World Poker Tour G.O.A.T. Darrren Elias couldn’t escape the pocket aces curse on Day Two at WPT Choctaw as the bubble burst, but he did secure his record 36th cash.

Arthur Morris, however, made it through to Day Three in this $3,700 buy-in tournament with the chip lead out of 31 remaining players. With 1,482,000 chips, he has a slight advantage over Trung Pham who bagged 1,325,000.

No Champions Left

Numerous past WPT champions advanced to Day Two on Sunday, but none of them survived the session. So, that means we’re guaranteed to have a first-time winner. And it could be Morris, who doesn’t have an extensive poker tournament resume.

Day Three begins at noon CT from Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma. Play will run until the final table of six has been achieved. At that point, the tournament will take an 11-day break and resume on May 31 in Las Vegas as the HyperX Esports Arena on the Strip.

The World Poker Tour is shifting many of its final tables to that Sin City venue. WPT Choctaw will take place the same week as the Aria Summer Championship, which is also in Las Vegas. Those two final tables will wrap up the 2018-2019 WPT season leading up to the June 1 Tournament of Champions, which is only open to Champions Club members.

Darren Elias, of course, is one of those Champions Club members as he is the only four-time winner in tour history. On Sunday, he fell victim to the pocket aces curse.

Elias ran into Ahmad Popal’s flopped set of 3’s on a dry board and was eliminated in 63rd place for $6,695. That gave him his 36th career WPT cash, extending his previous record.

It was a disappointing finish for arguably the greatest player in World Poker Tour history. Not long before that final hand he had over 100 big blinds and was among the chip leaders. Texas hold’em can be a crazy game at times. You can go from hero to zero in a matter of minutes.

Is it Finally David Pham’s Time?

Most of the big name pros are out but one WPT crusher remains. David Pham just might be the best player in tour history to have never won a title. And he bagged an above-average stack (889,000) on Day Two.

Pham has made seven career World Poker Tour final tables and has nearly $2.5 million in cashes. But he still isn’t a Champions Club member. Perhaps, his time has finally come?

WPT Choctaw Chip Leaders

1. Arthur Morris (1,482,000)
2. Trung Pham (1,325,000)
3. Craig Varnell (1,290,000)
4. Nick Pupillo (1,272,000)
5. Will Berry (1,246,000)

Throughout its 50th anniversary collection on June 29, the WSOP is hosting a First Fifty Honors as well as Dinner, a ceremony commemorating casino poker greatness. Long-time online poker commentators Norman Chad and also Lon McEachearn will certainly hold the special occasion.

The occasion is open to past bracelet victors and also select VIP’s. Fans can elect on the 7 awards categories on the WSOP internet site. It takes just a number of mins to submit your votes. We’ve made our picks and will certainly share those with you in a little bit. However do not let our selections influence your point of views. They are purely our selections.

Anyone in the United States or Canada who casts a vote is instantly entered into an arbitrary drawing to win a prize, that includes cost-free entries into gold bracelet events such as the brand-new $1,000 MIni Main Event on July 1.

CardsChat Picks

The categories for the First Fifty along with our picks are as follows:

Most Memorable WSOP TV Hand

Some unforgettable hands here, consisting of the ill poor beat in the 2010 Main Event in between Matt Affleck and the eventual champ Jonathan Duhamel. Affleck’s aces got fractured on the river by the champ’s jacks– he struck a straight– in what was the biggest pot of the tournament up to that factor. However, by far, Chris Moneymaker’s bluff heads-up versus Sammy Farha in the 2003 Main Event was the most iconic aired poker hand, perhaps ever.

Best Overall WSOP Performance (Single Year)

We’ll select Phil Ivey in 2002 here. He won 3 bracelets as well as made seven last tables. What makes this perforance so unbelievable was he did it prior to the casino poker boom where most gamers in each event was a pro. There weren’t as lots of fish to indulge off.

Most Likely to Succeed (Player currently 35 or Under to Win the Most Gold Bracelets between 2020-2070)

The candidates in this classification are a little out of order despite the fact that the players are all excellent. However Jason Mercier and also Fedor Holz are primarily relinquished texas hold’em. Shaun Deeb, Justin Bonomo, as well as Dominik Nitsche are unbelievable gamers that have bright futures. Yet we’ll choose Joe Cada as a result of his expertise in large-field tournaments.

Fan Favorite Player

We’ll refrain from picking a winner here as we strive to be objective and root for the success of everyone. The choices are, however, exceptional: Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Maria Ho, and Phil Ivey.

WSOP’s Favorite Bad Boy

It’s hard to go against Phil Hellmuth in this category. He’s a 15-time bracelet winner and despite his crude table demeanor at times, he’s quite friendly away from the table. Plus, he’s one of the greatest poker players ever.

