After a bruising battle through a difficult final table, Phil Ivey (pictured) etched his name further into the history books by taking down his ninth bracelet in Event #3, an AUD $2,200 Mixed Event, at the World Series of Poker Asia/Pacific (WSOP APAC).

Coming to the final table on Wednesday, Ivey was in the lead with a chip stack of 144,300, but there were plenty of challengers looking to deny him the tournament championship. Only 15,000 in chips behind him, Daniel Negreanu looked to be his most formidable competition, but the other four men on the felt – Brandon Wong (86,100), Kevin Song (47,600), Rob Campbell(42,600), and New Zealand’s Graeme Putt (36,400) – also wanted to put their names in the mix in one of the most difficult formats of tournament poker.

The tournament featured a rotation of games that included Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, 2-7 Lowball, Triple Draw, Razz, No Limit Hold’em, and Pot Limit Omaha, and the players went to work starting with Seven Card Stud. Negreanu stepped up in the early battles, taking the very first hand of the day against Ivey to move into the lead.

Wong was the first elimination, entering into a four-handed pot with Putt, Negreanu, and Song. On a 7-9-2 flop, Wong checked the action to Song, who opened up the betting that forced Putt and Negreanu to bail. Wong check-raised Song and, after a call, the duo saw a 6 on the turn. Wong moved all-in and Song made the call, showing two pair with A-K-9-7. He was behind, however, as Wong showed 10-9-8-6 for a turned straight and, after a blank on the river, Song was out in sixth place.

Wong continued to be a force on the felt, knocking off Campbell in fifth place, while Negreanu never found any traction. In PLO, it was Wong once again doing the deed, as he 3bet Negreanu to see a flop of A-10-4. A bet from Wong was met with a call from Negreanu and a 7 appeared on the turn. Wong bet the pot and Negreanu called.

Negreanu’s Q-9-5-6 had several draws to a straight and a flush, but Wong’s A-10-K-Q had flopped two pair, but was lacking serious redraw opportunities. Wong wouldn’t have to worry about that, as the river was a 4 to knock Negreanu (pictured) out in fourth place.

Down to three players, Ivey began to step up the pace. He won three consecutive Limit Hold’em hands to increase his stack and did an incredible amount of damage in Razz and No Limit Hold’em. Wong struck back in an attempt to stop Ivey, knocking off Putt in Seven Card Stud as he and Ivey went to heads-up action with Wong holding a slight lead.

What a battle it turned out to be. Ivey and Wong fought it out for over three hours, with Wong stretching his lead to over a 4:1 advantage before Ivey mounted an offensive. In 2-7, Ivey began to chip his way back up; in No Limit Hold’em, he drew even. By the time the game got to PLO, Ivey had switched the stacks on Wong and was looking to put him away, but Wong fought back to retake the lead during another round of PLO.

A critical hand emerged during Triple Draw that basically ended the tournament. After Wong capped the betting pre-draw at 40,000, each player drew one card. Wong called an Ivey bet and, while Ivey stood pat, Wong drew another card. Pushing out another bet, Ivey forced Wong to call off for 20,000, leaving him only 5,000 behind. Ivey patted again and Wong once again drew one, folding his hand after Ivey made a bet. With Wong down to only 5,000, it took Ivey just two more hands to capture his ninth bracelet:

1. Phil Ivey – $51,840
2. Brandon Wong – $32,039
3. Graeme Putt – $22,427
4. Daniel Negreanu – $16,336
5. Rob Campbell – $12,020
6. Kevin Song – $8,978

With Bracelet #9 now in his grasp, Ivey reflected to WSOP officials how important the win was for him. “I definitely wanted to win this event, especially when I got deep and realized I had a chance,” Ivey said. “The last five final tables I made, I didn’t win. I was getting very frustrated, so I was very happy to win this tournament.”

Ivey also admitted that a sense of his relationship with poker history was on his mind: “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to think about my place in poker history and where I’m going to stand, so it is important to me to win these bracelets. I’m trying to catch Phil [Hellmuth] (pictured). It’s tough. He keeps winning them, but I’m looking forward to the summer.”

Ivey’s nine bracelets rank only behind Hellmuth (13), Doyle Brunson (10), and Johnny Chan (10). He is tied with Johnny Moss, who also has nine bracelets. With over $17.6 million in lifetime live tournament earnings, Ivey is in fourth place behind Hellmuth, Sam Trickett, and Antonio Esfandiari.

Ivey’s victory in Event #3 should only whet his appetite for the upcoming action at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. The AUD $10,000 Championship Event begins on Thursday and there are two other non-bracelet tournaments on the agenda. The AUD $50,000 High Roller Event is set for Saturday and the Caesars Cup, featuring teams from Asia/Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, will play out on Sunday.

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