2022 WSOP: Hong Kong’s Chan Lok Ming among latest bracelet champions; Brian Hastings wins #6; Robert Cowen, Steven Albini, Justin Pechie grab seconds

The third week of bracelet hunts at the 53rd Annual World Series of Poker added another big batch of first time winners and a few multi champions. Among them were Hong Kong playerChan Lok Ming who captured his first bracelet on his first ever visit, Brian Hastings for his sixth career gold, Robert Cowen, Steven Albini and Justin Pechie with their second career win on the world stage. The series has been underway since May 31 at its new home in Ballys and Paris Las Vegas Casino and will run through July 20. Over US$ 78.5 Million has been paid across 36 bracelet events. To date, a total of 52 coveted golds out of the 88 advertised are still up for grabs. Check out the latest highlights.

Festival update

Event 1 – 36 prize pool: US$ 78,560,003
Entries: 57,956
Career 6th bracelet: Brian Hastings
Career 5th bracelet: Adam Friedman
Career 4th bracelet: David Peters, Scott Seiver, Brad Ruben, Jeremy Ausmus
Career 3rd bracelet: Norbert Szecsi
Career 2nd bracelet: Manig Loeser, Daniel Zack, Robert Cowen, Steven Albini, Justin Pechie
Most final tables: Yuval Bronshtein (3), David Peters (3)
Online Event 1 – 3: US$ 2,646,640
Online entries: 3,072

Event 26: Limit Hold’em Championship – JONATHAN COHEN – US$ 245,678

The US$ 10K Limit Hold’em Championship needed another day to complete with heads up battle between Jonathan Cohen and Kyle Dilschneider running into the wee hours of the night. When the chase continued, it clocked in another five hours before Cohen finally nailed it shut. The win was a dream come true for Cohen who came close to the gold twice in the past with a runner up finish at the 2012 $1,500 Shootout No Limit Hold’em and 7th at the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em in 2014.

To lock up the win, Cohen first had to get back on track after receiving a one round penalty for vaping at the table. Luckily, his lucky charm was sitting on his lap, Riley – his eight year old service dog, to provide plenty of coolness and inspiration. One of Cohen’s biggest takedowns was the elimination of recent bracelet champion Chad Eveslage in 6th place with a stunning quads on the board for the ace to play and dust pocket Sevens.

At three-handed, Cohen also knocked out bracelet champion Matthew Schreiber who was on his second final table with a 5th place finish at the Mixed Triple Draw Lowball. The grueling heads up match against Kyle Dilschneider followed with both players taking turns up top. After a couple of hours and no winner in sight, the players slept it off and resumed the next day. Despite the break, it was still a marathon to the title. It ran for another five hours before Cohen put a lid on it. For Cohen’s accomplishment, he pocketed a career high win of US$ 245,678. Same as well for runner up Dilschneider whose impressive run earned him his first ever series six figure payout.

Buy in: US$ 10,000
Entries: 92
Prize pool: US$ 857,900
ITM: 14 players

Final table payouts in USD

Event 27: Shootout No Limit Hold’em – MICHAEL SIMHAI – US$ 240,480

Considerably one of the most challenging formats is the Shootout No Limit Hold’em where players have to win their table to advance to the money round. 1,000 entered with 100 advancing to the money. Day 2 concluded with the field down another ten percent. The final table of ten was populated with WSOP circuit ring winners and one bracelet holder in Kevin Song. When Song was denied in 9th place, a first time winner was ensured. The last ring winner, Ravi Raghavan, was stopped in 4th place.

Among the top three remaining, it was Michael Simhai who had the least amount of WSOP experience with only two prior cashes recorded. Despite the short resume, Simhai stole the crown. He defeated David Dowdy at heads up to lock up his first gold bracelet and a career high six figure score of US$ 240,480. The final hand was quite a doozy with Simhai playing the board’s high two pair and his ace kicker. Dowdy’s pair of Sevens were canceled out to give him a seven high kicker. Simhai added this win to his impressive list of cashes mostly earned in Los Angeles ten years ago. He has over US$ 730K in live earnings.

Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 1,000
Prize pool: US$ 1,335,000
ITM: 100

Final table payouts in USD

Event 28: High Roller Pot Limit Omaha – ROBERT COWEN – US$ 1,393,816

With the exception of the Main Event, up until this series, Robert Cowen was playing events with buy ins of up to $5K. Last year, his gold hunt came to fruition at the US$ 1,500 buy in 6-Handed Pot Limit Omaha. Returning this year minted with confidence, Cowen took on his biggest WSOP live tournament challenge, the US$ 50K buy in High Roller Pot Limit Omaha where he went up against some of the world’s elite players.

