Gerhardt and Ruben Win Third Career Golds at 2021 WSOP
Day 24 of the 2021 World Series of Poker was a big bracelet day. Several tournaments reached their conclusions and delivered shiny gold bracelets to players. Two of those winners picked up their third career WSOP jewelry, and one took his first.
It was a very busy day, another weekend at the WSOP, and a positive way to enter the third week of the series. Let’s just get right into it.
Event 40: $10K HORSE Championship
The final day of this event found Kevin Gerhart in the chip lead and eyeing his third career WSOP gold. He had already cashed in several tournaments this series but really wanted to win it. So, he did. He took his chip lead directly to the winner’s circle, and he told PokerGO News:
“It’s so awesome just having 30 people here all cheering me on at the same time. When the last hand was dealt, just the eruptions from everyone…I can’t describe it. Every bracelet has gotten better. … It really is just a bunch of hard work over the years, just grinding up the ranks. Eat, sleep, breathe poker every day forever. I don’t want to do anything else. I just love the game and all my family and friends. It’s such a great experience.”
| Event 40: Day 4 of 4 | $10K buy-in | HORSE Championship |
| Total entries: | 149 | |
| Total prize pool: | $1,389,425 | |
| Players paid: | 23 | |
| Minimum payout: | $16,218 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Kevin Gerhart (USA) $361,124 |
| 2nd place: | Marco Johnson (USA) $223,194 | |
| 3rd place: | Eddie Blumenthal (USA) $155,971 | |
| 4th place: | Bryce Yockey (USA) $111,701 | |
| 5th place: | Brandon Shack-Harris (USA) $82,033 | |
| 6th place: | Chris Vitch (USA) $61,819 | |
| 7th place: | Jake Schwartz (USA) $47,835 | |
| 8th place: | David Benyamine (France) $38,035 |
#WSOP2021 Day 24 Recap: @KevinGerhart & Bradley Ruben both add @WSOP bracelet number three to their collections! https://t.co/MEmKNW0m7w
— PokerGO Tour (@PokerGOTour) October 24, 2021
Event 41: $2,500 NLHE Freezeout
The third and final day of this tournament brought eight players to the table. It was a grind from the start, even during heads-up play. But Carlos Chang was the original chip leader and stayed aggressive in the key moments. He lost some ground during heads-up play, but a double-up helped him find his way to his first bracelet. Chang told PokerNews:
“I think this is my biggest cash. Yes, this is my fourth final table. I told myself, this year, if I make a final table, I will win the bracelet. And it happened! I am pretty excited. I was focused all day and yesterday.”
| Event 41: Day 3 of 3 | $2,500 buy-in | NLHE Freezeout |
| Total entries: | 896 | |
| Total prize pool: | $1,993,600 | |
| Players paid: | 135 | |
| Minimum payout: | $4,009 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Carlos Chang (Taiwan) $364,589 |
| 2nd place: | Brady Oterman (USA) $225,333 | |
| 3rd place: | Adrien Delmas (France) $161,731 | |
| 4th place: | Sergi Reixach (Spain) $117,650 | |
| 5th place: | Arthur Conan (France) $86,757 | |
| 6th place: | Sung Joo Hyun (South Korea) $64,864 | |
| 7th place: | Gerald Cunniff (USA) $49,179 | |
| 8th place: | Quang Ngo (USA) $37,820 | |
| 9th place: | Christopher Basile (USA) $29,506 |
Carlos Chang outlasts 896 entrants in the $2,500 NLH Freezeout to earn $364,589 and his first gold bracelet.
📸: @timeweavers https://t.co/xQERGSC8sW pic.twitter.com/caCsuAkHoc— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) October 24, 2021
Event 42: $1,500 Razz
Another all-star final table ended with one of them picking up a third career bracelet. While Bradley Ruben had only ever played two other Razz tournaments, he overcame a significant chip deficit and battled against players like David Baker and Yuri Dzivielevski. And he claimed victory, telling PokerNews:
“My theory is, if you play a game that you haven’t played much before, it’s more enjoyable. You’re kind of like a kid; you’re in awe of it. That’s helped me a lot in this tournament and the one I got third in in 2017. … I’ve always had the motivation, like after winning the first one, I wanted to win a second one to legitimize it. And then I’m like, alright, I’ve gotta win a third one, and I need to win my first live one. So, I always had the motivation, and I’ll keep finding ways to motivate myself.”
