2019 WSOP Day 25: Chidwick, Engel, and Schwartz Win

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on June 23rd, 2019

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Three big names in the world of poker claimed WSOP gold yesterday, all experiencing their first time in the WSOP winner’s circle. Many would have assumed players like Stephen Chidwick, Ari Engel, and Luke Schwartz had been there before, but none had actually won until this year. On Saturday, June 22, this is what happened at the 50^th Annual World Series of Poker.

Event 45:  $25K PLO High Roller – Final

Total entries:  278 Prize pool:  $6,602,500 Players paid:  42 Final table payouts: 1^st place:  Stephen Chidwick (UK) – $1,618,417 2^nd place:  James Chen (Taiwan) - $1,000,253 3^rd place:  Matthew Gonzales (USA) - $699,364 4^th place:  Robert Mizrachi (USA) - $497,112 5^th place:  Alex Epstein (USA) – $359,320 6^th place:  Erik Seidel (USA) - $264,186 7^th place:  Wasim Korkis (USA) - $197,637 8^th place:  Ka Kwan Lau (Hong Kong) - $150,483

Event 47:  $1K Ladies NLHE Championship – Day 3 of 4

Total entries:  968 Prize pool:  $871,200 Players paid:  146 Minimum payout:  $1,496 Winner payout:  $167,308 Day 3 players remaining:  6 Final table chip counts: Tu Dao (Canada) – 5.42 million chips Jiyoung Kim (China) – 5.1 million chips Nancy Matson (USA) – 4.53 million chips Lyly Vo (USA) – 1.7 million chips Lexy Gavin (USA) – 1.43 million chips Sandrine Phan (France) – 1,185,000 chips Final table payouts thus far: 7^th place:  Raylene Celaya (USA) - $20,582 8^th place:  Stephanie Hubbard (USA) - $15,544 9^th place:  Barbara Blechinger (USA) – 11,911 Day 4 starting time:  12noon

Event 48:  $2,500 NLHE – Final

Total entries:  996 Prize pool:  $2,241,000 Players paid:  150 Final table payouts: 1^st place:  Ari Engel (Canada) - $427,399 2^nd place:  Pablo Melogno (Uruguay) - $264,104 3^rd place:  Wilbern Hoffman (USA) - $186,392 4^th place:  Ben Keeline (USA) - $133,306 5^th place:  David Baker (USA) - $96,632 6^th place:  James Hughes (USA) - $71,010 7^th place:  Truyen Nguyen (USA) - $52,909 8^th place:  Ryan Olisar (USA) - $39,980 9^th place:  Josh Arieh (USA) - $30,643

Event 49:  $10K Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw – Final

Total entries:  100 Prize pool:  $940,000 Players paid:  15 Final table payouts: 1^st place:  Luke Schwartz (UK) - $273,336 2^nd place:  George Wolff (USA) - $168,936 3^rd place:  Johannes Becker (Germany) - $116,236 4^th place:  Mark Gregorich (USA) - $81,635 5^th place:  Yueqi Zhu (China) - $58,547 6^th place:  Calvin Anderson (USA) - $42,898

Event 50:  $1,500 NLHE Monster Stack – Day 1B of 6

Total entries:  6,035 Prize pool:  $8,147,250 Players paid:  906 Minimum payout:  $2,249 Winner payout:  $1,008,850 Day 1 players remaining:  2,902 Day 1A chip leader:  Conor Beresford (UK) – 724,000 chips Day 1B chip leader:  James Hundt (USA) – 466,600 chips Day 2 starting time:  11am

Event 51:  $2,500 Mixed – Day 2 of 3

Total entries:  401 Prize pool:  $902,250 Players paid:  61 Minimum payout:  $3,727 Winner payout:  $213,750 Day 2 players remaining:  12 Chip leader:  Michael Thompson (USA) – 923,000 chips Day 3 starting time:  2pm

Event 52:  $10K PLO 8-Handed Championship – Day 1 of 4

Total entries:  494 (registration remains open) Prize pool:  $4,463,600 (not final) Players paid:  TBD Minimum payout:  TBD Winner payout:  TBD Day 1 players remaining:  253 Chip leader:  Yi Li (USA) – 572,000 chips Day 2 starting time:  2pm

Notable Information

Stephen Chidwick didn’t just win any WSOP tournament as his first; he took down the $25K buy-in PLO High Roller for more than $1.6 million. After having cashed at the WSOP 52 times in the past, 13 of which were final table finishes, the high-stakes poker regular took this one down. “I try really hard to detach the bracelet and everything around it,” he said. “I have been here many times, and I had a lot of heartbreak over the years, too.” And to finally win it? “It means a lot. It feels great,” Chidwick said. “I had so many people supporting me for the past 10 years since I have been grinding so hard to win a bracelet, and I know I have a lot of people in my corner that are really happy for me, and that means a lot.” The rest of his series action will depend on his wife and infant daughter. Chidwick noted that they take priority, and he will base his play on the needs of his family. https://twitter.com/WSOP/status/1142589622511230976 Ari Engel was another longtime poker pro that hadn’t won a WSOP gold bracelet until yesterday in the $2,500 NLHE event. He does have nine WSOP Circuit rings, but now he has the bracelet. But he never game up. “The competition in this was way tougher (than WSOP Circuit events). It means more from the poker accomplishment perspective.” He acknowledged luck’s role in the win but also his own ability to take it down. “I sucked out so many times in this tournament; it’s ridiculous,” Engel said. “With this huge field of No Limit players, you play these expecting to win one in a lifetime. It’s a relief to not mess this up.” https://twitter.com/WSOP/status/1142683792735268864 And then Luke Schwartz captured his first WSOP gold. That win came in the $10K Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship. “It feels pretty good, pretty relieving,” he commented. “It’s a nice thing to have as a poker player.” He acknowledged the change that many have already seen in him, from a young pro with a temper to a more mature player with focus. When talking about the five-hour three-handed match in the tournament, Schwartz said, “Maybe the old me would’ve just got too frustrated and tilted, but I just took a deep breath … I just wanted the bracelet. I just wanted to win it.” https://twitter.com/WSOP/status/1142706356631158790  

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