After three days of competition, big guns Daniel Negreanu, Josh Arieh, Phil Ivey, Stephen Chidwick, and Erik Seidel were nowhere in the final lineup. Neither was top PLO pro from Finland, Joni Jouhkimainen, who fell short in 10th. Among the players that reached the final table were bracelet winners Scott Seiver (8th), Jason Mercier (6th), Ben Lamb (3rd) who won the $10 PLO Championship in 2011, and Dash Dudley who has two PLO bracelets both from 2019. In the end, the title could have gone either way with Dudley clawing from behind to catch Cowen however, a runner runner flush was still not enough to defeat Cowen’s straight turned runner runner full house. Cowen seized his second WSOP bracelet and a career high takedown of seven figures worth US$ 1,393,816. This boosted his total live earnings to over US$ 2.8 million.

Buy in: US$ 50,000
Entries: 106
Prize pool: US$ 5,074,750
ITM: 16 places

Final table payouts in USD

Event 29: No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw – MAXX COLEMAN – US$ 127,809

Golden dream finally fulfilled for Maxx Coleman but it was under the unlikeliest of events. Coleman has cashed multiple times at No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha, but his first bracelet was secured at the $1,500 buy in No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. Impressively, this was also his first cash under this variant. On the path to victory, Coleman eliminated 2x bracelet champion Yuri Dzivielevski into 4th place, and after Thomas Newton halted 8x ring winner Roland Israelashvili in 3rd place, it was a tug of war for the gold. Once Coleman built a substantial lead against Newton, he held on to win it to pocket the US$ 127,809 top prize.

Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 437
Prize pool: US$ 583,395
ITM: 66 players

Final table payouts in USD

Event 30: Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed – DANIEL WEINMAN – US$ 255,359

Early in the series, Daniel Weinman was stopped at victory’s doorstep, just missing his first bracelet at Seven Card Stud (Event 9). Ten days later, the story was the opposite. Weinman cruised to victory at the Pot Limit Omaha 8-handed to finally lock up that coveted gold. After railing Germandio Andoni in 4th place, Coleman sent the next two out – Eduardo Bernal Sanchez and Jamey Hendrickson – in quick succession to claim the win and the US$ 255,359 first prize. The champion climbed over US$ 1.55 Million in WSOP earnings across 68 cashes. Also running deep were Chino Reem, decorated series champion Stephen Song, and ring winner Ruslan Dykshteyn. Flying Asian flags, Yi Wei Peng reached the furthest of 18th place, China’s Yin Wu in 21st place, and Manan Bhandari in 32nd place.

Buy in: US$ 1,000
Entries: 1,891
Prize pool: US$ 1,682,990
ITM: 284

Final table payouts in USD

Event 31: Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship – BRIAN HASTINGS – US$ 292,146

American mixed game pro Brian Hastings became the eighth player to win a career sixth WSOP bracelet after his victory at the $10K buy in Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship. Hastings topped a star studded final table lineup that included multi bracelet champions Shaun Deeb (who was hunting his sixth as well), and 2x title-holders Marco Johnson and Yuval Bronshtein. This was Bronshtein’s third final table and Johnson’s second. Also seated in the round was Daniel Zack who recently won his career second bracelet and nearly strapped another here but fell short in 3rd place by one point against Eric Wasserson. Heads up Hastings was ahead of Wasserson and held it throughout to claim the title. For his win, Hastings added a new bling to his heavy treasure box collected from Pot Limit Omaha, H.O.R.S.E. 10-Game Mix, two Seven Card Studs, and Heads Up No Limit Hold’em Championship. In cash, Hastings pocketed US$ 292,146 for his victory to bring his WSOP total earnings over US$ 3.3 Million.

Buy in: US$ 10,000
Entries: 118
Prize pool: US$ 1,100,350
ITM: 18 places

Final table payouts in USD

Event 32: H.O.R.S.E. – STEVEN ALBINI – US$ 196,089

In 2018, Steven Albini captured his first ever WSOP bracelet at Seven Card Stud, which at the time was just his sixth ever WSOP cash. Three years later with two more cashes added to the list, Albini took a stab at this year’s $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event and shipped it for his career second bracelet. The achievement also earned him a series high score of US$ 196,089 to bump up his series earnings to US$ 369,136.

