Doug Polk Headlines the Final Four in WSOP $25K Heads Up Championship
Table Of Contents
Doug Polk built his poker reputation on heads-up play. It’s where he’s most comfortable, staring at a single opponent directly across the table. And tomorrow, when the Final Four of Event #8: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship begins at 4 p.m. local time, he can capture the one thing missing from his resume, the WSOP Heads Up bracelet.
Polk headlines the four remaining players who will gather on the main feature stage inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. He’ll be joined by Sean Winter, Chris Brewer, and Chanracy Khun, three opponents who have navigated through the grind of four heads-up matches to reach this stage.
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Full Bracket
Day 2 Action
Polk began the day by defeating Reiji Kono in the Round of 16, complimenting the young Japanese star after the match. The highlight of his day, though, was still to come. Facing Roberto Perez, who had a passionate rail chanting “Davy” for his online handle “DavyJones,” Polk called a preflop shove with ace-queen. Perez had seven-five and took the lead with a five on the turn, but Polk hit a three on the river to complete a wheel as he took a victory lap around the rail.
Kono and Perez provided Polk with differing challenges before making the Final Four. “Normally, I think when you think of a good player, you think of an aggressive player. But the thing about heads-up is if you become too aggressive, it becomes bad. So it’s all about balancing that aggression into your overall play style,” Polk said after booking his ticket for the event’s final day.
“[Kono] I think he had his foot fully on the gas, and I was able to make a couple of reasonable call downs versus him to do well. I’m usually not the guy you can run over in heads-up no-limit…[Perez] legitimately never had a hand. He made some nice calls. He tried a couple of bluffs, and got a couple through here and there. I don’t think what we saw from him today indicates how he plays as a whole.”
Polk, who makes only occasional appearances at the WSOP while running the Lodge cardroom in Austin, Texas, already has three WSOP bracelets. His three opponents on Sunday are all still chasing their first. Winter and Brewer would be near the top on a list of the game’s best players without a bracelet. Winter gave an indication of his incredible poker talent when he called a river bet of 350,000 with just ace-high to take a commanding lead over Eric Wasserson on his way to finishing off the match a short time later. Brewer hit a queen on the river to beat Anthony Zinno and set up a match against Polk in the semifinals. It’s one Polk is looking forward to.
“It should be a fun one. I’ve played Chris a bunch online. When I was prepping for my match against Daniel Negreanu, we played a good chunk of hands, and I smashed him pretty good. But he played pretty well. His frequencies and stuff were quite good, quite balanced. I thought he was a good player,” Polk said.
The Montreal, Canada native Khun isn’t the household name that Polk, Winter, and Brewer are in the poker community, but he still has WSOP cashes going back more than a decade and more than $400,000 in total earnings. After a gruelling match against Gabor Szabo in the Round of 16, Khun made quick work of poker prodigy Landon Tice in the quarterfinals when he flopped two pair to beat Tice’s pair of aces.
Polk vs. Brewer. Winter vs. Khun. The Final Four is set, and it all gets underway on Sunday. They are matchups that ChatGPT nearly correctly predicted at the beginning of the day. Action will be streamed on PokerGO from 5 p.m. until a winner is crowned. Polk is the star and headliner and does not doubt who should be considered the favorite.
“I feel really good about my chances. I’m probably the favorite tomorrow,” he said. “I guess the only thing I would say is my short-stack game isn’t particularly great, but as long as the stacks are deep, I feel extremely good about my chances. I would imagine I’ll be the best deep-stacked No-Limit Hold’em player tomorrow. This is my favorite event. I think it’s no surprise that I tend to do best in this event. There’s only one other guy. That’s what I usually do. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. So I feel great.”
In this Series
- 1 Here's the Full Schedule for 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP); Win Main Event for Life!
- 2 Reigning Main Event Champion Espen Jorstad Eyes "Crazy Summer"; Plans to Play Full 2023 WSOP Schedule
- 3 6 Las Vegas Facts That Sound False But Are Actually True!
