The Poker Players Championship

Last updated

Poker Players Championship
SportPoker, 9-game mix
Founded Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. (2006)
Owner(s) Caesars Entertainment Corporation (2006–present)
Most recent
champion(s)		 Flag of the United States.svg Brian Rast
Most titles Flag of the United States.svg Michael Mizrachi (3)
Flag of the United States.svg Brian Rast (3)
Official website Official website

The Poker Players Championship is a $50,000 buy-in event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Added in the 2010, it replaced the former $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship as the highest-stakes mixed-games event. [1] It is considered among the most prestigious events on offer at the WSOP. [2]

Contents

History

In 2006, the inaugural event was called the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship and was the largest buy-in tournament at the World Series of Poker until the introduction of the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop in 2012. Chip Reese defeated Andy Bloch heads-up the 2006 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship to win $1,784,640 and the event's first title. [3]

In 2007, professional poker player Freddy Deeb defeated Bruno Fitoussi after 17 hours of final table play to win $2,276,832 and his second bracelet. [4] Chip Reese died in December 2007; efforts were made in 2008 to honor Reese by the WSOP which created the Chip Reese memorial trophy that each champion can hold for one year. [5] Scotty Nguyen won the 2008 tournament and received the trophy. Controversy ensued when Nguyen, intoxicated during the final table of the tournament, began berating other players, notably Michael DeMichele, without receiving any penalty. [6]

In 2010, $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship changed to the Poker Player's Championship and became the first 8-game mix version of the event. In 2015, the Poker Players Championship changed to a 10-game mix format. Unlike the previous five-game rotation of H.O.R.S.E. and the eight-game rotation that followed, [7] the 10-game mix consisted of limit 2–7 triple draw lowball, limit Texas hold'em, limit Omaha/8B, limit razz, limit seven-card stud, limit seven card stud/8B, no-limit Texas hold'em with antes, pot-limit Omaha, badugi, and 2–7 no-limit draw lowball. The final table was played out exclusively in no-limit Texas hold'em in 2010 and 2011 to appeal to television viewers. [1] The event has not televised since and has been played out in a mixed-game format for its entire duration. After declining turnout for the 10-game version in 2015, the tournament reverted to the previous 8-game format and remained that way until 2021. In 2021, no-limit 2-7 lowball draw was added back to make the tournament a 9-game mix.

Michael Mizrachi became the first two-time champion after winning the event in 2010 and 2012, earning him $1,559,046 and $1,451,527 respectively. [8] Brian Rast became the second two-time champion after winning the event in 2011 and 2016, earning him $1,720,328 and $1,296,097 respectively. [9] [10] Daniel Cates became the third two-time champion, and first person to win the event in consecutive years after winning the event in 2021 and 2022, earning him $954,020 and $1,449,103 respectively. [11]

At the 2018 WSOP, Mizrachi won the event for a record third time, defeating 2014 champion John Hennigan heads up and winning $1,239,126.

At the 2023 World Series of Poker, Rast became the second three-time winner of the event and earned $1,324,747 for his efforts. [12]

Winners

YearEvent nameMixEntrantsWinnerPrize (US$)Runner-up
2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E.5-game143 Flag of the United States.svg David "Chip" Reese $1,716,000 Flag of the United States.svg Andy Bloch
2007 $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E.5-game148 Flag of Lebanon.svg Freddy Deeb $2,276,832 Flag of France.svg Bruno Fitoussi
2008 $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E.5-game148 Flag of Vietnam.svg Scotty Nguyen $1,989,120 Flag of the United States.svg Michael DeMichele
2009 $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E.5-game95 Flag of the United States.svg David Bach $1,276,802 Flag of the United States.svg John Hanson
2010 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game116 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Mizrachi $1,559,046 Flag of Russia.svg Vladimir Shchemelev
2011 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game128 Flag of the United States.svg Brian Rast $1,720,328 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Hellmuth
2012 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game108 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Mizrachi (2)$1,451,527 Flag of the United States.svg Chris Klodnicki
2013 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game132 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Matthew Ashton $1,774,089 Flag of the United States.svg Don Nguyen
2014 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game102 Flag of the United States.svg John Hennigan $1,517,767 Flag of the United States.svg Brandon Shack-Harris
2015 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship10-game84 Flag of Russia.svg Mike Gorodinsky $1,270,086 Flag of the United States.svg Jean-Robert Bellande
2016 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game91 Flag of the United States.svg Brian Rast (2)$1,296,097 Flag of the United States.svg Justin Bonomo
2017 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game100 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Elior Sion $1,395,767 Flag of Germany.svg Johannes Becker
2018 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game87 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Mizrachi (3)$1,239,126 Flag of the United States.svg John Hennigan
2019 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship8-game74 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Hui $1,099,311 Flag of the United States.svg Josh Arieh
2020 not held
2021 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship9-game63 Flag of the United States.svg Daniel Cates $954,020 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Leng
2022 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship9-game112 Flag of the United States.svg Daniel Cates (2)$1,449,103 Flag of Brazil.svg Yuri Dzivielevski
2023 $50,000 The Poker Players Championship9-game99 Flag of the United States.svg Brian Rast (3)$1,324,747 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Talal Shakerchi

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References

  1. 1 2 "$50,000 The Poker Player's Championship Structure Sheet" (PDF).
  2. ↑ Schult, Steve (July 6, 2017). "WSOP NEWS: ELIOR SION WINS 50000 POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP". wsop.com. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  3. ↑ Pajich, Bob (December 5, 2007). "Remembering Chip Reese". cardplayer.com. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  4. ↑ Hartness, John (June 29, 2007). "WSOP Updates – Event #39, $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. — Freddy Deeb Holds Off Fitoussi For Win". PokerNews. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  5. ↑ Arnett, Kristy (September 19, 2008). "ESPN to Premiere 2008 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event Tonight". Card Player. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  6. ↑ Pajich, Bob (August 21, 2008). "No Call on Scotty Nguyen Magnifies Flaw in WSOP Rules". Card Player. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  7. ↑ "WSOP Poker Players Championship structure sheet" (PDF). WSOP.com. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ Tim Fiorvanti (July 1, 2016). "The Poker Players Championship will always stand out at WSOP". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  9. ↑ Feldman, Andrew (July 8, 2011). "Brian Rast defeats Hellmuth to win $50K event". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  10. ↑ Fast, Erik (July 6, 2016). "Brian Rast Wins 2016 World Series of Poker $50,000 Poker Players Championship". Card Player. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  11. ↑ Shillibier, Will (July 1, 2022). "Dan Cates Makes History; Wins Back-to-Back $50,000 Poker Players Championship ($1,449,103)". PokerNews. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  12. ↑ Fast, Erik (June 22, 2023). "Brian Rast Secures Record-Tying Third WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship Victory". CardPlayer.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
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