Michael Mizrachi Claims a Third Career WSOP $50k PPC Title
June 20, 2018 11:42 am
Last Friday, the WSOP $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship (PPC) attracted eighty-seven of the game’s top pros all looking to take down one the most prestigious tournaments in the whole of poker. Five days later, six remaining finalists returned to the action, and by the end of a marathon session it was Michael Mizrachi who would eventually overcome his last opponent, John Hennigan, to claim the David “Chip” Reese Memorial Trophy for an unprecedented third time.
Mizrachi’s past PPC victories came in 2010 and 2012, with Vladimir Schemelev and Chris Klodnicki “The Grinders” heads-up victims on those occasions, respectively. Having now made it a hat-trick of titles, the 37 year-old pro from Florida commented:
“When I won the first one, it was amazing. The second one, it was great. I mean, the third one is so unheard of. This is quite an accomplishment and this is definitely my event. I’m already looking forward to next year.”
Career Highlights
In addition to his three WSOP Poker Player’s Championship titles, all representing seven figure scores, Mizrachi also has a WSOP Europe bracelet to his credit after taking down the 2011 WSOP €10,400 No Limit Hold’em (Split Format) for €336,008 ($448,861). Nevertheless, Mizrachi’s biggest score to date was recorded in 2010 after a deep run in the $10k WSOP Main Event in which he eventually finished in 5th place for a $2,332,992 payday.
Throw in a couple of WPT titles into his resume, and its plain to see that Mizrachi’s results position him as one of the game’s most accomplished pros, while his $16,941,284 in career earnings since 2010 also ranks him at number 2 on Florida’s ‘All Time Money List’. Furthermore, there is clear daylight between himself and John Racener in 3rd ($9,768,010), although Jason Mercier on $18,757,327 will still take some catching.
$50k Poker Player’s Championship
Mizrachi may have had a slow start to the Poker Player’s Championship, but by the end of Day 2 he had secured the chip lead, and hardly relinquished his advantage for the rest of the tournament. Day 4 then saw 10-times bracelet winner Phil Ivey depart in 9th ($111,447), followed by 4-times bracelet holder Brian Rast in 8th ($144,049), and 2-times WSOP winner Greg Mueller’s in 7th ($144,049), after which the final table was set.
Final Table Action
The stacked final table of six players had 13 WSOP titles between them, with Dan Smith the sole pro in contention looking for his first gold bracelet. Michael Mizrachi entered the final phase in pole position with an impressive 40% of all the chips still in play, with the players’ chip counts and WSOP bracelet tallies at the time as follows:
Michael Mizrachi: 8,865,000 (3)
Dan Smith: 4,485,000 (0)
Aaron Katz: 2,600,000 (1)
John Hennigan: 2,400,000 (5)
Benny Glaser: 2,210,000 (3)
Mike Leah: 1,220,000 (1)
During a round of limit hold’em, Benny Glaser dispatched Aaron Katz to the rail in 6th, before Mike Leah eliminated Glaser in 5th while playing triple draw deuce-to-seven lowball. A pot-limit omaha round then saw Mizrachi take care of Leah in 4th, after which Hennigan bested Dan Smith playing limit hold’em to usher in heads-up play between the two formidable pros.
Mizrachi vs Hennigan
Despite starting off on a slight 4-to-3 chip disadvantage, John Hennigan went into heads-up play as clearly a player on top form. The 47 year-old Philadelphia pro had already picked up a fifth career bracelet this summer at the $10,000 HORSE Championship event for $414,692, but has also recorded a 7th place finish at $1,500 Dealers Choice 6 Handed for $11,930, and a 7th place finish at the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship for $32,796.
Nevertheless, Mizrachi managed to extend his lead further, with the deciding hand played during a no-limit hold’em round. Mizrachi (9h-8h) raised preflop before calling a 3-bet from Hennigan holding Jd-10c. Both players subsequently went all-in on the Qh-9s-5h flop, and after the turn and river fell 10h and 8d, Hennigan had to settle for a runner-up finish worth $765,837, while Mizrachi claimed yet another famous victory.
“I never had big swings this whole tournament. All the cards went my way. I hit a bunch of hands. Everything went my way. I just won every pot,” admitted Mizrachi.
He further added that even his doubters would now have to give him credit following his latest victory, and that he believes that he has also done enough at this point to earn a place in the prestigious Poker Hall of Fame.
Final Table Results
1: Michael Mizrachi $1,239,126
2: John Hennigan $765,837
3: Dan Smith $521,782
4: Mike Leah $364,197
5: Benny Glaser $260,578
6: Aaron Katz $191,234