One thing any gardener knows about ivy: it’s a hardy, tenacious plant, known for getting a grip and climbing to the top. It can also be poisonous, causing harm to those who try to take a bite.
You can probably see where this is going.
Like his near-namesake, Phil Ivey (below) is one of the hardiest perennials you’ll find in poker’s wild garden. With 11 World Series of Poker bracelets to date, he’s second only to Phil Hellmuth in the all-time record books, and renowned as one of the toughest opponents in the game.
An inscrutable poker face, a fearless disposition and a mind sharpened by decades at the top give him a toolbox that can take apart just about anyone in poker.
But even a big tree can be felled with a small axe. With 489 entries in the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller whittled down to just 10, Phil Ivey sat at the top of the chip counts. With everything we know of his ability, it felt like he would add another bracelet to his collection, not to mention the massive $2,292,155 first-place prize money.
Then came two big hands in quick succession against Michael Duek. On the first, Ivey flopped a nut wrap with a flush draw and was a 62% favorite; on the second, he flopped a set and was 66% favorite. Neither ended up good enough, and Ivey hit the rail in 6th with a payout of $394,531.
It would be the last elimination of the day. The final five will play to a winner on Friday. Dennis Weiss carries a major chip lead into the final day’s play with close to double the stack of Duek in 2nd.
Seven cards for seven bracelets
Brian Rast’s victory in the $10,000 Razz Championship brought him a paycheck of $306,644 after a prolonged heads-up duel versus Andrew Yeh which stretched past the scheduled end and at least three hours into an unplanned Day 4.
Yeh booked $204,423 for his runner-up spot, but it would be no surprise to hear he’s still shaking his head in disbelief a full day later, after Rast managed to pull off comeback after comeback to deny Yeh his second WSOP bracelet.
At one point Rast was down to a single big bet, but fought back. Then lost almost everything once more, but fought back. The pattern kept repeating, and it felt like Yeh was just waiting to deliver the killer blow. It would not be his day. Eventually the comebacks built a head of steam, Rast took the lead, and saw it out for an incredible, gutsy victory.
The win in razz — limit seven card stud, played lowball — makes for seven bracelets for Rast, and his first in a limit variant.
“I probably should have been out,” Rast told us as the dust settled. Read all about his comeback-king performance here.
More events reach the business end
Had Rast not been able to bounce back from his early deficit, we would have expected him to hop straight into Day 2 of the $10,000 HORSE Championship. While fate kept him busy playing razz, a total of 207 riders mounted up to take on the HORSE, building a prizepool of $1,925,100.
By day’s end they were just 16. Maximilian Schindler (below) leads a posse that contains Scott Seiver (3rd), Jason Mercier (4th), John Hennigan (6th), Todd Brunson (13th) and Huck Seed (15th), all playing for the $452,689 up top.
The $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship continues to remind us of the passage of time, as we spot plenty of faces far too youthful for us to believe they’re over the required age of 50.
Mike Leah was among them, but failed to make Day 4, falling in the money but short of the mark. He was joined by former Main Event champ Scotty Nguyen (below), Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen and plenty of others as this epic event played down to the sharp end. 7,575 entries are down to 19, and the last one standing will win $653,839.
The $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha and the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout are also close to a finish. The PLO has 11 players still in with a shot at the $306,791 at the end of the rainbow, including Bryce Yockey, Punnat Punsri and chip leader Matt Vengrin.
The freezeout is even further along, with just three players returning for the final. Asher Conniff, Samuel Rosborough and Michael Rossitto couldn’t get it done in regulation, and will be back on Friday to duke it out — with fairly even stacks — for the $410,426 top prize.
Additional image courtesy of the WSOP.