Most Impressive Main Event Win

Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 world title was the most impressive, no doubt. We say that because he was an amateur in a field of professionals, in a year where no one thought an Average Joe could win.

Four Most Important Players in WSOP History

Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker, and Phil Hellmuth. No player in history has brought more people to the game than these four individuals.

Rui Cao outlasted an area of 98 entrants consisting of 51 reentries to win the Triton Poker Montenegro HKD 1,000,000 Short Deck Main Event at the 2019 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro for HKD 26,300,000 ($3,350,725).

The win almost increased Cao’s lifetime profession profits to $7.5 million as well as pushed him from tenth to 5th put on The Hendon Mob’s France All Time Cash Checklist past the similarity Sylvain Loosli (sixth– $7.4 million), Fabrice Soulier (seventh– $6.4 million), Roger Hairabedian (8th– $5.2 million), Jean-Noel Thorel (nine– $5.1 million), as well as Julien Martini (tenth– $4.1 million).

Long List of Talent in Triton Poker Short Deck Event

As has become popular on the scenic tour, the celebrities were out active. Sitting down inside Maestral Resort & Gambling Establishment, Budva, Cao had to conquer Isaac Haxton and Nikita Bodyakovskiy to declare his initial live title.

After battling with Day 1 on My 10, the man that completed second in last year’s Montenegro centerpiece was in a comfortable placement. That form proceeded right into the second day and onto the last table.

As the chips began to fly on May 12, short-stack Tong Siow Choon was the very first to drop. Relocating with a pair of jacks, the Malaysian was sent to the rail by Kenneth Kee that hit the flop with An ATM MACHINE K ♦.

With the get rid of floodgates open, Cao gradually took control. After seeing the abovementioned Haxton and afterward Canadian event professional Daniel Dvoress loss, the brief deck enthusiast secured the offer.

Cao Clinches First Title

Cao had two close calls last year to win his first Triton Poker title. The victory was not only his first Triton Poker title but also his first time he hoisted the winner’s trophy in any live poker tournament.

“First time I ever won a tournament, and this is a good one,” Cao told Triton Poker after his big win. “So I’m happy.”

2019 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro Short Deck Main Event Results

Bryn Kenney is the champ of the Triton Montenegro Main Event, winning $2.7 million for his efforts, enough to bring him as much as 4th place on online poker’s all-time incomes checklist. He currently likewise moves right into 2nd position on New York’s career checklist, much less than $400,000 reluctant of catching Erik Seidel.

With that success, Kenney concluded an excellent series at the Triton Super High Roller Series. He paid for, obtain this, $4.14 million in the series, consisting of two titles. Not a negative means to get ready for the World Series of Poker.

Heater of a Lifetime

Bryn Kenney gets on a heating system similar to Justin Bonomo last year or Fedor Holz in 2016. On top of those $4.14 million in squander in Montenegro we already mentioned, the New Yorker has an extra $5 million in competition revenues this year, bringing his 2019 total over $9.1 million, for those of you who do not have a calculator convenient.

Here’s an even crazier stat, one that appears virtually astounding to those that grind reduced as well as mid-stakes online poker games. Bryn’s $2.7 million score in the Main Event, which is life-changing money for the majority of, isn’t even his greatest cash money of the year. In March, he likewise scooped the HK $2,000,000 No-Limit Hold ’em for HK $24,039,500, which relates to $3,062,513 in US dollars.

He’s gone from around $25 million in profession pays to simply under $35 million in 5 months. That puts him at 4th all-time as well as second in his residence state of New York, concerning $350,000 behind Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel.

Sick Final Table

Speaking of Seidel, he had a possibility to maintain a firmer grip on his lead on Friday. The 1988 WSOP Main Event runner-up likewise made the last table yet was eliminated in 7th area for $440,842. That supplied Kenney a chance to nearly catch him on New York’s all-time listing.

Kenney’s run to the Triton Main Event champ wasn’t all luck. In a hand versus the young up-and-coming Mikita Bodziakouski, he pulled off a critical bluff with a low pair on a straight connected board.

Triton’s Main Event saw 44 players get in with 31 of them re-buying. Simply nine players paid with Jason Koon being the initial to go (ninth place) after the bubble ruptured. He made $261,193. Sam Greenwood, Erik Seidel, Mikita Badziakouski, and Paul Phua were among those who made the final table.

Triton Montenegro Main Event Results

1. Bryn Kenney (USA) $2,713,859
2. Daniel Tang (Hong Kong) $1,796,498
3. Peter Jetten (Canada) $1,223,148
4. Mikita Badziakouski (Belarus) $925,005
5. Sam Greenwood (Canada) $719,873)
6. Paul Phua (Malaysia) $560,609
7. Erik Seidel (USA) $440,842
8. Matthias Eibinger (Austria) $341,462
9. Jason Koon (USA) $261,193

For a record 31st straight week, Alex Foxen is the top-ranked poker gamer in the world according to the Global Poker Index. Fedor Holz, during his insane run of substantial scores in 2006, previously held the record at 30 successive weeks.

