Gerhart Claims Second Bracelet of 2021 WSOP on Day 35

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on November 5th, 2021

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On Day 35 of the 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, three players won WSOP gold bracelets. Only one of them, however, won the second of his series and his fourth career bracelet. Kevin Gerhart became only the second player to accomplish this feat this year; Anthony Zinno was the first.

That isn’t to take away from the other bracelet winners. Cole Ferraro won his first gold, and Eelis Parssinen took home the first one for Finland during this series.

Poker fans were also watching the Poker Players Championship, which had wound its way from 10 to just five final table players. That elite group will play for the coveted title on 4 November, just as the Main Event gets underway and as the PokerGO cameras and commentators broadcast the PPC and Main Event live.

With the start of that Main Event today, things are about to get crazy. Hold on for the ride.

Event 60: $50K Poker Players Championship

The goal of Day 4 was to play from 10 players down to just five. It started rather quickly with the elimination of Mike Wattel in tenth and Daniel Negreanu in ninth. But it wasn’t so cut-and-dry for the next bustouts. Eventually, Nick Schulman busted in eighth place, Matt Glantz in seventh, and finally Josh Arieh in sixth.

Of the final five, only Dan Cates and Chris Brewer do not yet have WSOP bracelets. Ryan Leng is on the short stack but does have three bracelets, one of which he earned earlier in this series. Chipleader Eli Elezra is seeking his fifth WSOP gold, and Paul Volpe is close behind in search of his fourth. It will be a fight to the finish, as the coveted Chip Reese trophy awaits the winner as well.

 

Event 61: $600 NLHE Deepstack Championship

This was an action-packed championship-level event. Though the structure was fast, it wasn’t as fast as the typical deepstacks of this series and warranted three days of play. That last day brought a lot of initial bustouts and then a solid final table. Cole Ferraro was not a sure thing but did emerge victorious. In his first trip to the WSOP, the 22-year-old just made a final table two weeks ago, and he talked to PokerNews about his wild ride.

“I moved out to Las Vegas in May. After I graduated college, I got a part-time job and played about four to five times a week. This trip to the World Series was a trial of sorts, but given everything that has happened over these to weeks, I think it will supersede my other job. … It’s just so surreal, this being my first World Series of Poker. I just never expected anything like a first place when I came out here.”

 

Cole Ferraro outlasts 3,916 entrants in the $600 NLH Deepstack Championship event to earn $252,491 and his first WSOP bracelet.
📸: Rachel Kay Millerhttps://t.co/eeEaGDNipb pic.twitter.com/xcXcLFWd2e

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) November 4, 2021

Event 62: $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo 8-or-Better

Only 13 players unbagged their chips for the final day of this event, but the field quickly shrunk to a final table. Dylan Wilkerson was one of the first to go, as Kevin Gerhart took over and eliminated many of the others. Dustin Dirksen put up quite a fight during the heads-up battle, but Gerhart stayed aggressive, aiming for his second bracelet of this series and fourth of his career. In the end, he did it and commented on it to PokerNews.

“It’s absolutely amazing. It’s unreal and more than I ever could have expected. All these different mixed disciplines are so much more fun that playing No Limit Hold’em.”

 

Kevin Gerhart does it again! The Ohio native grabs his second bracelet of the series after taking down the $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo 8 to earn $187,789 and his fourth career bracelet.
📸: Danny Kimhttps://t.co/ismLyrHwiJ pic.twitter.com/DJ61VxsI39

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) November 4, 2021

Event 63: $500 Salute to Warriors NLHE

With 1,738 players to start this tournament, it actually eclipsed the final number of the corresponding 2019 tournament. But Day 2 took the number of players from 169 down to just nine who will play out the final table today. Every one of them seeks a first piece of WSOP gold.

 

Event 64: $5K Mixed NLHE/PLO

This fast-paced mixed tournament started with 579 entries, but it brought only 49 players back for the second and final day of play. It was a wild ride, especially for the ultimate winner, who had been down to just one big blind at one point. And in the end, Eelis “EEE27” Parssinen of Finland became the first Finn to win a bracelet in Las Vegas this year. In fact, he is an online cash game pro – quite well known in those circles – and rarely plays live poker. He was glad to have played this one, as he explained to PokerNews:

“I don’t play these live tournaments too often. I wouldn’t consider myself as a live player. I like to play live, but, I mean, this is my fifth WSOP tournament ever, and there is so much luck involved. … It’s insane. There were like 600 people who started the first day. It’s like a dream come true to play with these guys, my closest friends.”

 

Finland's Eelis Parssinen takes down the $5,000 Mixed NLH/PLO event to earn $545,616 and his first WSOP bracelet.
📸: @timeweavers https://t.co/ki5JpwwJyH pic.twitter.com/fmXafV7vtv

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) November 4, 2021

Event 65: $1K Mini Main Event

The Mini Main is a chance for players to warm up for the main Main. It’s one-tenth of the buy-in and a freezeout. This year, it drew a big crowd of more than 3800 players, though it didn’t stack up to the 5,521 players in 2019. Even so, it was a big field. A fast structure, though, left only 282 players bagging chips at the end of the first night. It is supposed to play to a winner today.

 

Event 66: $10K PLO Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship

Another championship-buy-in event brought quite a few players into action. The day registered 194 entries, though registration remains open until the start of Day 2. But with the 194 entries, it already beat the 193-entry field of 2019. While more than 100 players will unbag for Day 2, the top 10 is a who’s who of poker past and present, complete with Brian Hastings at the top, Chip Jett and Nick Schulman in the middle, Felipe Ramos in the mix, and Esther Taylor-Brady and Ari Engel rounding it out. This will be a good one to check in on today as they set the prize pool and try to set one final table.