WSOP Update: Jeremy Ausmus Scores Bracelet No. 4; Phil Hellmuth Makes Deep Run; Amateur Players Stand Out With Big Victories
The midweek action at the World Series of Poker saw several players win their first bracelets as well Jeremy Ausmus scoring his fourth bracelet.
Some recreational players rose to the top this week and Phil Hellmuth is also making a deep run after recovering from COVID. Englishman Robert Cowen also took down his second bracelet for a cool $1.4 million. Here’s a look at all the recent action playing out in Las Vegas.
Event 23: $3,000 Six-Handed Limit Hold’em
Jeremy Ausmus (pictured in lead image) continued his tear this year with a win in this event for his fourth bracelet and $142,147. This player originally from Colorado also continues a nice string of success from the 2021 WSOP.
In the fall, Ausmus scored two bracelets, winning the $1,000 COVID Relief Charity Event ($48,687) and the $50,000 PLO High Roller ($1.2 million). This year, his record has included two wins on the PokerGO Tour as well as two runner-up finishes.
This event brought in 213 players for a prize pool of $568,710. On the final day of action, Ausmus sat on a big stack but saw some massive swings at the final table.
“It’s just kind of the nature of limit, well poker in general but limit especially is very aggressive with a lot of three-betting and raising flops and raising turns – it’s very volatile and frustrating at times,” he told WSOP.com. “But then I just ran good against Rocco who plays heads-up lots and the win feels good.”
Event 24: $1,000 GGPoker Flip & Go
This event brings some real gamble to the tournament area. Players begin all in with three cards. After the flop, players discard one. The winning player advances and the rest can try again or exit the field.
The tournament then plays out as a regular tournament in Stage 2. Of the original 1,329 entries, only 157 advanced with Christopher Chatman scoring the title for $187,770.
The recreational player from Virginia plays poker about once a month and now has his first bracelet. Israel’s Rafi Elharar finished runner-up for $116,050.
The event drew a $1.2 million prize pool and saw many players fire several bullets hoping to advance. Scott Siever may have taken the top spot in that regard, with some unlucky results.
43 flip and goes later and I’m not even playing the tournament. #JBL
— Scott Seiver (@scott_seiver) June 12, 2022
Event 25: $800 NLHE Deepstack
This lower-priced No Limit Hold’em event produced another first-time bracelet winner. Rob Wazwaz took the top spot for $358,346 and became the second-straight recreational player to win an event.
A married father of five from Minnesota, Wazwaz owns a business and now also owns some WSOP hardware. The event brought in 4,062 entries with a $2.9 million prize pool.
Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship
The old school Limit Hold’em returned to the WSOP with Jonathan Cohen coming out on top for $245,678. This was his first bracelet as well and the Los Angeles player wasn’t even planning on playing.
“I busted out of the shootout with like two minutes to register … (and fellow LA player Matthew Schreiber) begged me to come play.”
That turned out to be a nice choice for both. Schreiber took third for $107,978. The event saw 92 entries for a $857,900 prize pool.
Event 27: $1,500 Shootout NLHE
This tournament produced the fourth first-time bracelet winner in a row. A shootout tournament involves a player beating his entire table before moving on and trying to do that again and again until there is only one player left.
Michael Simhai, of Beverly Hills, California, proved to be the sharpshooter in this one, scoring $240,480. The tournament produced 1,000 entries for a $1.3 million prize pool.
Event 28: $50,000 High Roller Pot Limit Omaha
The big bankroll PLO action was back in the tournament venue, with 106 players building a $5.1 million prize pool. England’s Robert Cowen broke the stream of first time bracelet winners by scoring his second and $1.4 million.
A rail of British friends railed Cowen, who now has more than $2.8 million in live tournament winnings. His previous bracelet win came just last year when he won a $3,000 PLO event for $280,916. He also scored a 39th-place finish in the Main Event for $163,900. It’s been a nice run at the WSOP over the last two years for Cowen.
Dash Didley took runner-up for $861,442. The final hand saw Dudley river a flush only to be beaten by Cowen’s full house. The hand produced plenty of fireworks on the PokerGO set.
Another night and another incredible finish at the @WSOP as Dash Dudley (@DashDudley) makes a flush on the river, but it's no good!
Robert Cowen makes a full house to take the title in Event #28: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.
🔄 – Event Replay: https://t.co/qJzIq1fDbW pic.twitter.com/gAXFeVnNJs
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) June 16, 2022
Another interesting note was the deep run of Jason Mercier. He hasn’t played as much poker in recent years with his last series cash since 2018. In this event, Mercier finished sixth for $260,819 .
Event 29: $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
The lowball action saw a$583,395 prize pool after garnering 437 entries. Maxx Coleman, a poker pro from Wichita, Kansas, added to the week’s winners who snagged their first bracelets.
The win came after 44 previous WSOP cashes and he took home $127,809. Winning some hardware has been a longtime goal for Coleman.
Event 31: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship: Hellmuth runs deep
It’s been a rough start to the series for Phil Hellmuth so far. First he dealt with some stomach ailments, then contracted COVID. The Poker Brat now seems to have put that behind him and is among the final 10 players remaining in this event.
Brian Rast leads the remaining field with Eric Wasserson and Marco Johnson in third. Dan Zack, and Shaun Deeb are also still in the mix. Zack already has one bracelet this summer and spoke with USPoker earlier this week about his victory. Yuval Bronshtein also continues a nice series run, possibly closing in on a third final table appearance.
The event attracted 118 entries for a $1.1 million prize pool. Hellmuth sits eighth in chips and will be seeking his 17th bracelet. Last year, he scored a win in a $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw and is now looking for a bracelet in the limit version.
End Day 2 @WSOP 2-7 Triple Draw, 10 left, restart 2 PM. I am knocking on the door of WSOP Bracelet #17!
🎼Someone’s knockin’ at the door somebody’s ringin’ the bell Someone's knockin' at the door
Somebody's ringin' the bell do me a favor, open the door and let ‘em in ya ya ya 🎶 pic.twitter.com/zcEz5G0aNQ— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) June 16, 2022
Upcoming events
The weekend brings more big-field action with the Millionaire Maker getting started on Friday. Plenty of big names will be checking out the No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship.
High rollers can also pony up $100,000 for the High Roller NLHE on Sunday. Another online event is also planned for Sunday as well. Here’s a look at the action in the coming days.
- $1,500 Freezeout NLHE (Event 34) – Jun 16
- $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Event (Event 35) – Jun 16
- $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better (Event 36) – June 17
- $1,500 Millionaire Maker (Event 37) – Flight A, June 17; Flight B, June 18
- $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship (Event 38) – June 18
- $3,000 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha (Event 39) – June 18
- $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship (Event 40) – June 18
- $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty NLHE (Event 41) – June 19
- $100,000 High Roller NLHE (Event 42) – June 19
- Online Event 4: $1,000 PLO 6-Max – June 19