2021 WSOP: Daniel Lazrus bags the MILLION and second bracelet; Ryan Leng denies Connor Drinan third gold; Dylan Linde and Michael Prendergast shine

Topping the headlines at the 52nd Annual World Series of Poker was Daniel Lazrus who took down the MILLIONAIRE MAKER to claim the enormous US$ 1,000,000 first prize and his second career gold bracelet. At other events, Ryan Leng denied festival champion Connor Drinan at heads up to lock up his third career gold bracelet, Dylan Linde and Michael Prendergast each won their first. Among the Asian players, Korea’s Jungwook Park reached the final table and Japanese pro / Natural8 Ambassador Kosei Ichinose earned his second series cash. We’ve got those recaps down below. 

For those just getting wind of the series, cards have been flying at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino since September 30 and will run through November 23. Twenty-three out of 88 bracelets have been awarded plus three to WSOP.com online winners.

*Information collected from WSOP.com, PokerNews live updates, and The Hendon Mob

Event #17: $1,500 Millionaire Maker – DANIEL LAZRUS – US$ 1,000,000

While everyone desires the coveted bracelet, the Millionaire Maker event adds more to the glory with the champion guaranteed a whopping seven figures. As one of the festival’s biggest highlights, this year it attracted 5,326 entrants, and at US$ 1,500 each, it amassed US$ 7,110,210 making it the largest series prize pool to date. After five days of competition, Daniel Lazrus shipped it to capture the life changing US$ 1,000,000 first prize and his second career gold bracelet. He is currently the largest earner at the ongoing series. 

Lazrus is having a tremendous year with two titles under his belt. In the summer, he won the WSOP Online [USA] NL Hold’em High Roller Championship for his first bracelet and US$ 205,347, and now another and a million bucks at the live series. The latest win was just his sixth WSOP cash. 

“This one feels much more special, it feels more legitimized than online did, just because it was a different atmosphere. This makes me happy with the decision I’m making of putting a lot of time into poker. The first was an achievement, this feels like THE achievement. I didn’t realize it yet but this is a much greater feeling, I can’t even begin to describe it. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”

Reviewing his road to victory, Lazrus was already one of the biggest stacks at 20 remaining. After eliminating Luis Zedan (20th) and Arie Kliper (12th), he sat firmly up top at the final table of 10 and again at the final 5. Also on the round was 4x bracelet winner / Belgian pro Michael Gathy who was on his second final table. Gathy came close to a fifth bracelet at Event #13: $3,000 Freezeout No Limit Hold’em, finishing in 3rd place. Gathy would eventually fall in 4th place with Darryl Ronconi cleaning him out in two hands. After Lazrus eliminated Jeffrey Gencarelli (3rd), he entered heads up backed by a 3:1 advantage against Ronconi. Although Ronconi managed to chip up, Lazrus dominated the action and the count, and went on to win it with over . 

Among the Asia Pacific players in the money were Ye Yuan (91st), Yiming Li (92nd), Sejin Park (109th), Jun Obara (279th), Kyohei Tabe (326th), Yoshiya Agata (328th), Kitty Kuo (409th), Shohei Miyazaki (428th), Dominic Coombe (438th), Koji Takagi (560th), Yohwan Lim (588th), Ivan Zhechev (622nd), Yin Wu (676th), and Terence Clee (756th). 

Date: October 8 to 12
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 5,326
Prize pool: US$ 7,110,210
ITM: 799 places

Final table payouts

1st Daniel Lazrus – USA – US$ 1,000,000
2nd Darryl Ronconi – USA – US$ 500,125
3rd Jeffrey Gencarelli – USA – US$ 377,135
4th Michael Gathy – Belgium – US$ 288,715
5th Ignacio Moron – Mexico – US$ 222,430
6th Kevin Palmer – USA – US$ 172,455
7th Todd Saffron – USA – US$ 134,570
8th Adam Sherman – USA – US$ 105,690
9th Sertac Turker – Turkey – US$ 83,545
10th Philip Verel – USA – US$ 66,480

Event #21: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 of Better – DYLAN LINDE – US$ 170,269

After eleven years of cashing at the WSOP, Dylan Linde finally captured the first gold bracelet of his career. Linde bested a field of 641 entries at Event #21: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, defeating Hernan Salazar at heads up. Along with the coveted prize, he pocketed US$ 170,269. 

