WSOPE 2019: Hellmuth runner up to Besim Hot; Kahle Burns wins first bracelet; Negreanu leads Player of the Year race

Since WSOPE 2019 landed in Rozvadov, some of the best poker players in the world have been battling to get their hands on one of the final WSOP bracelets to be awarded this year. The gold bracelets are enough incentive for most players to make the trip, but for some players there is something else at stake.

The WSOP Player of the Year race has hit boiling point and all will be decided in the coming events.

€25,500 Mixed Games Championship – Winner: Besim Hot

The €25,500 (US$28,384) Mixed Games Championship always looked likely to be a fans favourite event ever since the schedule was announced. Certain bring in a small field of extremely talented players, it represented the best chance of a final table laden with star names, and it certainly delivered in that regard.

The tournament began with 45 runners, creating a total prize pool of €1,068,750 (US$1,189,604). In a field which was awash with star names, just seven players went on to get paid, and by the end of the second day, only those 7 remained. Switzerland’s Besim Hot led the way at the start of the final table, carrying a powerful stack of 15,795,000 into the fray – more than double that of Dzmitry Urbanovich in 2^nd place. The Polish pro was followed by none other than 15-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth with 5,495,000 and 6-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu with 5,315,000.

The final table began with cautious play, but eventually, Alex Livingston would become the first faller. Soon after, Daniel Negreanu took a big hit and to the dismay of his many fans, failed to recover. His only consolation being the haul of points towards the Player of the Year title. It wasn’t long before two more had fallen and the sharp end of the final table had been reached.

Swiss High Roller Besim Hot had endured a roller-coaster ride but had reclaimed a big chip stack three-handed, while Phil Hellmuth was doggedly pursuing bracelet number 16. Polish sensation Dzmitry Urbanovich was also in the hunt, having travelled to Rozvadov primarily for this event, calling it his “Main Event”. After a few small skirmishes, Urbanovich’s attempts to run his small stack up ran aground during the Razz round and he hit the rail in 3^rd.

Hellmuth began heads-up play with 20 million to the 24 million of Hot, but that was the closest he ever got. The Swiss started with a bluff before catching some cards to run over his illustrious opponent. In less than 2 hours he had ground Hellmuth down and finished him off, taking his first career bracelet.

The final payouts are as follows:
1^st – Besim Hot (Switzerland) – €385,911 (US$428,361)
2^nd – Phil Hellmuth (United States) – €238,509
3^rd – Dzmitry Urbanovich (Poland) – €162,463
4^th – Benny Glaser (United Kingdom) – €111,689
5^th – Julien Martini (France) – €77,502
6^th – Daniel Negreanu (Canada) – €54,287
7^th – Alex Livingston (Canada) – €38,389

€25,500 Platinum High Roller – Winner: Kahle Burns

This event ranked among the most eagerly awaited on the WSOPE schedule, with some top names stepping forward to contest this bracelet. Each of the 83 entrants paid €25,500 (US$28,384) to take their shot, generating a prize fund of €1,971,250 (US$2,194,159).

Once the final table was set, WSOP Player of the Year leader Robert Campbell was joined by reigning Main Event champion Hossein Ensan, Sam Trickett, Alex Foxen, Kahle Burns and Timothy Adams. The early exchanges soon brought about Campbell‘s departure, followed shortly after by Anton Morgenstern. Alex Foxen and Timothy Adams were next to head to the exit and shortly after it was down to Burns, Ensan and Trickett.

Hossein Ensan was seeking to add a second career bracelet to the most coveted one on earth which he strapped onto his wrist in the summer, but found his a little short on firepower against the {A} {10} of Burns. After Ensan had left the table, Trickett and Burns sat down to trade pots as each sought to claim a first career bracelet. As things transpired, they only really got to trade one. Trickett found against a limped from Burns and the chips met in the middle to create a massive pot. Burns’ queens held, and the title was his.

The final payouts are as follows:
1^st – Kahle Burns (Australia) – €596,883 (US$644,410)
2^nd – Sam Trickett (United Kingdom) – €368,899
3^rd – Hossein Ensan (Germany) – €251,837
4^th – Hakim Zoufri (Netherlands) – €177,062
5^th – Timothy Adams (Canada) – €128,326
6^th – Alex Foxen (United States) – €95,962
7^th – Anton Morgenstern (Germany) – €74,117
8^th – Robert Campbell (Australia) – €59,189

Other events

Event 7 – €1,100 Turbo Bounty Hunter No-Limit Hold’em
Entries: 377
Prize Pool: €348,631 (US$388,054)
Winner: Tomas Fara (Czech Republic) – €59,904 (US$$66,918)

Event 9 – €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha/No-Limit Hold’em Mix
Entries: 279
Prize Pool: €397,575 (US$442,533)
Winner: Asi Moshe (Israel) – € 97,465 (US$108,186)

Negreanu snatches lead in Player of the Year race

One of the fascinating stories which was always expected to emerge from WSOPE was that of the WSOP Player of the Year title for 2019. Shaun Deeb is seeking back to back titles, and Daniel Negreanu is seeking his third. Both these achievements would be unprecedented in the short history of the award. Both men have been frustrated in their efforts by Australian Robert Campbell, who led the way coming into the final fifteen events in Rozvadov. When WSOPE kicked off, Campbell led Deeb by 138 points, with Negreanu a further 114 points back.

With two-thirds of WSOPE now complete, the race has first seen Deeb seize control of the lead, with Negreanu now wrestling it back despite Campbell scoring well and keeping things close. The Canadian’s 6^th place finish in the Mixed Games Championship as enough to see him top the list by a small margin.

The current standings are as follows:

WSOP POY Update

Negreanu 3968.50
Campbell 3857.97
Deeb 3710.64
Hui 3,186.17
Dudley 2799.44
Ferguson 2790.42
Hellmuth 2742.42
Zinno 2718.15
Moshe 2685.53
Bojang 2633.83

4 WSOP Bracelets remain

€100,000 NL
€2,500 Short Deck
€10,350 Main Event
€550 Colossus

— Kevin Mathers (@Kevmath) October 23, 2019

Still to come

There may only be 6 events left to play, but there are some exciting opportunities to pick up huge scores and points hauls with another a High Roller and the Main Event still to come.

Here is a roundup of the remaining events:

• €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha
• €100,000 Diamond High Roller No-Limit Hold’em
• €2,500 SHORT DECK
• €10,350 Main Event
• €550 Colossus

Article by Craig Bradshaw