Hennigan Wins 5th WSOP Bracelet, Ivey Competing at $50k Poker Players Championship

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Monday, June 18th, 2018 | Written by Lucy Brown

Thirty out of seventy-eight official gold bracelet events have been completed so far at the 2018 WSOP, with the pros riding high in Las Vegas after adding further to their existing bracelet tallies.

Counted amongst their numbers are Elio Fox, Nick Petrangelo, Justin Bonomo, Joe Cada, Paul Volpe and Brian Rast, while the latest professionals players to boost their accolades include Adam Friedman, who took down the WSOP $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Six-Max Event, and John Hennigan who captured a 5th career bracelet at the $10k HORSE Championship event.

Meanwhile, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship has reached its fourth day of play, and amongst the 12 players still in contention are multiple bracelet winners, including the likes of Phil Ivey, Michael Mizrachi, Brian Rast, John Hennigan and Shaun Deeb.

Adam Friedman Wins $10k Dealer’s Choice Six-Max

On June 9th, Adam Friedman emerged victorious at the Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice 6 Handed, after besting a field of 111 players over three days to claim a first place prize worth $293,275. In addition to being his biggest live tournament score to date, and bringing his live tournament winnings to $2,451,537, the victory also secures a second career bracelet for the 36 year-old pro from Ohio.

Back in 2012, Friedman took down WSOP Event #15: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $269,037, and following his latest success at the Rio, he stated:

“In terms of the $10k events, this one is right up there. You need to know how to play 20 games. How many people are at least competent in at least 20 games? Not many. I think this takes as much skill as any other event.”

On the last day of play, Friedman faced a tough final table that included the likes of David “ODB” Baker (5th), and Chris Klodnicki (4th), with the pro eventually managing to beat the UK’s Stuart Rutter heads-up to claim the coveted gold accolade.

John Hennigan Wins $10k HORSE Championship

On June 14th, consummate professional John Hennigan picked up a 5th career WSOP bracelet after a wining performance at Event #27: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship for $414,692. As a result, the 47-year-old Philadelphia pro now joins a select group of just 25 players on the same amount of bracelets, with their ranks including such players as Stu Ungar, John Juanda, Allen Cunningham, David Chiu, Scotty Nguyen and Jason Mercier.

The $10k HORSE Championship attracted 166 competitors, and while the final table of eight also featured a slew of notable pros, it was amateur player Iraj Parvizi who turned the tables by putting the pressure on the pros instead of vice versa. The UK player’s tactics of unbalancing his professional opponents included continuously reminding them of his amateur ranking, mounting frequent aggressive all-out attacks, as well as playing several hands totally in the dark.

In the end, however, Parvizi was eliminated in 4th, followed by Lee Salem in 3rd, and David Baker in 2nd, making Hennigan the last player standing, after which he commented:

“I had some very lucky situations when I was short, and it’s just a really nice win.”

$50k Poker Players Championship

One tournament currently being played and attracting a great deal of interest is Event #33: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, with the high-stakes mixed-games tournament long considered one of the most prestigious events offered at the WSOP. The legendary pro Chip Reese was the first player to win the event back in 2006, and over the years its list of champions has grown to include Scotty Nguyen, Michael Mizrachi, Brian Rast, and John Hennigan.

This year’s Poker Players Championship then saw 87 players enter to create a prize pool worth $4,176,000, and amongst the players busting short of a cash prize was Jason Mercier (28th), Daniel Negreanu (26th) and Elior Sion (23rd). Meanwhile, leading the 14 players still remaining is Michael Mizrachi (4.2m), who has already won the event twice in the past, followed by Canada’s Mike Leah (3.1m), and Aaron Katz (2.5m).

In fourth spot is Phil Ivey, who will be looking to add to his already impressive 10-WSOP bracelet tally by notching up a further victory, with other top contenders also waiting in the wind including Benny Glaser, Dan Smith, John Hennigan, Greg Mueller, Brian Rast, Chris Vitch, Shaun Deeb and Jean-Robert Bellande. Day 3 of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship is scheduled to resume later today, and conclude on Tuesday at the end of Day 5.