Having tasted his first WSOP cash in 2008, Linde has returned every year since. His efforts earned him a plethora of deep runs which included several final tables. In 2018, he placed 5th at the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em and 4th at the $1,500 NLH Shootout, these were the closest he came to a bracelet until the 2020 WSOP Online [International] $1,050 Beat the Pros Bounty event where he finished in second place. Aside from the main series, Linde has a long list of circuit earnings. In 2016, he won his first WSOPC ring. To date, he has over 101 series cashes amounting to over US$ 1.5 Million. In other pursuits, Linde boasts an even more impressive portfolio with over US$ 3.5 Million in live earnings. In 2018, he won the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic for his largest career payout of US$ 1,631,468. 

The mixed event presented three Omaha formats, Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, and Five Card Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo also known as the Big O. Among the 96 players in the money were hot running Robert Mizrachi (59th), Japanese pro/ Natural8 Ambassador Kosei Ichinose (19th), and Daniel Negreanu (18th). At the final table, every player was hunting down their first bracelet while Damjan Radanov and Linde were looking to add to their circuit ring. Radanov’s hopes ended in 5th place, Linde cleaned out David Matsumoto (4th), and Scott Abrams (3rd) fell to Salazar to bring about heads up. Linde entered with the bigger stack and proceeded to build a 4:1 chip advantage before finally taking it down for his first gold bracelet. 

Date: October 10 to 12
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 641
Prize pool: US$ 855,735
ITM: 96 places 

Final table payouts

1st Dylan Linde – USA – US$ 170,269
2nd Hernan Salazar – USA – US$ 105,235
3rd Scott Abrams – USA – US$ 71,651
4th David Matsumoto – USA – US$ 49,733
5th Damjan Radanov – US$ 35,204
6th Ryan Roeder – USA – US$ 25,424
7th Lance Sobelman – USA – US$ 18,740
8th Michael Lim – USA – US$ 14,104

Event #23: $1,500 Eight Game Mix 6-Handed – RYAN LENG – US$ 137,969

The 23rd bracelet event witnessed a loaded final table with nearly every player a decorated WSOP champion. Ryan Leng, Brett Shaffer, Ryan Hughes, and Connor Drinan were all sitting with two bracelets each, Daniel Zack was hunting down his second, and Schuyler Thornton was hoping to add one to go with his circuit ring. In the end, Leng put the brakes on Drinan to lock up his third gold bracelet and the accompanying US$ 137,969 first prize. Leng’s collection now stands at three bracelets and four circuit rings. 

The past few years have seen Leng pick up pace at the annual series. In 2018 he won his first bracelet at the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Bounty for US$ 272,765. The following year he cashed fourteen times, then at the 2020 WSOP Online [USA] he nearly won his second bracelet, placing 2nd at Event #24: NLH 8-Handed. This past summer, the hunt continued at the online series where he finally landed that second gold bracelet at Event #13: NL Hold’em Freezeout along with a payout of US$ 108,654. To date, Leng is closing in on US$ 2 Million in WSOP earnings. 

The $1,500 Eight Game Mix 6-Handed attracted 484 for a prize pool of US$ 646,140. Out of the 73 players in the money were 2x bracelet winner Yuri Dzivielevski (20th), bracelet winner Andres Korn (31st), and 4x bracelet winner Eli Elezra (66th). 5x bracelet winner Michael Mizrachi picked up his first series cash in 11th place and George Alexander was on his second 9th place series finish. The final table was formed at the fall of Hunter McClelland (8th) to series champion Drinan who was fresh off winning his second bracelet at Event #5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. 

