The Kevmath Report - #10
The Kevmath Report - #10
The World Series of Poker moves past the halfway point at the Rio in Las Vegas and it was looking like Phil Hellmuth would headline for a third straight week on The Kevmath Report, but it took a special accomplishment to derail Hellmuth.
Adam Friedman Three-Peats in $10,000 Dealers Choice, Denies Hellmuth
Winning one World Series of Poker tournament is a great accomplishment. Finishing first in the same WSOP tournament in back-to-back years is an amazing accomplishment only accomplished by a few people (Johnny Chan winning the Main Event in 1987 and 1988 and Dr. James Moore winning the Super Seniors tournament in 2016 and 2017 are notable examples). Adam Friedman managed to pull off a one-of-a-kind feat last week when he won the $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship for the third straight time, defeating Phil Hellmuth heads-up and deny him a chance at this 17th career bracelet.
(photo credit PokerNews/Melissa Haereiti)
I had retired to my room during the final table, but when it was down to heads-up between Friedman and Hellmuth, I decided to go back downstairs in the early morning hours to witness history: Hellmuth’s 17th bracelet or Friedman’s 3rd straight Dealers Choice bracelet. This photo from PokerNews’ Danny Maxwell made it look like I was enjoying some phantom cigarettes.
Hellmuth’s runner-up finish was enough for him to take over the lead in the WSOP Player of the Year race, Presented by Velo.
During the bracelet ceremony, Friedman was joined by two-time bracelet winner Anthony Zinno to encourage other players to participate in the mixed games.
Benny Glaser Leads Star-Studded $10,000 NL 2-7 Single Draw Final Table
Today’s PokerGO final table stream is scheduled for this afternoon/evening (depending on your time zone) as Benny Glaser leads the final 8 players in the $10,000 NL 2-7 Single Draw Championship. Joining him are bracelet winners Daniel Negreanu, Farzad Bonyadi, Julien Martini, and Johannes Becker. Jake Schwartz is at his 5th final table of this year’s WSOP, hoping to improve on his 2nd place result from the $1,500 NL 2-7. Dustin Dirksen and Ben Diebold round out the field. Expect the stream to start at 8pm ET/5pm PT as they need to eliminate one more player to reach the official final table.
Josh Arieh Ends 16-Year Drought, Wins $1,500 PLO Eight-Handed
It’s been a long time between WSOP bracelets for Josh Arieh, who had last won a bracelet back in 2005 but last week he collected his 3rd career bracelet when he defeated Tommy Le (more on him below) in Event 39: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-Handed and receiving over $204,000.
(photo credit PokerNews/Hayley Hochstetler)
Tommy Le is Good at PLO Tournament Poker, Wins $10,000 PLO Championship
If you go to the WSOP.com profile page of Tommy Le, you’ll see a long list of final tables in #TheGreatGame of Pot-Limit Omaha. On Tuesday evening, Le was at the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-Handed Championship final table, an event he won in 2017. Four years later, Le would claim the title for a second time, winning just under $750,000 and his 2nd career bracelet.
Year of Michael Addamo Continues, Wins $50,000 High Roller for 3rd Bracelet
The extended heater of Michael Addamo moved from the PokerGO Studio to the Rio Thursday when he earned his 3rd WSOP bracelet with a 7-figure win in Event 38: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller as he defeated Justin Bonomo heads-up. So far this year, Addamo has won over $7,200,000 with more High Rollers appearing later in the WSOP schedule.
Bradley Ruben Wins $1,500 Razz for 2nd WSOP Bracelet in 2021, 3rd Overall
Joining Addamo and several other players to add another WSOP gold bracelet to their profiles this year is Bradley Ruben, winning Event 42: $1,500 Razz to join Daniel Lazrus as a winner of an online and live WSOP bracelet this year
Kevin Gerhart Wins $10,000 HORSE Championship for 3rd WSOP Bracelet
Continuing this year’s trend of players winning another WSOP bracelet was Kevin Gerhart, earning $223,194 in the $10,000 HORSE Championship after defeating Marco Johnson heads-up. Gerhart has picked up wins in three consecutive years, winning the $1,500 Razz in 2019 and the $500 PLO Six-Handed on WSOP.com last year.
Anthony Denove Wins $1,000 Double Stack, PokerGo Host Platt Fourth
The highlighted event of the past weekend was Event 43: $1,000 NL Double Stack, drawing a field of 3,991 entries to give the Rio hallways that feeling of excitement and huge crowds during breaks. Jeff Platt of PokerGo/PokerNews fame was among the leaders through the back half of the tournament, eventually starting as the chip leader with ten players remaining. That didn’t mean he was called upon to provide a report for the PokerGO cameras.
Eventually, Platt would finish in 4th place for $160,662 his best career tournament cash. The all-North American final table concluded with Anthony Denove defeating Canadian David Guay heads-up for the bracelet and $446,983 for his winning effort.
This Week’s Other WSOP Champions
There are so many WSOP bracelets awarded each week, it’s a given that some will slip through the cracks and not get the recognition they deserve. I’m not sure the following will suit the purpose, but I’m giving it my best efforts anyway.
Carlos Cheng iced the competition in Event 41: $2,500 NL Freezeout, winning $364,589 and looked cool in the winner’s photo. Ryan Hansen won the $3,000 Limit Hold’em Six-Handed for his 1st bracelet. Chad Norton earned over $214,000 in the $800 NL Deepstack. Alexandre Reard denied Daniel Strelitz’s chance at a 2nd WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 NL Freezeout Eight-Handed. Japan’s Kazuki ‘hyahhoo3’ Ikeuchi won WSOP.com Online Bracelet 5: $1,000 NL Hold’em Bracelet Championship for $152,797.
What’s Up With the WSOP This Week
Coming out shortly before the release of this newsletter is Event 52: $1,000 NL Senior’s Championship with starting flights today and Thursday for the first time. The 2019 edition drew over 5,900 entries and a huge field is expected for the 50 and older event. Friday and Saturday feature flights of the popular $400 Colossus. Halloween is scaring up a lot of interest with the $1,000 NL Tag Team Event, this time limiting teams to two players plus a $666 Online Bracelet event on WSOP.com. Monday means another $600 NL Deepstack tournament and the $500 Salute to WARRIORS (open to everyone) is Tuesday’s morning event.
Those seeking a higher buy-in/smaller field event will have plenty to choose from starting Wednesday with the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller. Friday it’s the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Championship and Saturday features the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship. Always an event followed closely by interested individuals is Sunday’s $50,000 Poker Players Championship drawing the biggest names in poker to attend. Tuesday afternoon it’s the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha event. The full schedule of events can always be found at WSOP.com/tournaments.
Revised WSOP Main Event Schedule/StructureSheet Now Online
The recent announcement of two additional flights to the $10,000 Main Event has caused some to wonder when the new structure sheet and schedule would appear on WSOP.com. After an unexpected delay, those PDF’s are now available for anyone to look at and anticipate any changes to their schedule. You can see the new schedule right here.
Houston Primed for a Big Series at Prime Social
Prime Social Texas Tournament Director Justin Hammer wanted to remind me that they have a huge series starting tomorrow, the image below signifies how big a deal it is to him for me to write about their schedule.