Foxen, a previous football player at Boston College University, is just one of the game’s top rising celebrities. Whether he’s the very best gamer worldwide is subjective provided the GPI’s positions are based upon subjective solutions. But he’s without a doubt a skilled pro with remarkable advantage.

His partner, Kristen Bicknell, is likewise a first-class texas hold’em pro. She’s a two-time protecting GPI Female of the Year champion and funded by Partypoker.

Move Over Fedor

Fedor Holz had an unforgettable run in 2006. He cashed that year for over $16 million, third greatest single-year incomes in history. Throughout that sick heater, he set a document with 30 successive weeks atop the GPI world positions. But documents are made to be broken.

Alex Foxen, who currently has over $11.6 million in profession live tournament revenues, has been placed # 1 the previous 31 weeks. Throughout that period, he’s turned into one of online poker’s most consistent no-limit hold ’em tournament mills.

Considering That December, Foxen has $5.3 million in money, a lot of in hold ’em events. That includes a runner-up coating at the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl V for $2.16 million. With April, he already has 7 six-figure scores this year, and also the WSOP hasn’t even begun.

Is He Really the Best?

The Global Poker Index uses a point-based system to rate the gamers. While the GPI is credited with having one of the most trustworthy texas hold’em gamer ranking system, as well as deservedly so, establishing the most effective player is subjective due to the fact that the formula used will constantly be subjective.

As well as each year it seems there is a different gamer the texas hold’em community calls as the “best.” In 2015, Steve O’Dwyer and also GPI POY victor Byron Kaverman were considered as the leading gamers. The next year, Fedor Holz held that title although David Peters wound up winning POY. In 2017, Adrian Mateos, Bryn Kenney, and also Stephen Chidwick, were unstoppable.

And afterwards in 2015 Justin Bonomo had perhaps the greatest year in online poker background with $25 million in cashes. Bonomo has actually because cooled down a bit and also currently numerous think about Foxen to be the best gamer worldwide. Maybe, he is. It’s difficult to refute that factor offered his uniformity in high rollers the past year or so. But the debate is subjective and also, for that reason, difficult to come to a definitive verdict.

Heading right into the final day of the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica Monster Stack event, Maurice Hawkins put on a Nike sweatshirt with the company’s renowned motto Just do it. As well as Hawkins did it … again. The Florida-based gamer won last evening a record-breaking 13th gold ring from the series, going beyond Valentin Vornicu on the leaderboard for the most gold items from the WSOP Circuit ever before won.

Hawkins has already cemented himself as one of the finest Circuit gamers, but he clearly has no purpose to decrease.

The two-day Monster Stack event brought in 432 entrances who conveniently crushed the $100,000 warranty and also produced a prize swimming pool of $142,560.

There were payments for the top 45 contenders, min-cashes starting from $644. Of course, every person was considering the leading reward of $31,372 and the going along with gold ring, however it was Hawkins that scooped those after rather the work. The player’s profits from the series hence swelled to more than $1.7 million.

Hawkins won his 12th gold ring to link with Vornicu nearly 3 weeks ago at Harrah’s Cherokee. He had held a previous record for the most gold rings ever before won, however Vornicu had bettered his achievement to hold the lead in this prominent race for a while.

The Monster Stack Finale

Hawkins was among the chip leaders throughout the final day of the Monster Stack tourney however his time truly came when the informal final table of 10 was developed. The player got in that shutting phase of the game with a chip lead.

Action was off to a slow beginning. Hawkins kept an excellent stack throughout the last table to secure his area among the last two.

The currently record-breaking WSOPC gold ring victor encountered Hamid Izadi from Atlanta, Georgia heads-up. The two-handed battle started with Izadi holding the chip lead. The gamer maintained his edge for a while, but the title avoided him eventually.

Hawkins after that found a chance to grind his opponent’s chips away and also he truly took the best feasible advantage out of that possibility.

A pre-flop all-in conflict in which Izadi’s.
[As] [4h] clashed into Hawkins’ pocket jacks sealed it for the latter. Izadi went out in 2nd area, good for $19,381.

Hawkins had tons of praise for his last challenger. He told WSOPC team later that their duel was a great deal of enjoyable as Izadi maintained altering his design and the eventual champion needed to adjust to those adjustments regularly.

Of his very own game, Hawkins claimed that he has actually made a lot of effort to play far better, be extra concentrated and worth all the oppoprtunities he has actually been provided.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table: