Doyle Brunson's last cash at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) came in 2018, and it was one of the most memorable moments in poker history.
Today is the perfect day to look back on that incredible event, the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship, because it just happens to be Day 1 of the same tournament (Event #69) at the 2023 WSOP.
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Brunson, who passed away last month at 89, made a surprise appearance on that day in 2018. His son and fellow Poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson convinced his dad to register for the event on Day 2, and it had been a few years since Doyle had competed at the World Series of Poker.
Doyle Spins Up a Stack
Prior to arriving at the Rio, Doyle teased on Twitter that it might be his last tournament ever. As such, the poker media and poker fans all gathered inside the legendary Amazon room to catch a glimpse of one of the all-time greats in action for what some anticipated would be the last time.
"Texas Dolly" would continue playing the occasional tournament until he passed, and even entered a few bracelet events at the 2022 WSOP. But during that 2-7 tournament five years ago, the focus from just about everyone connected to poker was on Brunson's apparent final appearance. And then the unpredictable happened.
Entering the 2018 WSOP, Doyle hadn't cashed at the WSOP since 2013, and his 10th and final bracelet came in 2005. He was mostly a high-stakes cash game player at Bellagio during his elder years. The old WSOP crusher Doyle Brunson would show up one last time on Day 2 of the 2-7 when he quickly ran up a stack.
Doyle Brunson with Jack Effel on Day 2 of the 2018 WSOP $10k 2-7.
He earned an early double at the expense of future WSOP Player of the Year, Dan Zack. From there, his stack would continue to grow.
At the end of Day 2, with 11 players remaining, Brunson was in fourth place. Todd Brunson had also advanced to Day 3, creating a memorable father-son moment, although he was among the short stacks.
Reaching the Final Table
On the following day it was all about getting back to a WSOP final table and moving into second place all-time with 11 bracelets for Brunson. Heading into the series, he was tied in that position with Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey. Phil Hellmuth, who now has 16 bracelets, was sitting on 14 at the time.
As players began to fall on Day 3 and Brunson wasn't one of them, the buzz began to pick up in the Amazon room much like when the Main Event final table was approaching. Could he pull it off and win his 11th bracelet at age 84 in what many expected to be his final appearance at the World Series of Poker?
After Farzad Bonyadi busted in eighth place, the final table was set and Doyle was still standing. He was second to last in chips with seven players remaining, but wasn't that far off the lead. But when Brian Rast eliminated John Hennigan in seventh place, there began to be some wide separation from the chip leaders to the smaller stacks.
With the blinds getting big, Doyle would lose a key pot to Dario Sammartino and was down to just seven big blinds. Moments later, James Alexander would claim his remaining chips. Brunson was out in sixth place for $43,963, the last time he'd cash in any live poker tournament, excluding a WSOP celebrity freeroll in 2021.
Although he came up just short of the bracelet, the deep run was still an incredible moment for the poker community, so much so that ESPN's Scott Van Pelt paid tribute to the poker legend on the world-renowned SportsCenter show that evening. Brunson's expected retirement and deep run in the 2-7 was all over poker and non-poker mainstream media. In a career filled with brilliant moments, this was right up there near the top.
Rast, the favorite to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame's Class of 2023, would go on to win that event, his fourth of six bracelets.