A confessed recreational player who rarely plays live tournaments, Albini’s impressive run witnessed him outlast a substantial field of 773 entries, which was slightly up from its 2019 run of 752 entries. Among the players that reached the final table was Japanese pro Tamon Nakamura finishing in 8th place. This was Nakamura’s deepest ever series run.

Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 773
Prize pool: US$ 1,031,955
ITM: 116 places

Final table payouts in USD

Event 33: 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em – NINO ULLMANN – US$ 594,079

Last year, German pro Nino Ullmann ran deep at the $3K buy in 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em event in 40th place out of 997 entries. With a larger field to navigate this year, and the same name event attracting 1,348 entries, Ullmann overcame the challenge to seize his maiden bracelet and a WSOP career high payout of US$ 594,079. The newly minted champion bested top players in the final table lineup such as David Peters who was on his third final table and WPT multi champion Darren Elias who was still in search of that elusive first gold. Ullmann defeated Timothy Flank at heads who also collected a personal high US$ 367,181 and just on his fifth series cash. Among the numerous decorated pros that dipped in the sizable US$ 3,599,160 prize pool was Taiwanese bracelet holder Pete Chen in 19th place.

Buy in: US$ 3,000
Entries: 1,348
Prize pool: US$ 3,599,160
ITM: 203 places

Final table payouts in USD

Event 34: Freezeout No Limit Hold’em – JUSTIN PECHIE – US$ 364,899

The third No Limit Hold’em freezeout format scheduled came with a buy in of US$ 1,500. A large crowd of 1,774 players pulled up seats with 266 earning a portion of the US$ 2,368,290 pot. After three days of intense play, USA’s Justin Pechie was the last man standing to snag himself the gold bracelet and a cool US$ 364,899 payout. This win comes 10 years after he strapped his first bracelet at the 2011 $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout. To help Pechie on his way to the latest gold, he landed a huge double up at three-handed with a straight on fourth street against Maxime Parys’s two pair at the flop. From there, he kept a tight grip on the lead, disposing of Samuel Bifarella at heads up. This win increased Pechie’s total WSOP earnings over US$ 1.1 Million.

Buy in: US$ 1,500
Players: 1,774
Prize pool: US$ 2,368,290
ITM: 266 places

Final table payouts in USD

Event 35: Mixed Big Bet Event; CHAN LOK MING – US$ 144,348

Hong Kong player Chan Lok Ming aka Lok Chan, one of the most accomplished players in the Taiwan circuit, made his first trip to Las Vegas worth every penny. He entered the $2,500 Mix Big Bet Event and after three days of play, he emerged capturing a coveted gold bracelet and a career high score of US$ 144,348. Chan became the third player from Hong Kong to win at the series, following in the steps of Danny Tang and Anson Tsang who has two bracelets.

Taking a look at Chan’s prior accomplishments, in 2019 he took the Taiwan scene by storm winning numerous live tournaments at nearly every local and live international festival. He has won at least 14 tournaments in a span of a few years and collected over US$ 330K in earnings prior to the Las Vegas trip. With these stats, it was no surprise to see Chan seek out bigger challenges. His victory on his first visit clearly displays his prowess on the felt.

Buy in: US$ 2,500
Entries: 281
Prize pool: US$ 625,225
ITM: 43 players

Final table payouts in USD

Event 36: Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better – ALI ESLAMI – US$ 135,260

After 28 WSOP cashes that consisted of 7 final tables, Ali Eslami finally snatched up his career first bracelet at the ongoing series. Eslami topped the 471 entries of the $1,500 buy in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better to win the gold and collect US$ 135,260. The win came just a few days after placing 10th at the $10K Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship. Prior to these deep runs, in 2011 Eslami recorded his best year at the series with three final table finishes. One of them was 7th place at $1,500 Seven Card Stud and another was 8th place at the $10K Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championships.

To finally capture the elusive title, Eslami outlasted several decorated players at the final table that included 4x bracelet champion Jeff Madsen, bracelet winner Kenny Hsiung, 7x ring winner John Holley, and 2x ring winner Thomas Taylor. At heads up, Eslami gave no room for Chris Papastratis to overtake and closed it out in just under one hour.

Buy in: US$ 1,500
Entries: 471
Prize pool: US$ 628,785
ITM: 71 places

Final table payouts in USD

More 2022 WSOP recaps to follow here at Somuchpoker.

2022 WSOP underway: first four bracelet winners
2022 WSOP: Bracelet winners Event 5 – 9
2022 WSOP: Bracelet winners Event 10 – 14
2022 WSOP: Bracelet winners Event 15 – 25