WSOP Round-Up: Mike Gorodinsky Takes Down $10K 8-Game Championship

Gorodinsky had been unwell throughout the tournament and bagged up at the end of Day 3 needing a miracle. But after an extra unplanned night’s sleep, the mixed games specialist was able to return to the playing hall and give his very best.

Overcoming a seven-to-one disadvantage is no mean feat, especially against  a player like Eric Wasserson who knows what it takes to win at the WSOP.

Gorodinsky topped a field of 195 entrants to claim his bracelet and cash prize from the prize pool of $1,813,500.

“I was feeling probably the worst I felt. It’s late, being sick the whole day, especially when you’re focusing and playing. I was just kind of hoping to make it through the last hour and get out of there. So I’m glad I did.”

As the pair sat down for the opening level of Day 4, Gorodinsky had a meagre 6 big bets to Wasserson’s 49, but he doubled his stack in the first few hands.

“This tournament wound up being really deep, so there was always going to be a lot of play still, even with the deficit. It’s a tournament, all you really have to do is win five to ten hands in a row, which happens quite often in poker, and you’re just back in it.”

The second level saw more progress for Gorodinsky with an interesting hand of Razz. Wasserson ended up totally confused when there was no value bet on sixth but Gorodinsky led out on seventh. The net result was that he mucked his hand and the lead was close to changing hands.

By the time of the next NL Hold’em hand, the lead did, in fact, change hands. Wasserson found himself staring at a deficit for the first time in this match and he already knew how tough an opponent he was dealing with.

When Wasserson won the $25,000 Dealers Choice Championship at WSOP Paradise last year, Mike Gorodinsky finished in third place and got a good read on how he plays these games.

“Actually, it was helpful because I got a sense for what his best and favorite games are. So I played those a little bit more conservatively in our heads-up. So, yeah, it really genuinely was helpful.”

In the final hand during a round of NL Hold’em, Wasserson raised to 240,000 on the button and faced a three-bet of 825,000 which he promptly called.

The flop ran out A♥ 8♣ 4♣ and Gorodinsky led out for 650,000. Wasserson called.

Gorodinsky then checked the 10♥ turn before Wasserson pondered a short while before jamming in his remaining 3,670,000 chips.

After around a minute of deep thought, Gorodinsky declared he was calling and flipped over A♠ Q♦. Wasserson turned over J♣ 7♣ for a flush draw and gutshot.

The river was the 2♥ and Mike Gorodinsky won his fifth World Series of Poker bracelet.

$10,000 Eight Game Mixed Championship Final Table Results

Shaun Deeb Denied Eighth Bracelet Again

Zdenek Zizka is the latest player to prevent Shaun Deeb from winning his eighth WSOP bracelet after the Czechian defeated him heads-up to scoop the Event #84: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em title for $232,498.

This result earned the 26-year-old a career-best prize and his first WSOP bracelet after he saw off a field of 1,873 entries to snatch the lion’s share of the $1,648,240 prize pool.

After getting the job done, Zizka looked a little bewildered as he’s still new to it all being first and foremost a professional backgammon player.

“I mean, it’s just amazing. I mean, you always have deep runs, but you always think that you’re gonna win a bracelet. Many times it doesn’t come true, but this time it did, and it just feels amazing.

“It’s still a little… to be honest, it’s still, like, inside me, so I don’t express myself very well on the outside, but it feels amazing.

“It’s been amazing with Shaun. We’ve been basically battling since the last 50 players. We’ve been on the same tables every single time. He was my biggest competitor, definitely, and it was meant to be, I guess. I was extremely lucky in heads up, and it just went my way.” 

Event #84: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

Although Deeb failed to snatch that eighth bracelet, he would still have been happy to get a good enough score to solidify his lead in the WSOP 2025 Player of the Year race.

At this stage of the series and with the new rule of only the ten best results counting for the race, it does look like Deeb has this one sewn up.

Benny Glaser is having the series of his life after winning three bracelets, but he’ll likely need another or a super deep run in the Main Event to overhaul Deeb’s points total, even with the WSOP Online points still in the pipeline for him.

Martin Kabrhel and Scott Bohlman will both require at least a bracelet or a few final table finishes to stand a chance of the Player of the year title.

WSOP 2025 Player of the Year Standings

Mark Patrickson

Professional Poker Journalist

Mark Patrickson is a poker journalist with over ten years of experience. He writes for VIP-Grinders.com, sharing his deep knowledge of poker. He creates interesting content about poker strategy, trends, and news for poker fans worldwide. [more]