Phil Ivey has finally added an eleventh WSOP gold bracelet to his collection, ending a decade-long dry spell.
The man many regard as the G.O.A.T has been in fine form in recent times, particularly in the Triton Super High Roller Series, but the WSOP remained barren for 10 long years.
Incredibly, Ivey is still waiting to win a bracelet in a WSOP NL hold’em tournament. Although with 37 cashes and 10 final tables he is still a force to be reckoned with in the Cadillac of poker.
There has long been a discussion over who is really the greatest of all time, but when it comes to versatility that argument must be considered settled. Phil Ivey can play any poker format at an elite level.
Last night, three players returned to the table to duke it out: Jason Mercier and Danny Wong were the last men standing in Phil Ivey’s way of clear second place in the all-time bracelet winners list.
Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and most recently Erik Seidel now all stand tied for third place with ten bracelets each.
Final Table Action
Phil Ivey returned to the playing hall with the shortest stack. Jason Mercier had a narrow advantage and Danny Wong had a healthy chip lead.
Ivey soon set out his intentions and won a big pot after drawing a nut low wheel against Wong to share the lead.
Wong responded by winning enough chips from Mercier to leave him in danger of a quick knockout.
But then Mercier began his own fightback, racking up a couple of quick double-ups before lady luck frowned upon him.
Mercier found himself on seventh street with the best hand but then Wong’s dream card arrived and Mercier was heading to the rail.
Now it was down to the final two players with Wong leading by 5,315,000 chips to 3,630,000.
Quickly, as if the stars were already aligned in favour of Ivey, he drew another wheel to claim the chip lead.
Then it was as if muscle memory took over and Ivey never relented, pressing heavily against his opponent until it was all over.
Inevitably, the awaiting reporters were excited to enquire if Ivey now had ambitions of overtaking Phil Hellmuth’s record of 17 bracelets. He said:
“I’m motivated. If I can play I will. A lot of times I’m not in town. I keep showing up. Playing, performing. I want to keep winning.
“I’m not thinking about that. I’m just playing. Just playing tournaments when I can.”
Event #29: $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | Phil Ivey | United States | $347,440 |
| 2 | Danny Wong | United States | $225,827 |
| 3 | Jason Mercier | United States | $151,412 |
| 4 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | $104,825 |
| 5 | Jonathan Cohen | Canada | $75,015 |
| 6 | Philip Sternheimer | United Kingdom | $55,553 |
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