The excitement surrounding the heads-up in the Millionaire Maker tournament continues.
Doug Polk released a video, siding with the army of regulars calling on the WSOP to give players their “legitimate” money. Polk also shared inside information that ClubWPT Gold will pay out the bonus regardless of the outcome of the WSOP investigation.
The payout was no surprise. Many were sure that the poker room would definitely try to turn all this hype to its advantage. Like clockwork, players received a notice saying WPT Gold would double the number of Gold Rush Tickets, and the week's 32 tickets would be raffled off in daily freerolls.
There are three tournaments left before the end of the World Series where you can get an extra million – Gladiators of Poker for $300 (there are 13 players left, with no news yet about whether there are any participants in the promotion among them), Mini Main for $1,000, and the Main Event.
WSOP officials told Poker.org that the investigation is ongoing and no decision has been made yet.
Brazilian pro Felipe Ramos was one of the few to condemn the players for collusion in heads-up:
– I guess it’s just me disgusted by this WSOP HU +1M bonus debate. OPTIONAL? NO. Just no. Poker will never be recognized as BIGTIME sport/game or gather +popularity if this is “OK”
If you chip dump/collude, in whatever scenario, your values are negotiable
RULES EXIST FOR A REASON
I couldn’t care less about the deal. But I care about the game and this is terrible for the game. Respect all opinions, especially many friends that have the opposite in mind. Peace.
I wonder how the recreational players perceives this…
UPDATE : After this news, the WSOP made a final decision and posted it to Twitter:
– The investigation into WSOP Event 53 has been completed.
We have concluded that in order to uphold the integrity of the game and to uphold our official WSOP Tournament Rules, no winner will be recognized and no bracelet will be awarded for this year's tournament. The remaining prize pool will be split between the final two players.
There are also rumors circulating on social media that both players have been banned for life from the WSOP, but there has been no official confirmation yet.
Aaron Cummings won Event #63 – 2-7 $1,500 Triple Draw ($157,172).
This is Aaron's second bracelet at the World Series. He won his first one a year ago in the same tournament.
In recent years, Adam Friedman in the $10k Dealer's Choice and Daniel Cates in the $50,000 Players Championship have both managed to win back-to-back titles in the same event. But those events had significantly fewer players. Cummings beat 574 people in 2024 and 635 this year to win bracelets.
“We had a blast, and I just ran the best,” the champion modestly explained his success.
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An even more unique achievement was achieved by the women's tournament champion Shiina Okamoto ($184,094).
In 2023 (1,295 entries) she lost heads-up, in 2024 (1,245) she became the champion, and this year (1,368) she repeated her success.
"In the previous tournaments I didn’t think I’d make the final table, but now I want to defend my title," Okamoto mentioned to reporters. "Now so many of the ladies know me, and I know what they are thinking about me. I can use that to exploit them. That’s what’s helped me get so far."
“It's an one in 1.1 billion chance if all entrants in each of the three tournaments had an equal chance of winning,” experts from Reddit calculated.
– "Good thing 85% of the field has 0% chance of winning," another Redditor replied.
Phil Hellmuth was one of the first to congratulate the winner.
5th place was taken by Sonya Veronika Shashikhina ($46,614).
Shiina's achievements are perhaps matched only by Tang Lou, who shone at the World Series in the late 2000s. He won back-to-back $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo events in 2008 and 2009, and finished second in the $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo event in 2007.
However, after 2009, he did not play a single WSOP tournament.
During a cash game session in his favorite Omaha Hi-Lo, an opponent complained at showdown that he couldn't see Lou's cards. The dealer then took responsibility and moved them closer to the center.
Lou didn't like it, he rudely told them never to touch his cards again, and then punched the dealer's palm as hard as he could, as he placed it on the table. The young man was taken to the hospital with multiple fractures of his hand, and Lou was taken away by casino security. For him, the story ended with a permanent ban from the World Series.
Blaz Zerjav won Event #69 $1,500 Stud Hi/Lo ($153,487).
This is the Slovenian online regular's second bracelet at this series. In early June, he won the $25,000 buy-in High Roller.
"I don't have a lot of experience. I play a bunch during SCOOPs and WCOOPs. I tried to learn about the games but mostly got better through playing and repetition."
In heads-up, Blaz beat the ultra-experienced Huck Seed, who is playing this series after a long break in his poker career.
6th place was taken by Denis Strebkov.
Michael Mizrachi wins the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1,331,322.
Mizrachi won four of his seven bracelets in this tournament.
Jared Bleznick, who was commentating the final table on PokerGo, said before the start of the game that Michael's victory would be "the greatest achievement in the history of tournament poker."
“I can’t explain it,” Mizrachi admitted. “I’m just very fortunate in this event, and it’s a good one to be fortunate in. You’re playing against the best players in the world in mix, so it’s quite an accomplishment. I’m very excited. I can’t explain it, you’ve got to run good and play your best because you’re playing against the best.”
During the trophy and bracelet presentation ceremony, fans began chanting, "Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame!"
Last year Michael was among the nominees, but this year he didn't even make the list.
"I guess I'll have to win a fifth," Michael joked. "Seriously, I hope I get elected in the next few years, although that doesn't bother me too much."
"No vote, just stick him straight into HOF," urges Eric Seidel .
"Well I’m back to being called Mizrachi brother again hahaha 😂,'" Robert Mizrachi noted his brother's success . "unless I win the main event."
It is well known in the poker community that Michael has been struggling financially throughout his career. He has not played any $10k limit championships at this series, but has been grinding mostly cheap tournaments. But backers still believe in his potential in the Players Championship.
Michael regularly makes fun of himself. Last summer, when he won his 6th bracelet in an online tournament and received $108k, he was asked:
– What is more important to you – a bracelet or money?
“Right now, of course, money,” Mike answered honestly.
Esther Taylor, who played with great skill and precision, had the best result among women in the history of the tournament. In 2014, Melissa Burr took 7th place and became the first woman to make it into the money.
Alexander Wilkinson won the $10k 2-7 Triple Draw Championship ($333,054).
Alexander's father, Will (pictured left), is a casino owner and well-known limit gamer. He hasn't played much in recent years, but his resume includes two third-place finishes in the 2-7 limit tournament and a fifth-place finish in the 2016 Players Championship.
For Alex, poker is also just a hobby; his main activity is working at one of the venture capital companies in Las Vegas, where he holds the position of managing partner.
– "Growing up, I remember sweating my dad deep in the Main Event and deep in these different tournaments on WSOP.com. I have to imagine that it had a big influence on me getting into the game. It was a lot of fun. It’s cool that now the shoe is on the other foot. He’s here watching me. It’s a lot of fun."
Alex beat Matthew Schreiber in heads-up play, handing him his second heads-up loss in the series (he was beaten by Benny Glaser in the $1,500 Dealers Choice). Nick Schulman finished third.
Rainer Kempe won the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty.
The tournament lasted 15 hours, and the final table was one of the most international of the series. The Czech Republic was represented by the "usual suspect" Martin Kabrhel, but this time he behaved relatively decently.
Rainer noted that his experience playing online SNGs helped him a lot, but in general the field has a hard time adjusting to such turbocharged structures.
Artur Martirosyan won the Wynn Summer Classic with a buy-in of $3,500 and a guarantee of $4 million. Participants made 2,091 entries, and the victor was paid $1,016,763.
