World Series of Poker 2022 Recap: Main Event kicks off, Hellmuth denied No. 17

Donnie Peters

World Series of Poker 2022 Recap: Main Event kicks off, Hellmuth denied No. 17 image

It’s time for the $10,000 Main Event at the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The greatest poker tournament in the world kicked off this week and drew more than 8,000 entries to Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas. That’s not all that went down, as some more winners were crowned. Here’s a look at this week’s action from the 2022 WSOP.

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More Than 8,000 Entries In WSOP Main Event

The 2022 WSOP Main Event is moving on to Day 2d on Friday, July 8, with already more than 8,000 entries in the field. That balloons the prize pool to around $80,000,000 with late registration still open for two more two-hour levels on Friday.

While big names such as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Phil Hellmuth have been eliminated from the 2022 WSOP Main Event, there are plenty of notables still remaining. Kelly Minkin bagged a big stack on Day 2abc, Jesse Sylvia, Xuan Liu, Brian Hastings, and Kenny Tran all advanced to Day 3, as did former WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess.

Although Hellmuth was eliminated from the event, he did make an impression we won’t soon forget when he arrived as a late entrant on Day 2abc dressed from head to toe as Darth Vader. The WSOP’s Jack Effel introduced the 16-time WSOP gold bracelet winner while he made his way to his starting table as “The Imperial March” theme song played throughout the venue. Hellmuth didn’t last long, though, busting in the first level of the day.

Barstool Sports was out in full effect for the 2022 WSOP Main Event as well, and Adam “Smitty” Smith bagged 302,000 to end Day 2abc. Eric “Nate” Nathan busted on Day 2abc, and Owen Roeder went down on Day 1d, but Ben “Mintzy” Mintz will be back in action on Friday for Day 2d. Elezra Wins Fifth WSOP Gold Bracelet

In Event #63: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, it was Eli Elezra who emerged victorious to win his fifth World Series of Poker gold bracelet and $611,362 in prize money. Elezra is now one of 31 players in poker history to win at least five WSOP gold bracelets.

Elezra topped a field of 284 entries in Event #63 at the 2022 WSOP, and he beat Chino Rheem in heads-up play. Reigning WSOP Player of the Year Josh Arieh finished seventh.

Elezra has now won gold bracelets in 2007, 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2022. His first-ever gold bracelet came in the 2007 WSOP $3,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo for $198,984. In 2013, he won the WSOP $2,500 2–7 Triple Draw event for $173,236. In 2015 and 2019, Elezra won the WSOP $1,500 Seven-Card Stud for $112,591 and $93,766, respectively.

With Event #63 having a buy-in of $10,000, it qualifies for the PokerGO Tour (PGT). With the win, Elezra picked up 611 PGT leaderboard points. Phil Ivey remains atop the PGT leaderboard at date of this article.

Teusl Conquers WSOP Ladies Championship

One of the best events on the schedule every WSOP, the $1,000 Ladies Championship tournament once again delivered in a big way with 1,074 entries and Austria’s Jessica Teusl taking home the gold. Teusl won $166,975 for the win.

The final table of the 2022 WSOP Ladies Championship was live streamed for free by PokerGO on the PokerGO YouTube channel.

Three-handed play came down to Teusl, Julie Le, and Christina Gollins, and ultimately it was Teusl who proved best. Teusl knocked out Gollins in third place, then finished off the tournament by busting Le in second place to win it all. Teusl scored a big double up in heads-up play against Le that left Le short then sealed the deal not long after.

Prior to winning the 2022 WSOP Ladies Championship, Teusl had earned four cashes at this year’s series, including an eighth-place finish in the WSOP $1,500 Monster Stack for $120,455. To make things even better for the Teusl crowd, her boyfriend, Stefan Lehner, won Event #16: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em earlier in the series for $558,616.

Jackson Denies Hellmuth No. 17

David Jackson put on a show in Event #65: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout at the 2022 WSOP, topping the field of 1,359 entries to win his second WSOP gold bracelet and $598,173 in first-place prize money. Jackson had a big chip lead deep in the tournament on Day 3 and rode that chip lead to victory, defeating 16-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth in heads-up play in an epic night of poker.

This final table was also live streamed for free by PokerGO on the PokerGO YouTube channel, so be sure to check it out if you missed the wildly entertaining conclusion of this event. The live broadcast had a bit of everything, from Hellmuth getting frustrated by Jackson’s supporters on the rail, to plenty of big pots and fun hands, and even a spectacular moment when Hellmuth bites into a roast beef sandwich.

On the final hand of this one, Hellmuth’s ace-seven of hearts went up against Jackson’s king-jack of clubs. A ten-ten-four flop kept Hellmuth in front, but a nine on the turn and a queen on the river gave Jackson a winning king-high straight to eliminate Hellmuth in second place.

Glantz Pulls Million Dollar Bounty, Borland Wins Event

Event #68: $1,000 Million Dollar Bounty was certainly an event to remember. More than 14,000 entries were tallied in this one as players took their shot at pulling a $1,000,000 bounty prize. The field was also playing for the $750,120 first-place prize in the tournament.

Matt Glantz was the winner of the $1,000,000 bounty prize. He knocked out Justin Lett to get the bounty ticket, then proceeded to pull the seven-figure payday from the large treasure chest on stage at Paris Las Vegas. Glantz gave Lett $5,000 because he did deliver a bad beat against him in order to take Lett out and get the bounty. Glantz then went on to finish in 42nd place for $20,730.

Minnesota’s Quincy Borland was the winner of the event, taking home $750,120 in prize money and his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Borland topped Kevin Hong in heads-up play thanks to his ace-queen holding up against Hong’s ace-jack on the final hand.

Other WSOP Winners Include Dudley and Barbero

Those mentioned above weren’t the only winners from the last week of the 2022 WSOP. Dash Dudley won Event #62: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty for $301,396, Konstantin Angelov scored first place in Event #64: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack for $199,466, Young Sik topped a big field of 5,832 to win Event #66: $1,000 Mini Main Event for $594,189, and Sean Troha won Event #69: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $1,246,770.

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Donnie Peters

Donnie Peters Photo

Donnie Peters is the Sr. PR & Communications Manager for PokerGO. He has more than 14 years of experience in the poker industry and has covered the WSOP and WPT for various outlets since 2008, including PokerNews and PocketFives. Donnie was awarded 2015 Media Person of the Year at the Global Poker Awards.