,260
2nd
Chris Papastratis
USA
83,598
3rd
Jeff Madsen
USA
58,537
4th
Scott Lake
USA
41,693
5th
Thomas Taylor
Canada
30,215
6th
Kenny Hsiung
USA
22,287
7th
John Holley
USA
16,737
8th
David Arganian
USA
12,801
9th
John Bunch
USA
9,975
More 2022 WSOP recaps to follow here at Somuchpoker.
2022 WSOP underway: first four bracelet winners
2022 WSOP: Bracelet winners Event 5 – 9
2022 WSOP: Bracelet winners Event 10 – 14
2022 WSOP: Bracelet winners Event 15 – 25
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