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History was in the making last night at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and poker pro Michael Mizrachi was playing the most important part in that process. Topping an 87-strong field comprised of poker’s finest talent, the player claimed his third Poker Players Championship title, a feat never accomplished before.
Mizrachi previously won the 2010 and 2012 editions of one of the most prestigious poker tournaments to be taking place throughout the year. Title number three came with a sweet payout of $1,239,126 that was added to Mizrachi’s already quite hefty bankroll. The player now has a record-breaking number of three Poker Players Championship titles, four WSOP gold bracelets, two WPT Main Event Main Tour titles, and nearly $17 million in live tournament earnings.
Mizrachi himself admitted that he had a poor start to this year’s Poker Players Championship, and that it was only late on Day 2 that he took the chip lead. However, it is important to note that the player almost did not relinquish his chip advantage over the elite field of the event until its very end last night.
“To win the first one was amazing. The second one was great. The third one is unheard of.”
He still had to overcome scary competition from a number of players who had previously tasted the sweet Poker Players Championship victory, including Brian Rast, who was the only other player to have taken down the tournament twice. The 2014 champion of that same event, John Hennigan, was, too, among the players to enter it this year. Hennigan was actually coming fresh off a victory in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship and was fierce to scoop one more prestigious title and a sixth bracelet from the series.
Final Day and Heads-Up
The event’s final day kicked off with six finalists. All of them but one were former WSOP gold bracelet winners looking to expand their trophy collections. Mizrachi led the pack of six with a massive chip advantage. The player very much retained his lead throughout the day.
Dan Smith, the only player who was aiming for his first gold piece from the series, was second in chips at the time when cards were thrown in the air to mark the beginning of the official final table and the final day of the tournament. While a bracelet eluded the poker professional, he made it to a third-place finish for a nice payout of $521,782.
The star-studded field of the tournament was eventually reduced to just Mizrachi and Hennigan. The duel began with the eventual champ holding 12.145 million in chips to his final opponent’s 9.605 million.
The players started off with Limit Hold’em. That stage saw Hennigan shorten the gap for a little while. They then switched to 2-7 Triple Draw that proved one of Mizrachi’s specialties. The player extended his lead to eventually finish off Hennigan. The final hand in play was a No-Limit Hold’em one that saw Hennigan shove after the [Qh][9s][5h] flop with [Jd][10c] to Mizrachi’s [9h][8h]. A [10h] turn and a [8d] river sealed it for Mizrachi to see the player’s rail burst into cheers. Hennigan went out in second place, good for $765,937.
The post Michael Mizrachi Wins Record Third Poker Players Championship Title appeared first on Casino News Daily.
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