Koon, Engel and Bronshtein Grabbed Gold on WSOP Day 8

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on October 8th, 2021

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What was a regular Thursday day for many turned out to be an amazing day for some poker players at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Three players, however, had a particularly special day. Late into the Vegas night, Jason Koon won his first WSOP gold bracelet. And Ari Engel and Yuval Bronshtein each won a career second and each after quite a few years from winning their first.

Phil Hellmuth took his second final table shot at a 16^th bracelet, but he entered the final five as the shortest stack and was the first to bust. His determination is strong, though, and he will undoubtedly be grinding away as the 2021 WSOP moves forward.

Speaking of the WSOP moving forward, big events are on tap for this weekend, most notably the Millionaire Maker, Stud Championship, and Flip & Go.

Get ready by getting up to date on Day 8 results.

Event 9: $10K Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship

Ari Engel was the solid chip leader as this final table of five began. As mentioned, Hellmuth departed soon after the restart, and action moved along…until heads-up play. Engel found a very worthy opponent in Zachary Milchman, and the two battled for about six hours, exchanging the lead and both very determined to win. In the end, Engel did emerge victorious for his second career bracelet. He told PokerNews:

“It’s rare for me to have a crazy rail like I had today, so that’s really exciting that I did have so many friends around. It made it all the sweeter.”

 

Won the 10k o8 WSOP event!

— Ari Engel (@AriEngelPoker) October 8, 2021

Event 11: $25K Heads-Up Championship

The eight players who returned on the final day had money locked up but needed to fade two more opponents to win the title. Jason Koon did eliminate Henri Puustinen to move on, and  Gabor Szabo overcame Daniel Zack.

Koon and Szabo battled for hours. Koon was one of those players always mentioned in the “best players without a bracelet” category, and he did overcome that hurdle. He finished the job late into the Vegas night, putting a button on a whirlwind of a few weeks. Not only is he a new father of just two weeks, he just accepted an ambassadorship role with GGPoker. Running on fumes, he spoke to PokerNews after his win:

“I am another level of tired, honestly. The wife and everybody have been doing so much to help with the baby. We were up at 8:30am today taking him to a doctor’s appointment. Then I came here and played a couple of studs. Heads-up is so intense, but yeah, we got it. … I love coming here. I think I’ll play poker forever, and when it’s all said and done, I think it’s inevitable I’ll have several (bracelets).”

 

https://twitter.com/JasonKoon/status/1446398841264087044?s=20

Event 12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em

Yet another tournament played for the win on Thursday, this one started with 16 players. As Jorden Fox busted early and Anh Van Nguyen exited in ninth place, Yuval Bronshtein was the only previous bracelet winner in play. He worked his way from a middle stack to trailing chip leader Kevin Erickson by only a small margin. Going into heads-up play, though, Erickson held a dominant chip lead.

Bronshtein fought through very short stacks and a lengthy duel to win his second piece of WSOP gold. He spoke to PokerNews after celebrating with his rail:

“I was very lucky to win this after I was down to so few chips so many times, repeatedly, and my opponent was a tough player. I don’t really believe in things that are meant to be. I feel like you gotta make everything and earn it yourself. … It feels amazing. I’m very thankful.”

 

I won! Bracelet #2!

— Yuval Bronshtein (@Yuvee04) October 8, 2021

Event 13: $3K NLHE Freezeout

Play moved along at a nice clip on Day 2 of this event, everyone eyeing the final table. Those who made it close by not close enough included Tristan Wade and Niall Farrell. When play ended for the night, seven players remained, only one of whom had been in that final table spot before. In fact, Michael Gathy has four hold’em bracelets already and hopes for a fifth.

 

Event 14: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud

The big names in poker certainly turned out for this year’s series, especially those living in the US. Some of the recognizable players who cashed in this event included Tom McEvoy, Brandon Shack-Harris, Andre Akkari, David Singer, Gary Benson, Dan Heimiller, Johannes Becker, Scott Baumstein, and Anthony Zinno. Only six players made it through. Two players – David Williams and Nicholas Seiken – will play for a second bracelet, while Shaun Deeb will play for his fifth.

 

Event 15: $1,500 NLHE 6-Handed

A sizeable crowd turned out for short-handed poker, ultimately creating a prize pool just short of $2M. They moved along with the tournament so quickly that they burst the money bubble on Day 1 and finished up with only 96 players.

 

Event 16: $10K LHE Championship

Registration remains open until the start of Day 2 for the Limit Hold’em Championship. It was a fairly small turnout of 78 entries, as last year’s drew 118 entries, but a few more will likely join today. Only 35 players made it through, though, and today will determine who makes the final table.

 

Highlight of the Day

Love him or otherwise, poker fans are watching Phil Hellmuth with great interest this year. He seems more motivated than in past years to win his 16^th WSOP gold bracelet. And his motivation is already showing results with three cashes, two of which were final tables. And we’re only a week into this 2021 WSOP.