A dramatic day at the felt in two big tournaments saw history made inside the Rio Hotel & Casino as two more WSOP bracelets were won in two of the biggest tournaments of the Autumn.

A Career-High Score For Adrian Mateos

In Event #82, the $250,000-entry Super High Roller, Adrian Mateos went wire-to-wire as he took down the spectacular buy-in event for a top prize of $3.2 million and his fourth WSOP bracelet at the age of just 27.

Just five players began the final day, with Mateos’ stack almost as big on its own as the four others combined. After a period of play that saw Keith Tilston drop down the ranks, the American was the first player to bust when his shove with over the opening bet from Mateos saw the Spaniard call it off with . The board of gave Mateos a turned straight and sent Tilston home for a result worth $632,124.

With four players left, Mateos now had more than the rest of the table combined. It was Ben Heath who busted the next player, however, as Seth Davies busted in fourth for $930,791. Davies shoved from the small blind with and Heath called it off from the big blind with . The ten-high board produced no drama and play was three-handed.

After a period of play that saw Heath and Mateos battle for the lead, trading it on several occasions, Kincaid hit the rail when his was no match for Mateos’ on the ace-high board. Kincaid, who had been a lot shorter earlier in the event, cashed for an impressive $1.3m.

Heads-up, Heath was looking at a 2:1 deficit to overcome, but he was unable to do so in a final hand that saw Mateos’ good on a board of against Ben Heath’s . Heath cashed for $2 million, but Mateos’ victory was worth $3.26 million, the biggest cash of an already astounding career at the live felt where he has now won over $25 million.

WSOP 2021 Event #82 $250,000 Super High Roller Final Table Results:

1. Adrian Mateos – $3,265,262
2. Ben Heath – $2,018,148
3. John Kincaid – $1,370,575
4. Seth Davies – $930,791
5. Keith Tilston – $632,124

Ausmus Denies Bracelet To Both Hellmuth and Negreanu

A ding-dong battle saw Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu both just miss out on glory as Jeremy Ausmus won his third WSOP bracelet at the direct expense of his two highly-decorated opponents.

The final table of nine kicked off with the departure of Veselin Karakitukov, who was the first player to win a six-figure score for their efforts, his cash worth $108,753. After the exit of Ben Lamb in eighth place, Josh Arieh busted in seventh, meaning he needed Hellmuth not to win in order to maintain his place at the top of the WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard.

That happened, but not before a period of play when players were three-handed where each man had the lead. Hellmuth seemed to have all the momentum at one stage, but Daniel Negreanu was the thorn in his side. The same was true in reverse as at one point, Negreanu only needed to fade the river to eliminate his old frenemy in third place. Instead, the Poker Brat survived with a miracle on the river, leading to Hellmuth going to his rail whooping in the Thunderdome. Negreanu, frustrated at the missed opportunity, tipped his chair over in disgust.

The Canadian would bust soon after, but Hellmuth still had work to do in order to claim the bracelet. He was unable to do so, getting it all-in with two pair on a flop of where Ausmus had flopped the straight. That held through turn and river as Hellmuth saw his hopes of a full house disappear and dreams of that 17th WSOP bracelet go with it. The race for 2021 WSOP Player of the year looks likely to go to the final event, with Arieh making Day 2 of the $50,000 NLHE Event and Hellmuth needing to late reg and run deep to take the top of the leaderboard.

WSOP 2021 Event #84 $50,000 PLO High Roller Final Table Results:

1. Jeremy Ausmus – $1,188,918
2. Phil Hellmuth – $734,807
3. Daniel Negreanu – $519,764
4. Alexander Pedersen – $376,376
5. Laszlo Bujtas – $279,168
6. Jared Bleznick – $212,223
7. Josh Arieh – $165,452
8. Ben Lamb – $132,370
9. Veselin Karakitukov – $108,753

Jason Koon Leads The $50K High Roller

In the $50,000-entry NLHE High Roller Event #85, Jason Koon bagged the biggest stack as some superstars of the felt gathered in his slipstream.

With 35 players surviving from the 101 entries that took part, Koon’s stack of 2,405,000 is ahead of fellow first-time WSOP bracelet winner in 2021, Ole Schemion (1,760,000). With greats such as Stephen Chidwick (1,700,000), Shaun Deeb (1,650,000), Dan Smith (1,450,000) and Mikita Badziakouski (1,325,000) all in the top 10, there are going to be fireworks on Day 2, with Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu both likely to register as part of the late reg frenzy that is possible before Day 2 starts.

With Michael Addamo (1,145,000) eight in chips and former WSOP Main Event champ Joe McKeehen (610,000) and WSOP Player of the Year leader Josh Arieh (570,000) all in with a great shout of victory sitting in the top 20 stacks, there was no place in the Day 2 seat draw for Nick Petrangelo, Elio Fox, Sergio Aido, Dario Sammartino, Anthony Zinno, Brian Rast, Dominik Nitsche, Ben Heath, Scott Seiver, Sam Grafton or Fedor Holz.

WSOP 2021 Event #85 $50,000 NLHE High Roller Top 10 Chipcounts:

1. Jason Koon – 2,405,000
2. Ole Schemion – 1,760,000
3. Stephen Chidwick – 1,700,000
4. Shaun Deeb – 1,650,000
5. Ranganath Kanchi – 1,565,000
6. Dan Smith – 1,450,000
7. Mikita Badziakouski – 1,325,000
8. Michael Addamo – 1,145,000
9. Darren Elias – 1,144,000
10. John Brooks – 1,085,000

The Closer Prepares To Shut It Down

Finally, on Day 1b of The Closer, the $1,500-buy-in event saw Alex Kulev bag the biggest stack with a mammoth stack of 2,685,000. He’s clear of Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (2,425,000) in second place but even further ahead of Marc Lange (1,320,000) in third place.

Players such as Leo Margets (1,300,000), Ryan Riess (1,070,000), Cherish Andrews (600,000), Landon Tice (330,000), and Melanie Weisner (280,000) all made the cut for Day 2, which will see 61 players fight all the way from seven tables to the bracelet, with stars such as Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Ari Engel, Felipe Ramos, and Joseph Cheong all missing out on grabbing end-of-day stacks on Day 1b of the event.

WSOP 2021 Event #83 The Closer Day 1b Top 10 Chipcounts:

1. Alex Kulev – 2,685,000
2. Giorgiy Skhulukhiya – 2,425,000
3. Marc Lange – 1,320,000
4. Steven Steinmetz – 1,300,000
5. Leo Margets – 1,300,000
6. Ryan Riess – 1,070,000
7. Noah Bronstein – 1,010,000
8. Michael Wang – 1,010,000
9. Jonathan Borenstein – 960,000
10. Mitchell Halverson – 930,000

Landon Tice grabbed a bag, and while he was doing so, he couldn’t help but admit to being a fan of the Poker Brat.

This man is the goat I’m a believer 🙏🏻 https://t.co/yVBzBGVznV

— Landon (@LandonTice) November 21, 2021