Dash Dudley needs a new nickname after winning his first WSOP bracelet on Tuesday. (WSOP photo)

There were three more brand-new World Series of Poker bracelet winners crowned on Monday, but all of that was overshadowed by the emergence of one Phil Ivey in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

Ivey took full advantage of the Day 2 registration opportunity and built his stack up to the top of chip counts. He was joined in the field by Tom Dwan, making his 2019 WSOP debut.

Dash Dudley Brings Home $10,000 PLO Championship

“No more min-cash Dash,” That’s what Dash Dudley had to say after he beat James Park heads-up to win the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship for a seven-figure score and his first career WSOP bracelet.

Despite starting with the chip lead, Dudley knew the volatility of PLO could cause havoc at the final table and was prepared for any scenario that presented itself.

“I knew stuff might happen. People might get chips and I might get short. [But] I feel real confident in PLO, even short,” Dudley said. “Everyone gets real impatient in PLO when they’re short-stacked, and it causes them to make some crucial mistakes. People will justify it as coolers, but they’re really getting the money in at 20% or 30%. There’s a lot of spots you can avoid.”

Dudley’s previous best WSOP result came in 2010 when he finished eighth for $67,221.

Park earned $671,802 for his runner-up finish.

Final Table Payouts

  1. Dash Dudley – $1,086,967
  2. James Park – $671,802
  3. Joel Feldman – $463,814
  4. Jeremy Ausm- $325,693
  5. Kyle Montgomery – $232,680
  6. Eoghan O’Dea – $169,173
  7. Andrei Razov – $125,215
  8. Will Jaffe – $94,380

Santiago Soriano Wins $800 No Limit Hold’em Deepstack

Spaniard Santiago Soriano laid a bad beat on Amir Lehavot to finish off the $800 No Limit Hold’em Deepstack event on Tuesday night to win the first bracelet of his career.

On the final hand of the tournament, Soriano raised to 5,000,000 with JcTh and Lehavot called with AcAs. All the money went in after the Tc8d3s flop with Lehavot at risk. The Ts moved Soriano into the lead and the 3d river only improved his hand to win the tournament.

“It was surprising (Lehavot) had that big of a hand,” said Soriano. “I flopped top pair, and heads-up, top pair is very, very good. Then I bet pretty big and he raises, and I bet all-in and he has the aces. It was unfortunate for him that the ten was in there on the turn, but it was really amazing.”

Lehavot earned $229,410, the third biggest score of his WSOP career behind his $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em Championship win in 2011, and his third-place finish in the 2013 WSOP Main Event.

Third place finisher Benjamin Underwood earned $168,960 and added another feather in his impressive summer. Underwood, from Port Elgin, Ontario, has five WSOP cashes this summer. Along with baby cashes in the Big 50 and the Millionaire Maker, Underwood finished fourth in the $600 No Limit Hold’em Deepstack, fifth in the $800 No Limit Hold’em Deepstack.

Final Table Payouts

  1. Santiago Soriano – $371,203
  2. Amir Lehavot – $229,410
  3. Benjamin Underwood – $168,960
  4. Nick Blackburn – $125,432
  5. Joao Barrosovalli – $93,866
  6. Samuel Gagnon – $70,813
  7. Daniele Dangelo – $53,858
  8. Ori Hasson – $41,300
  9. Jeffery Tahler – $31,933

Kevin Gerhart Wins $1,500 Razz Event

Kevin Gerhart did almost all of the heavy lifting at the $1,500 Razz final table on his way to winning the first bracelet of his career and $119,054. Gerhart eliminated six of the last seven players.

The 29-year-old Ohio native had a simple goal for his 2019 WSOP.

“My goal this summer was just to make a final table, and the first final table you make, you win a bracelet? That’s unreal,” Gerhart said.

Sergio Braga finished runner-up for $73,577.

Scott Clements finished sixth for $17,440 and earned 320.2 WSOP Player of the Year points which moved him into fourth place behind Upeshka De Silva, Jason Gooch, and current leader Dan Zack.

Final Table Payouts

  1. Kevin Gerhart – $119,054
  2. Sergio Braga – $73,577
  3. Joseph Hoffman – $49,762
  4. Andres Norbe Korn – $34,352
  5. Jean Said – $24,216
  6. Scott Clements – $17,440
  7. Robert Campbell – $12,837
  8. Grzegorz Wyraz – $9,663

Phil Ivey Leads $50,000 Poker Players Championship to Day 3

Don’t look now poker fans, but Phil Ivey has the chip lead in one of the most prestigious events on the WSOP schedule. Ivey finished Day 2 of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship with 1,253,500 chips to edge out John Hennigan for the lead.

Hennigan, who won this event in 2014, ended with 1,209,000. Only two other players, Chris Vitch and 2019 Poker Hall of Fame nominee David Oppenheim, ended the day with more than 1,000,000 in the bag.

Josh Arieh, who started Day 2 with the lead, finished with 939,000 and the fifth best stack.

The 38 remaining players in the field include an almost overwhelming number of notables. Isaac Haxton, Daniel Cates, Luke Schwartz, Shaun Deeb, David ‘ODB’ Baker, Jason Mercier, Prahlad Friedman, and Phil Galfond on moved onto Day 3.

Action resumes 2 PM PT.