Drinan went on to bulldoze the table, railing Thornton (5th), Zack (4th), and Shaffer (3rd) to carry in the lead at heads up against Leng. At one point, he was practically knocking on victory’s door with a 7:1 advantage, however he still couldn’t finish off Leng. After one double up, Leng’s winning streak continued. He picked up several big pots to overtake Drinan and deny him the gold at 2-7 Triple Draw. 

Date: October 11 to 13
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 484
Prize pool: US$ 646,140
ITM: 73 places

Final table payouts

1st Ryan Leng – USA – US$ 137,969
2nd Connor Drinan – USA – US$ 85,273
3rd Brett Shaffer – USA – US$ 56,839
4th Daniel Zack – USA – US$ 38,752
5th Schuyler Thornton – USA – US$ 27,038
6th Ryan Hughes – USA – US$ 19,317
7th Brandon Bergin – USA – US$ 14,140

Event #24: $600 PLO Deepstack 8 Handed – MICHAEL PRENDERGAST – US$ 127,348

A large crowd of 1,572 turned up for Event #24: $600 Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack 8-Handed for a prize pool of US$ 801,720. After two days of play, Michael Prendergast emerged victorious for his first ever gold bracelet and a career high score of US$ 127,348. In fact, this was Prendergast’s first ever cash at a main series; his three prior WSOP cashes were at circuit events. 

The money flowed in Day 1 starting at 235th place. Among the Asian players seeing a return were Yik Yin Chiu (209th), Taehyung Kim (73rd), and Ziyuan Wang (58th). When the final table was formed, in the lineup was John Bunch who was on his second final table having finished 4th at Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em and Jungwoong Park, the first Korean player to reach the final table at the series. Bunch went on to take 8th place while Park charged up to 3rd place for a career high US$ 57,349 payout. The battle for the gold came down between Prendergast and Jeffrey Barnes. Barnes entered with a 5:1 edge but it was Prendergast driving the action to overturn the numbers. Prendergast went on to win it on a lucky river ace for a higher two pair. For Barnes, the US$ 78,705 runner up prize was also his first ever WSOP cash. 

Date: October 12 to 13
Buy in: US$ 600
Entries: 1,572
Prize pool: US$ 801,720
ITM: 235 places 

Final table payouts

1st Michael Prendergast – USA – US$ 127,348
2nd Jeffrey Barnes – USA – US$ 78,705
3rd Jungwoong Park – Korea – US$ 57,349
4th Joao Peres – Brazil – USA – US$ 42,246
5th Daniel Wasserberg – USA – US$ 31,465
6th Donnie Phan – USA – US$ 23,698
7th Eric Polirer – USA – US$ 18,051
8th John Bunch – USA – US$ 13,907
9th Joseph Sanders – USA – US$ 10,838

Here’s a look at some of the series numbers and player achievements including the list of bracelet winners and multi-final tables.

2021 WSOP Tally

Event #1 – #24 prize pool: US$ 38,188,640
Online Event #1 – #3 prize pool: US$ 1,748,670
Entries: 34,309
Online entries: 1,921
Largest prize pool: Event #17: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER – US$ 7,110,210
Largest payout: Daniel Lazrus – US$ 1,000,000 – Event #17: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER 
Asia bracelet winner: Pete Chen – Online Event #3: $400 NLH Ultra Deepstack
First time bracelet winners: 14 (live) / 1 (online)

Second career bracelet won

Jeremy Ausmus – Event #3: $1K Covid-19 Charity Relief
Connor Drinan – Event #5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Martin “BathroomLine” Zamani – Online #1: $5,300 NLH Freezeout
Mark “NJ_AcesmarkA” Herm – Online #2: $500 NL Hold’em BIG 500
Ari Engel – Event #9: $10K Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
Yuval Bronshtein – Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em
Rafael Lebron – Event #14: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
Daniel Lazrus – Event #17: $1,500 Millionaire Maker NL Hold’em