- 4 How to Decide Which WSOP Tournament(s) to Play
- 5 Registration for 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is Now Open
- 6 How to Stay Healthy in Las Vegas During the WSOP
- 7 WSOP Main Event Champions 2015-17: McKeehen, Nguyen, Blumstein
- 8 PokerGO's 2023 WSOP Live-stream Schedule Covers Biggest Events and More
- 9 2023 Main Event Maynia Could Be Your Best Chance of Playing at the WSOP
- 10 A Look at the 2023 WSOP Online Bracelet Schedule – How to Deposit
- 11 Five Reasons Winning Poker Players Lose Money at the WSOP
- 12 Five Questions to Ask Yourself at Your First WSOP
- 13 Interview: Vice President Jack Effel Looks Ahead to 2023 WSOP
- 14 World Series of Poker Addresses Solver Concerns, Clarifies RTA Policy
- 15 Negreanu, Deeb Again Highest Valued WSOP $25K Fantasy Draft Picks
- 16 PokerNews Staff 2023 WSOP Predictions – Will Ivey Play? Hellmuth vs. Negreanu?
- 17 Let the Games Begin: 2023 World Series of Poker Officially Underway
- 18 WNBA Champion Kelsey Plum Kicks Off WSOP Mystery Millions
- 19 5 Poker Tax Facts to Remember Heading into the 2023 WSOP
- 20 Introducing The Chad & Jesse Poker Show; Two Episodes a Week During 2023 WSOP
- 21 PokerNews Podcast: Catching Up w/ WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart
- 22 Negreanu or Hellmuth — Who Will Have the Best 2023 WSOP?
- 23 Some of the Best Poker Players Who Haven't Won a WSOP Bracelet
- 24 Quads, Runner-Runner & Other Crazy Hands From the WSOP $25,000 High Roller
- 25 2023 WSOP Featured Females: Maria Konnikova & Kristen Foxen Making Runs
- 26 Phil Ivey, Doug Polk in Action at Epic WSOP $25k Heads-Up Tournament
- 27 Five Tournaments Fans Don't Want to Miss at the 2023 World Series of Poker
- 28 Five Reasons Winning Poker Players Lose Money at the WSOP
- 29 We Asked ChatGPT to Predict the WSOP $25K Heads Up Championship
- 30 Doug Polk Headlines the Final Four in WSOP $25K Heads Up Championship
- 31 Two $1,000,000 Prizes Pulled in WSOP Mystery Millions
- 32 Five Questions to Ask Yourself at Your First WSOP
- 33 Andrews Suffers Brutal Beat on $5K Freezeout Bubble; Hellmuth Deep in $600 Deepstack
- 34 The Two Failed Bluffs in One Week that Cost Doug Polk $700k
- 35 2023 Poker Hall of Fame Nominations Open; Rast, Scheinberg, Savage Frontrunners?
- 36 Badugi Primer - Get Ready for A Brand New WSOP Tournament
- 37 2023 Poker Hall of Fame Nominations Open; Rast, Scheinberg, Savage Frontrunners?
- 38 Estes Nabs Second WSOP MI Online Bracelet; Kershaw Victorious in First PA Event
- 39 Steve "Cuz" Buckner & Lon McEachern Recent Guests on The Chad & Jesse Poker Show
- 40 Is Today the Day Isaac Haxton Finally Wins His First WSOP Bracelet?
- 41 Hitting the Nuts: Man & Woman Discuss Infamous 2023 WSOP Low Blow
- 42 Sarah Herzali Comes Up Shy of Being First Female Bracelet Winner of 2023 WSOP
- 43 A Look Inside Phil Hellmuth's WSOP Break Room: How Does He Fit on that Couch?
- 44 Scotty Nguyen Recovering From Surgery, Will Miss First Half of WSOP
- 45 Man of the People: How Daniel Negreanu Bagged Top 4 Stack on $300 Gladiator Day 1a
- 46 PN Podcast: Poker Hall of Famer Jack McClelland Shares Stories About Doyle Brunson & Stu Ungar
- 47 Poker Player Spikes Quads on River to Escape WSOP $50K Bubble
- 48 2023 WSOP Hands of the Week: Polk's Miracle Two Outer; Accidental Exposure Saves Tull from Bubble
- 49 Phil Galfond Offers Poker Hall of Fame Pick; Says Two Should Be Inducted Per Year
- 50 Poker Boom 2.0? WSOP Attendance Crushing Last Year's Turnout
- 51 Stanley Cup Champs! Vegas Poker Community Reacts to Golden Knights' Win
- 52 Erik Seidel on Verge of Joining Poker's Most Exclusive Club: 10 WSOP Bracelets
- 53 WSOP Player of the Week: Josh Arieh Makes Poker Hall of Fame Case
- 54 Next Fedor? This German 22-Year-Old is Taking the 2023 WSOP by Sturm
- 55 Daniel Negreanu Quietly Having Success in Large Field Events at 2023 WSOP
- 56 Mike "BrockLesnar" Holtz Running Away with WSOP.com Player of the Year
- 57 Jennifer Harman Remembers Doyle: "He Was Like a Marshmallow Puppy Dog to Me"
- 58 Aces, Kings, Kings, and Queens - You Won't Believe this Epic 2023 WSOP Hand
- 59 Jason Koon's Stack Pulled from WSOP $250K Super High Roller as Wife Enters Labor
- 60 Meet The WSOP App Thrill Team
- 61 TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things To Do In Las Vegas During The 2023 WSOP
- 62 Phil Ivey Bubbles the 2023 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller
- 63 Unknown Poker Player in Town for Father's Day Randomly Enters WSOP $250K
- 64 2023 WSOP Hands of the Week: Negreanu Knows All The Angles, a Quads Counterfeit
- 65 Jungleman Attempts to Terminate PPC Field for 3rd Straight Year; Moneymaker Jumps In
- 66 Ivey Puts Life on Line in Level 5 of $50,000 PPC in Massive PLO Pot – Did He Win?