Top Chip Counts

  1. Phil Ivey – 1,253,500
  2. John Hennigan – 1,209,000
  3. Christopher Vitch – 1,103,000
  4. David Oppenheim – 1,062,000
  5. Josh Arieh – 939,000
  6. David Benyamine – 937,000
  7. Matthew Ashton – 911,000
  8. Robert Mackie – 900,000
  9. Jared Bleznick – 829,000
  10. Isaac Haxton – 802,000

Monster Stack Down to Six; Benjamin Ector Leads

Benjamin Ector could be just a few hours of poker away from winning his first WSOP bracelet. Ector finished Day 4 of the $1,500 Monster Stack event with 84,300,000 and the chip lead with just six players remaining.

Kainalu McCue-Unciano, who lead this event after Day 2, sits second with 68,300,000. Gregory Katayama bagged up 55,100,000 for the third best stack.

There were 49 players still chasing the bracelet when the day began. Some of the notables who didn’t make it through the day were Andrew Moreno, Ryan Hughes, and Tom Koral.

Kevin Roster, who is playing in the WSOP to raise awareness for Sarcoma research, finished 38th.

Action resumes at Noon PT.

Final Table Chip Counts

  1. Benjamin Ector – 84,300,000
  2. Kainalu McCue-Unciano – 68,300,000
  3. Gregory Katayama – 55,100,000
  4. Bart Hanson – 40,600,000
  5. Vincent Chauve – 36,700,000
  6. Igor Yaroshevskyy – 17,000,000

35 Teams Remain in $1,000 Tag Team Event

The team of Chad Gieger, Daniel Dayan, and Barak Wisbrod sit on top of the chip counts in the $1,000 Tag Team event with just 35 teams remaining, but if they look over their collective shoulders on Day 3, they’re going to see a number of stone cold killers coming for them.

Former #1 PocketFiver Steven van Zadelhoff and teammate Kenny Hallaert sit second, Tuan Le and Thanh Tran are third, and Jason Koon and Sosia Jiang are fourth.

There were 278 teams at the start of the day. Some of the other players who managed to make it to Day 3 include Ryan Leng, Zachary Gruneberg, Florian Duta, and Jordan Cristos.

The team of Jared Jaffee, Aaron Massey, and Ralph Massey started Day 2 with the chip lead and managed to make it to Day 3 but will be the shortest starting stack when play resumes at 1 PM PT.

Top Chip Counts

  1. Chad Gieger / Daniel Dayan / Barak Wisbrod – 1,340,000
  2. Kenny Hallaert / Steven van Zadelhoff – 1,129,000
  3. Tuan Le / Thanh Tran – 1,121,000
  4. Jason Koon / Sosia Jiang – 1,072,000
  5. Nicolas Betbese / Leandro Bianchini / Martin Pineiro – 1,003,000
  6. Ryan Leng / Lisa Leng / Nikki Grandt / Ilana Grandt – 1,001,000
  7. Lukasz Jankowski / Mateusz Rypulak / Jacek Pustula – 786,000
  8. Brett Murray / Bobby Poe – 688,000
  9. Michael Elbilia / Juan Endara – 686,000
  10. Jerod Smith / Matthew Moreno / Lawrence Chan – 674,000

Dan Matsuzuki Leads $600 NLHE Deepstack Championship

Dan Matsuzuki won his lone WSOP bracelet last summer in a $10,000 buy-in Championship event. This summer it seems he’s set on putting on a show at a lower price point. Matsuzuki finished Day 1 of the $600 NLHE Deepstack Championship with 868,000 and the chip lead. This comes a week after he finished runner-up in the $600 NLHE/PLO Deepstack event.

Dianlei Zhang finished with the next biggest stack at 790,000 and Bobby Oboodi is right behind him at 764,000.

The event drew 6,140 entries for a $3,223,500 prize pool. The event originally had a $500,000 guarantee.

Some of the 919 players moving onto Day 2 include Asi Moshe, Aleksandr Merzhvinskii, Chris Moorman, Joe Kuether, Greg Raymer, Jessica Dawley, Alex Foxen, and Kelly Minkin.

Day 2 gets underway at Noon PT.

Top Chip Counts

  1. Dan Matsuzuki – 868,000
  2. Dianlei Zhang – 790,000
  3. Bobby Oboodi – 764,000
  4. Mohammed Suhail – 729,000
  5. Eric Rivkin – 718,000
  6. Siagzar Payvar – 678,000
  7. Yuwen Pan – 659,000
  8. Olin Biddy – 638,000
  9. Jacob Klein – 635,000
  10. Andres Jeckeln – 625,000

Ray Medlin Tops Day 1 of $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo

While the tables were mostly full of No Limit Hold’em players in the $600 Deepstack Championship, 1,117 players managed to find a place to play the $15,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo event. Ray Medlin finished with the biggest stack of the 417 survivors.

Fresh off of winning his first career bracelet, Ari Engel bagged up 216,200 for the fourth best stack heading into Day 2.

Nick Guagenti, Scott Clements, Jeremy Ausmus, James Obst, Ben Yu, Chris Bjorin, Ray Henson, Frank Kassela, and Mike Sexton were just a handful of the notables who finished Day 1 with chips.

Day 2 gets underway at 2 PM PT.

Top Chip Counts

  1. Ray Medlin – 240,100
  2. Richard Bai – 225,200
  3. Danny Woolard – 217,500
  4. Ari Engel – 216,200
  5. Stephen Moreschi – 208,200
  6. Blaz Zerjav – 207,400
  7. Philipp Eirisch – 188,100
  8. Warren Sheaves – 183,200
  9. Robert Slezak – 175,100
  10. Alex Scattareggia – 174,200