Third career bracelet won

Anthony Zinno – Event #19: $10K Seven Card Stud Championship
Ryan Leng – Event #23: $1,500 Eight Game Mix 6-Handed

Fourth career bracelet won

John Monnette – Event #16: Limit Hold’em Championship

2021 WSOP Winners

Event #1: James Barnett – USA – Casino Employees – US$ 39,013
Event #2: Jesse Klein – USA – $25K H.O.R.S.E. – US$ 552,182
Event #3: Jeremy Ausmus – USA – $1K Covid-19 Charity Relief – US$ 48,687
Event #4: Long Ma – USA – $500 The Reunion 5M GTD – US$ 514,604
Event #5: Connor Drinan – USA – $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better – US$ 163,252
Event #6: Tyler Cornell – USA – $25K HR NL Hold’em 8-Handed – US$ 833,289
Event #7: Jaswinder “Jesse” Lally – Canada – $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed – US$ 97,915
Event #8: Zhi Wu – USA – $600 NL Hold’em Deepstack – US$ 281,406
Event #9: Ari Engel – Canada – $10K Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship – US$ 317,076
Event #10: Michael Perrone – USA – $1K Super Turbo Bounty NLH Freezeout – US$ 152,173
Event #11: Jason Koon – USA – $25K Heads-Up NL Hold’em Championship – US$ 243,981
Event #12: Yuval Bronshtein – Israel – $1,500 Limit Hold’em – US$ 124,374
Event #13: Harvey Mathews – USA – $3,000 Freezeout NL Hold’em – US$ 371,914
Event #14: Rafael Lebron – USA – $1,500 Seven Card Stud – US$ 82,262
Event #15: Bradley Jansen – USA – $1,500 6-Handed NL Hold’em – US$ 313,403
Event #16: John Monnette – USA – $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship – US$ 245,680
Event #17: Daniel Larzrus – USA – $1,500 Millionaire Maker NL Hold’em – US$ 1,000,000
Event #18: Vladimir Peck – USA – $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball – US$ 134,390
Event #19: Anthony Zinno – USA – US$ 10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship – US$ 182,872
Event #20: Dejuante Alexander – USA – $1,000 Flip & Go NL Hold’em – US$ 180,665
Event #21: Dylan Linde – USA – $1,500 Mixed PLO / Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; 5 Card PLO
Event #23: Ryan Leng – USA – $1,500 Eight Game Mix 6-Handed
Event #24: Michael Prendergast – $600 Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack 8-Handed

Online #1: Martin “BathroomLine” Zamani – USA – $5,300 NLH Freezeout – US$ 210,600
Online #2: Mark “NJ_AcesmarkA” Herm – USA – $500 NL Hold’em BIG 500 – US$ 89,356
Online #3: Pete Chen – Taiwan – $400 NL Hold’em Ultra Deepstack – US$ 82,560

Multiple final tables

Jason Koon
9th – Event #6: High Roller NL Hold’em 8-Handed
6th – Online Event #1: $5,300 NLH Freezeout
1st – Event #11: $10K Heads Up NL Hold’em Championship

Phil Hellmuth 
6th – Event #2: $25K H.O.R.S.E
5th – Event #9: $10K Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
4th – Event #19: #10K Seven Card Stud

Robert Mizrachi
3rd – Event #5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better 
7th – Event #9: $10K Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship

Jesse Yaginuma 
6th – Online Event #2: $500 WSOP.com NLHold’em BIG 500
6th – Event 15: $1,500 6-Handed NL Hold’em 

Hal Rotholz
8th – Event #14: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
6th – Event #18: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (Limit)

Connor Drinan 
1st – Event #5: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
2nd – Event #23: Eight Game Mix 6-Handed

Michael Gathy
3rd – Event #13: $3,000 Freezeout No Limit Hold’em
4th – Event #17: 1,50 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No Limit Hold’em

John Bunch
4th – Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em
8th – Event #24: Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack 8-Handed

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker as we bring you updates and recaps throughout the series.