WSOP Update: Big Names Come Up Just Short; Phil Ivey, Chris Moorman, Scott Seiver Score Runner-up Finishes
Top-notch players such as Phil Ivery, Chris Moorman, and Scott Seiver all came up just short of a World Series of Poker bracelet over the last week. The poker giants ran deep over the last few days, but were denied their next piece of hardware.
Another big headline saw New Jersey online poker grinder Dan Zack (pictured in lead image, courtesy WSOP.com) win his second bracelet of the series.
“I first got into poker watching the WSOP on ESPN and always dreamed of playing these,” he told USPoker after his first win this summer. “As a result, even though I rarely play tournaments outside the WSOP, I’m always here each year chasing the dream of collecting these things, and so every bracelet win is precious.”
That’s working out well so far. Here’s a look at his win as well as all the latest action from the WSOP.
Event 37: $1,500 Millionaire Maker
Apparently the path to victory this week was by wearing a lucky hat to score gold. Players like Yuliyan Kolev and Fabian Brandes showed off some headwear that seemed to bring some luck.
Kolev of Bulgaria can now buy a lot of Kentucky Fried Chicken after winning the Millionaire Maker this week. He grabbed his second bracelet and $1.1 million, all while wearing a KFC bucket on his head.
Oren Rosen came in second for $695,390. Kolev’s first bracelet came in the 2021 $777 Lucky Sevens for $146,163.
Kolev is the all-time leader for Bulgarian bracelet holders and now third overall on the Bulgarian all-time money list with more than $2.8 million in lifetime tournament earnings.
Event 38: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball
Brazil’s own Pedro Bromfman took down a field of 121 entries to secure his bracelet. He won $294,616 and his first bracelet. It was no easy ride as he had to defeat four-time bracelet winner Scott Seiver heads-up to achieve the victory. Seiver still took home $182,086 for his efforts.
The event drew a prize pool of over $1.1 million. Bromfman now lives in the Los Angeles area and works as a composer for film, television, and video games. Some of his work has been used in films like Robocop (2014) and television series like Netflix’s Narcos and The Panama Papers for Epix.
“I’ve been into music my whole life,” he told WPT.com in 2020. “It is a passion and I love it, and now my passion, my hobby, where I take my mind away from music – is poker.”
The bracelet win certainly hit the right tune.
Event 39: $3,000 Six-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
Also getting in on the headwear act, Fabian Brandes wore a lucky Super Mario hat which helped him jump over the competition. He was victorious in this event and won $371,358.
This was his first WSOP bracelet. The field consisted of 719 entries and created over a $1.9 million prize pool.
Brandes has run well, recently finishing runner-up in Event 19: $25,000 PLO High Roller for $907,132. He now has over $1.2 million in PLO event cashes this summer.
Event 40: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
New Jersey grinder Daniel Zack grabbed his third bracelet last week and second of the summer. Zack battled 137 players in Seven Stud Hi-Lo and came out on top for $324,174. The prize pool swelled to over $1.2 million.
The tournament held some stiff competition as Zack battled the likes of Shaun Deeb, Eric Kurtzman, and Brian Hastings. Deeb and Zack battled back and forth verbally and on the felt.
The full hand pic.twitter.com/5Sc8V7eSw5
— Daniel Zack (@Dan__Zack) June 21, 2022
Event 41: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty
Ramsey Stovall of Minnesota made his WSOP debut a memorable one in this quick-paced tournament. Stovall rounded up his first WSOP cash and bracelet. The win pocketed him $191,223 in less than 24 hours.
The field consisted of 2,227 players for a prize pool of $1.9 million. At the final table, Stovall overcame two-time bracelet winner Rafael Lebron. Last year’s WSOP player of the year Josh Arieh just missed the final table and finished in 11th.
Event 42: $100,000 NLH High Roller
All the high rollers were out in force for this event including the legendary Phil Ivey. In the end, Ivey came up just short of snagging his elusive 11th bracelet. Aleksejs Ponakovs won his second bracelet and defeated the legendary Ivey.
The high roller event brought in 62 entries for a prize pool of over $5.9 million. Going into the final table, the players had 16 total bracelets won among them.
Event 43: $500 NLH Freezout
Monday’s event drew in a massive field of 4,786 entries in a freezeout tournament. The $500 buy-in made a prize pool worth over $2 million.
David Perry of Las Vegas took down online poker legend Chris Moorman. Perry denied Moorman his second bracelet. The Las Vegas resident won $241,729 for the victory and his first bracelet.
Online Event 3: $400 Ultra DeepStack
Brian Altman won his first bracelet after competing in the WSOP.com online bracelet tournament, Altman won $110,662.
The virtual field has 1,641 entries and built a prize pool of $757,440. New Jersey was well represented at the final table as Krishna Kalidas, Brandon Vaysman, and Vineet Pahuja all made appearances,
Online Event 4: $1,000 PLO Six-Max
Matt Syzmaszek of Massachusetts scored online gold online last Sunday. He won his first bracelet and $141,705 in cash. This online event brought in 470 entries and a prize pool of $712,800.
Two-time bracelet winner Nathan Gamble finished the event in seventh for $17,036.
Upcoming WSOP bracelet events
WSOP continues with a full plate of events this weekend. Look for mixed games along with the very popular seniors event championship. Here’s a look at some events in progress and a few upcoming tournaments:
- $2,000 No Limit Holdem (Event 49) – June 23
- $250,000 Super High Roller NLH (Event 50) – June 23
- $600 Online Deepstack (Online Event 5) – June 26 at WSOP.com
- $400 COLOSSUS (Event 51) – Jun 24-25
- $2,500 Nine-Game Mix Six-Handed (Event 52) – Jun 25
- $5,000 Mixed NLHE, PLO (Event 53) – June 26
- $500 Salute to Warriors (Event 54) – June 26
- $1,000 Tag Team (Event 55) – June 26
- $50,000 Poker Players Championship Six-Handed (Event 56) – June 26
- Online Event 5: $600 Online Deepstack Championship – June 26