Michael Mizrachi bagged the top spot at the $50,000 Poker Players Championship held by the WSOP this year. For his win, he took home a massive $1,451,527, which is his third highest earning at the WSOP. This is the second time Mizrachi has bested a field of highly skilled players to win accolades in the high stakes event.
First Poker Players Championship Bracelet
In 2010, Mizrachi won the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. It was a significant achievement for him, because his poker career was at a low for a few years till then. The win showed the poker circuit that Mizrachi, whose impressive run at the WSOP and other live tournaments started in early 2000, was still one of the skilled players to watch out for.
On winning the 2010 event, he earned $1,559,046. Over the next 4 weeks, the player cashed in four more events. His biggest payday was in another 2010 event, the Main Event Championship, in which he bested 7,314 players to finish in 5th place and take home a massive $2,332,992. By the end of 2010, his earnings from the WSOP crossed $4 million. Currently, his earnings stand at more than $6.5 million.
On the 5th day of the 2012 Poker Players Championship, Mizrachi went to work on the felt. At the final table, which went on for less than 5 hours, the player took the place of the chip lead when he busted 2 opponents in one hand. However, when the final table commenced, Andy Bloch, Mizrachi and Chris Klodnicki were almost equal in chip count. This changed in the first orbit. Three No Limit Hold’em hands from the unofficial final table were carried over to the final table. Of them, the third upset the landscape.
Eliminations
Bruno Fitoussi and Bill Chen: The short-stack went all-in with 170,000. It was called by Bill Chen, and was followed by a 3-bet from Mizrachi for 400,000. Chen 4-bet all-in with nearly 1.2 million, but he was stumped when Mizrachi called. The hands they had were – A-K (Chen), 8-7 (Fitoussi) and A-A (Mizrachi). On a K-5-5 flop, Chen got two outs, but Fitoussi didn’t. However, when the turn brought an 8, Fitoussi had an out. When the river brought a 4, it was Mizrachi who took the pot from under them. A few hands down, Chen left in 8th and Fitoussi, in 7th.
Stephen Chidwick: From the small blind, Stephen Chidwick raised to 72,000 after action folded around him. Mizrachi called to see a flop which had 8-8-2. Chidwick bet 60,000 and Mizrachi called. Soon after, a 3 landed on the turn. Chidwick bet his 230,000, which his opponent called. When his K-K-5-4 drew slim against the full house Mizrachi flopped with A-8-4-2, and the river showed a 3, Chidwick left the game.
Roland Israelashvili: For a large part of the game, he stayed away from dangerous confrontations with his three fierce opponents – Bloch, Mizrachi and Klodnicki. Despite that, he could not escape the challenge his short stack brought. He made his last stand in a Deuce to Seven Triple Draw. When he faced a raise, he had to go all-in. This brought a call from both Mizrachi and Bloch. Israelashvili and Bloch drew two cards, while their opponent took three.
During the second draw, Israelashvili went for one while his opponents took two each. After checking, Mizrachi and Bloch took one and Israelashvili opted to stand pat. Following a third check, the players opened their hands. Israelashvili went to the rail when his jack-eight was bested by an 8-7 low.
Luke Schwartz: Israelashvili’s exit made Luke Schwartz the short stack. He increased his chip stack by a small percentage when he doubled-up through Klodnicki twice to make it 1 million. In an NLH hand, Klodnicki and Schwartz butted heads with A-6 and A-9 respectively. A K-KQ flop brought a few outs for both players. Schwartz was ahead when the turn brought a K. However, when a 6 landed on the river, it was Klodnicki who took the pot. Schwartz was eliminated in fourth place.
Three-Handed Play
The game entered three-handed play with Bloch, Klodnicki and Mizrachi in pursuit of the bracelet. After the field shrank, the players, who were the biggest stacks when the day started, continued to add to the chip count. In Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold’em in an 8-handed event, the pot can grow immensely. It was a Pot Limit Omaha hand which brought down the number of players at the table to two.
On a K-Q-2 flop, Mizrachi added 200,000 to the pot, which Bloch called. A 2 landed on the turn to bring a check-call from Bloch, who added 350,000. A T landed on the river, and Bloch led with 500,000, which Mizrachi raised to 2.5 million. Bloch called and got Q-Q-8-5, however, it was bested by Mizrachi’s K-K-9-7. This gave the latter the chip lead of 9 million, while the former had only 1 million. A few hands down, Bloch left the game in third place.
Heads-Up Play
When heads-up play started, Mizrachi reduced Klodnicki’s stack in a Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw game. At one point, his chip stack was 13.5 million, overpowering the 2.7 million Klodnicki had. In the last hand, Klodnicki wagered all his chips with A-J-9-2. The Omaha Hi-Lo hand was played against the Q-J-9-8 in Mizrachi’s hand. When the board brought T-T-7-6-A, Mizrachi made a straight that won him the game.
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