- 67 "Bucket List Event": Moneymaker Makes WSOP $50k Poker Players Championship Debut
- 68 Kabrhel Denies Cheating Allegations, Threatens to Sue Robl
- 69 King's Resort Has Big WSOP Plans For The Rest Of 2023
- 70 No 11th Bracelet As Johnny Chan Falls in 14th in WSOP $1,500 Big O
- 71 Win Your Way Into 2023 WSOP Main Event with 112 Seat Sprint on WSOP.com
- 72 The Muck: Should Poker Community Ban Martin Kabrhel?
- 73 Phil Ivey Closing in on 11th Bracelet; Rast Playing for the Poker Hall of Fame?
- 74 Horseshoe to Host Doyle Brunson Celebration of Life Memorial July 2
- 75 Familiar Faces Among 2023 Poker Hall of Fame Nominations
- 76 Negreanu Proposes Changes to the Poker Hall of Fame Induction Process
- 77 No-Limit Hold'em Crushers Driving WSOP $25K Fantasy Draft Top Team
- 78 2023 WSOP Featured Females: Women in Full Force in Tag Team Event
- 79 World Series of Poker 2024: Read Phil Ivey's Top WSOP Tips
- 80 Poker Hall of Famer Billy Baxter Eyes Up First Bracelet in 21 Years
- 81 Revealing the Hand: 5 Common Tells You Can Spot at the WSOP
- 82 2023 WSOP Hands of the Week: Royal Flush Over Quads; KK < KK & 4-of-a-Kind for Seidel
- 83 "Barstool Nate" Shares His Wild Adventure Getting to the 2023 WSOP One Month Late
- 84 Remembering Doyle Brunson's Final WSOP Cash in 2018, a Near Bracelet Win
- 85 2023 WSOP Featured Females: Who Will Win the Largest Ladies Event In Poker History?
- 86 Upcoming WSOP Circuit Schedule is Out; $1 Million Freeroll Returns
- 87 PN Podcast: GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu Talks 2023 WSOP & Poker Hall of Fame
- 88 The Smoking Petition: How Tom McEvoy Helped the WSOP Become Smoke Free
- 89 2023 WSOP Hands of the Week: Poker Player Learns Lesson for Premature Celebration
- 90 Hellmuth, Negreanu Pay Tribute to Doyle Brunson at 2023 WSOP
- 91 Silicon Valley's Chamath Palihapitiya Returns to the WSOP After a Decade
- 92 Admitted Poker Cheater Ali Imsirovic Enters WSOP $1,500 Shootout Event
- 93 Six-Time Bracelet Winner Brian Rast Voted Into Poker Hall of Fame
- 94 Lexy Gavin-Mather Is One of the 2023 WSOP's Most Prolific Vloggers
- 95 PN Podcast: Final Show from the 2023 WSOP w/ Guests Brian Rast & Phil Hellmuth
- 96 How Much Money Players at 2023 WSOP Main Event Final Table Really Made
- 97 Mike Holtz Nabs WSOP Cashes Record While Ian Matakis is POY
- 98 The Complete Overview of the 2023 NV/NJ WSOP Online Bracelet Events
- 99 Daniel Weinman Wins Record-Breaking 2023 WSOP Main Event for $12,100,000
- 100 Nicolai Morris & Elias Garney Win Final WSOP Online Bracelets in Michigan & Pennsylvania