2019 WSOP Day 31: Hui Wins Poker Players Championship

On Friday, June 28, this is what happened at the 50^th Annual World Series of Poker.

Event 58:  $50K Poker Players Championship – Final

Total entries:  74

Prize pool:  $3,552,000

Players paid:  12

Final table payouts:

1^st place:  Phillip Hui (USA) – $1,099,311

2^nd place:  Josh Arieh (USA) – $679,426

3^rd place:  John Esposito (USA) – $466,407

4^th place:  Bryce Yockey (USA) – $325,989

5^th place:  Shaun Deeb (USA) – $232,058

6^th place:  Daniel Cates (USA) – $168,305

Event 59:  $600 NLHE Deep Stack Championship – Final

Total entries:  6,140

Prize pool:  $3,223,500

Players paid:  921

Final table payouts:

1^st place:  Joe Foresman (USA) – $397,903

2^nd place:  Will Givens (USA) – $245,606

3^rd place:  Steffen Logen (Germany) – $181,953

4^th place:  Jeff Hakim (Lebanon) – $135,783

5^th place:  Hlib Kovtunov (Ukraine) – $102,077

6^th place:  Mrityunjay Jha (USA) – $77,308

7^th place:  David Goodman (USA) – $58,988

8^th place:  Jean Alexandre (Canada) – $45,348

9^th place:  Linda Huard (Canada) – $35,128

Event 60:  $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo 8-or-Better – Final

Total entries:  1,117

Prize pool:  $1,507,950

Players paid:  168

Final table payouts:

1^st place:  Anthony Zinno (USA) – $279,920

2^nd place:  Rodney Burt (USA) – $172,932

3^rd place:  Thomas Schropfer (Germany) – $122,555

4^th place:  Jon Turner (USA) – $87,967

5^th place:  Scott Abrams (USA) – $63,961

6^th place:  Jordan Spurlin (USA) – $47,118

7^th place:  Connor Drinan (USA) – $35,173

8^th place:  Kyle Miaso (USA) – $26,611

9^th place:  Erik Seidel (USA) – $20,410

Event 61:  $400 NLHE Colossus – Day 2 of 4

Total entries:  13,109

Prize pool:  $4,382,515

Players paid:  1,952

Minimum payout:  $600

Winner payout:  $451,272

Day 2 players remaining:  107

Chip leader:  William Davila (USA) – 17.9 million chips

Day 3 starting time:  11am

Event 62:  $10K Razz Championship – Day 3 of 4

Total entries:  116

Prize pool:  $1,090,400

Players paid:  18

Minimum payout:  $14,872

Winner payout:  $301,421

Day 3 players remaining:  2

Final table chip counts:

Scott Seiver (USA) – 3.95 million chips

Andrey Zhigalov (Russia) – 3.01 million chips

Final table payouts thus far:

3^rd place:  Chris Ferguson (USA) – $131,194

4^th place:  Daniel Zack (USA) – $94,305

5^th place:  Daniel Negreanu (Canada) – $69,223

6^th place:  Andre Akkari (Brazil) – $51,911

7^th place:  David Bach (USA) – $39,788

8^th place:  George Alexander (USA) – $31,185

Day 4 starting time:  2pm

Event 63:  $1,500 Omaha Mix – Day 2 of 4

Total entries:  717

Prize pool:  $967,950

Players paid:  108

Minimum payout:  $2,249

Winner payout:  $199,838

Day 2 players remaining:  38

Chip leader:  Blake Schwartzbach (USA) – 475,000 chips

Day 3 starting time:  2pm

Event 64:  $888 Crazy Eights NLHE – Day 1 of 6

Day 1A entries:  1,674

Day 1B entries:  1,187

Prize pool:  TBD

Day 1A players paid:  252

Day 1B players paid:  179

Day 1A minimum payout:  $1,330

Day 1B minimum payout:  $1,329

Winner payout:  TBD

Day 1A players remaining:  191

Day 1B players remaining:  138

Day 1A chip leader:  Arsenii Karmatchii (Russia) – 1,323,000 chips

Day 1B chip leader:  Michael Kane (UK) – 1,360,000 chips

Day 1C starting time:  Saturday at 10am

Day 1D starting time:  Sunday at 10am

Day 2 starting time:  Monday at noon

Event 65:  $10K PLO Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship – Day 1 of 4

Total entries:  175 (registration remains open)

Prize pool:  $1,645,000 (not final)

Players paid: TBD

Minimum payout:  TBD

Winner payout:  TBD

Day 1 players remaining:  115

Chip leader:  Michael McKenna (USA) – 355,600

Day 2 starting time:  2pm

Notable Information

Every year, poker fans watch the happenings in the $50K buy-in Poker Players Championship, as some of the biggest names in poker compete in it. This year, fans were aflutter when Phil Ivey finished several days as the chip leader. But it was one of the underdogs that came out on top in the end.

Phil Hui is a longtime grinder, as he and girlfriend Loni Harwood display a constant respect for the game and put in the work to improve. And he won the PPC, which is his second bracelet but the most impactful. “It has been my dream,” he said. “I’d rather win this over the Main Event. … This is the one tournament that I wanted to play. Just to be lucky to play it…and to win it…it’s incredible.”

After spending much time in low-stakes tournaments and most of this year studying for the WSOP summer, Hui credited that study and Harwood’s NLHE skills with the win. And though his name will now be engraved on the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, he believes he has more work to do before it really belongs there. “I’m happy it’s there,” he said, “but I need to do a lot more to be in that group with those guys. They’re unbelievable.”

Winner OMG!!! pic.twitter.com/7k1wdf3WKR

— Loni Harwood (@Luscious_Lon) June 29, 2019

The winner of the $600 buy-in NLHE Deep Stack Championship was someone who had never been in that position before. Joe Foresman had never cashed in a WSOP event, as he spends much of his life as a graphic designer and musician. He had played poker for more than 15 years, though, and defeated poker pro Will Givens heads-up to win.

“When I got to the final table today, quite frankly, I said if I finished in fifth, I didn’t care. I mean, it’s still $100,000,” he said after the win. “This is still more than anything I could’ve ever imagined.” And for a small business owner, the money is big. He mentioned possibly buying a house, investing in a friend’s business, and giving some money to charity.”

Congrats to Joe Foresman for defeating a 6,140-player field to win the $600 Deepstack Championship. In addition to the $397,903 top prize and @Jostens bracelet, Foresman won a free entry to the Main Event. #WSOP50https://t.co/mpv7EmubBA pic.twitter.com/kk9gNYko2b

— WSOP (@WSOP) June 29, 2019

Anthony Zinno had been to the WSOP winner’s circle before, but he grabbed his second yesterday. After practicing Omaha Hi-Lo for years, he was pleased to win the $1,500 PLO-8 bracelet. “It’s pretty cool when you work really hard on one particular game you love and then it works,” he said. “This is truly a culmination of work; I feel very proud overall. I feel amazing.”

Having been a poker pro for quite a few years, Zinno noted that the one thing he still wants most out of the game is respect, that people enjoy playing with him and respect his work ethic. “I treat every player the same whether they don’t know how many big blinds they have or if they are the best player in the world. I want my legacy to be someone that welcomed people into the poker world and helped them gain respect for the game, more so than accolades.”

Anthony Zinno takes down Event #60 at the 2019 @WSOP, $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better. @AntZinno earns $279,920 and his second gold bracelet after two near-misses earlier this series. https://t.co/haPoOVUNff pic.twitter.com/kxSOy98jX5

— WSOP (@WSOP) June 29, 2019