| Event 42: Day 3 of 3 | $1,500 buy-in | Razz |
| Total entries: | 311 | |
| Total prize pool: | $563,370 | |
| Players paid: | 47 | |
| Minimum payout: | $2,431 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Bradley Ruben (USA) $99,188 |
| 2nd place: | Charles Sinn (USA) $61,303 | |
| 3rd place: | Matt Grapenthien (USA) $41,758 | |
| 4th place: | Yuri Dzivielevski (Brazil) $29,089 | |
| 5th place: | David “ODB” Baker (USA) $20,732 | |
| 6th place: | Brett Feldman (USA) $15,127 | |
| 7th place: | Alex Livingston (Canada) $11,305 | |
| 8th place: | Hassan Kamoei (USA) $8,658 |
Another one! Bradley Ruben wins the $1,500 Razz event to pick up his third WSOP bracelet and $99,188.
📸: @timeweavers https://t.co/3FzQ4voCXi pic.twitter.com/QuzNdAYZv2— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) October 24, 2021
Event 43: $1K NLHE Double Stack
Thousand of players ponied up the grand to play in this deepstacked tournament, setting a prize pool that exceeded $3.5M. Day 2 will bring all of the first flight survivors together to play into the money.
| Event 43: Day 1B of 5 | $1K buy-in | NLHE Double Stack (1RE) |
| Total entries: | 3,991 | (Day 1A = 1,937 + Day 1B = 2,054) |
| Registration still open? | no | |
| Total prize pool: | $3,551,990 | |
| Players paid: | 599 | |
| Minimum payout: | $1,602 | |
| Winner payout: | $446,983 | |
| Chip leader: | Terry Presley | |
| Players remaining: | 1,064 | |
| Day 1B start: | 10am Sunday |
Event 44: $3K LHE
Only ten players finished the second day of Limit Hold’em action in this event. The last few tables saw eliminations of players like JJ Liu, Joe McKeehen, and Nick Schulman. Ultimately, a strong field emerged for the final day to play for the bracelet.
| Event 44: Day 2 of 3 | $3K buy-in | LHE 6-Handed |
| Total entries: | 162 | |
| Registration still open? | no | |
| Total prize pool: | $432,540 | |
| Players paid: | 25 | |
| Minimum payout: | $4,830 | |
| Winner payout: | $109,692 | |
| Chip leader: | Kenny Hsiung | Kenny Hsiung = 1,171,000 chips |
| Players remaining: | 10 | Kevin Erickson = 1,139,000 chips |
| Restart: | 4pm Sunday | Ryan Hansen = 1,115,000 chips |
| John Hoang = 783K chips | ||
| Steve Chanthabouasy = 744K chips | ||
| Kosei Ichinose = 499K chips | ||
| Justin Moeller = 378K chips | ||
| Ken Deng = 321K chips | ||
| John Cavanagh = 207K chips | ||
| Ray Henson = 151K chips |
Event 45: $10K PLO 8-Handed Championship
Many players tweeted that this was their personal “main event.” It is a pro-favorite, and several hundred players entered to show their seriousness about it. Registration remains open until the start of Day 2, though, so the prize pool has yet to be set. It will be a tough day for many player but an exciting one nonetheless.
| Event 45: Day 1 of 4 | $10K buy-in | PLO 8-Handed Championship |
| Total entries: | 317 | |
| Registration still open? | yes | |
| Total prize pool: | TBD | |
| Players paid: | TBD | |
| Minimum payout: | TBD | |
| Winner payout: | TBD | |
| Chip leader: | Chris Sandrock | |
| Players remaining: | 131 | |
| Restart: | 2pm Sunday |
Highlight of the Day
Most WSOP winner photos are fairly standard. Players pose with their winning cards, the bracelet and chips, and they hold up the number of fingers that correspond with the number of bracelets they’d won. Carlos Chang took a different tact in his winner photos. He truly displayed his excitement and sense of fun in his winner photos, all unique and memorable.
