Todd Brunson entered as the shortest stack of the 21 players on Day 8 of the WSOP Main Event, but with the Brunson name attached, there was always going to be drama in his pursuit of the bracelet his legendary father Doyle Brunson won twice.
The day began with a massive boost, but ended soon after in a heartbreaking way. Two remarkable river cards defined Brunson's Day 8 – one kept his dream alive, the other ended it.
A huge early triple-up
First, at blinds of 300K/600K (600K), Brock Wilson opened to 1.2 million off of his 15.4 million stack from under the gun.
Brunson then moved all-in from the button for 7.8 million.
Chip leader Malcolm Trayner was in the big blind and woke up with a hand as well. He moved in, covering both, and Wilson called, setting up a dramatic three-way all-in with monster hands all around.
- Brunson:
- Wilson:
- Trayner:
Trayner had the opportunity to score a double KO with a queen, while Wilson was in the best shape to win a huge pot to get him back into the mix.
The flop came 
, leaving Wilson's kings ahead, but the 
turn made things very sweaty with Brunson picking up nine additional flush outs.
But, the dealer gave Brunson the even more dramatic river card for the win, the 
to score him a massive triple-up to survive and move to the middle of the pack with 24.3 million chips, good for 40 big blinds.
Wilson claimed the side pot with his kings, but essentially remained at his previous stack size, now with 15.2M and 25 bigs.
Trayner took the big hit, of course, dropping to 47.7 million and 80bb, but he and Brunson would clash again before long.
Trayner's revenge
Less than 30 minutes later, Brunson was on the verge of adding another sizeable chunk to his stack, but this time, he was on the opposite end of the hands, holding way the best of it before another dramatic river was to come.
Holding 
, Brunson raised to 1.2 million on the button and was called by Trayner in the big blind with 
.
The 
flop gave Trayner a flush draw, and he checked. Brunson continued for 1.2M, and Trayner called.
The 
fell on the turn, pairing Trayner, and he checked again. Brunson now bet 2.3M, which Trayner check-raised to 5.5M.
Brunson then moved all in for 17.7M and was called by Trayner with Brunson's aces ahead of Trayner's jacks, but this time it was Trayner holding the added flush draw for the river.
The dealer placed the 
onto the board, giving the Aussie Millions champ the winning flush.
After a miraculous early reprieve, Brunson's Main Event ended in 20th place for $325,000 – still an outstanding run, coming on the 50th anniversary of Doyle Brunson's first WSOP Main Event victory.
