Seven years ago Bryce Yockey called his shot and captured his first bracelet in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship. Today at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, he topped that accomplishment, overcoming a field of 733 entrants in Event $8: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha to take home his second piece of World Series of Poker hardware while notching a new career-best score of $606,654.
"There's no feeling like it," Yockey told PokerNews. "Like winning a tournament, especially a WSOP tournament is just a highlight of anyone's poker career. I feel validated because I've worked really hard to get better at PLO specifically, and I feel like it paid off today. I feel really loved because I had a lot of people come and support me."
Bryce Yockey and his rail
Yockey last defeated Farid Jattin after a gruelling heads-up duel, becoming the third player of the series from the 25KFantasy Draft to capture a bracelet. The other draft picks to reach top spot in the first week of the 2024 WSOP were John Hennigan and Nick Guagenti. Hennigan joined the seven-bracelet club after his Dealer's Choice triumph. Like Yockey, Guagenti grabbed bracelet #2 in the Limit Hold'em streets prior to Yockey closing the tournament.
"I'm going to win another one this year. Like honestly, when I saw myself get drafted for $13 in the fantasy draft, I'm like, f*** these guys. I'm just going to win two bracelets instead. I do a morning affirmation every day and I just tell myself I'm going to win two, and I got one down so far."
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Throughout the final table Yockey and Jattin were at the forefront of the action, despite both players having a sizable chip lead over the rest of the field that gave way to major ICM implications for both players.
"I had to be really cautious with him because he was clearly willing to play more hands than ICM would suggest. Even though I actually had him covered for a stretch, he had enough chips that we were so close.
"I actually just kind of treated him like a chip leader and just gave him a lot of free opportunities. I felt like I would find chances to get chips in other places."
Yockey's ambitions don't just top at getting another bracelet, he's also putting his name in the hat for the WSOP Player of the Year race.
"I'm never going to be like Shaun Deeb or Daniel Negreanu. I'm never going to play two tournaments at the same time unless it's a really unusual situation. But, I mean, I always play 40 events anyway. If I play another ten, it's really not that different. So I'll be in here every single day."
Final Day Highlights
Joao Vieira
The third and final day began with just 11 hopefuls. Joao Vieira started the day at the bottom of the counts but got off to a hot start after turning a straight to crack Gabriel Andrade’s top set. Andrade was left with fumes and couldn’t recover, ultimately becoming the first knockout of the day. Poker Hall of Famer Brian Rast was next to fall on the final table bubble after making top pair and a straight draw only to run into Vieira’s bigger top pair and flush draw.
Yockey began the day at the top of the counts and entered the final table still holding on to the chip lead. Jattin was not too far behind and quickly closed the gap after cracking the pocket aces of Naoya Kihara to score the first FT elimination.
Yockey began pulling away after scoring a pivotal double knockout that saw Paul Radcliffe and Joao Simao hit the rail in eighth and seventh place respectively.
By this point, Yockey and Jattin were well ahead of the rest of the field, with the other four competitors nursing significantly shorter stacks. Despite the heavy ICM implications, Jattin and Yockey were battling each other in several big pots. Yockey seemed poised to run away with the tournament after getting max value with top set which sent Jattin tumbling down the chip counts. The resilient Colombian was at risk shortly after, but rebounded after making a rivering a higher straight against his main rival. Jattin knocked out Vieira in sixth a few hands later to once again close the gap.
Farid Jattin
Following the dinner break, the short stacks began to fall. Yockey picked up steam, seeing off Jason Berilgen and Aditya Sadhu.
Zachary Schwartz attempted to mount a comeback at three-handed play but was ultimately felted after getting it in with a pair and a wrap only for Yockey to river a flush.
Yockey entered heads-up play with nearly a 4:1 chip advantage over his opponent, but Jattin dug in his heels. Jattin showed tremendous heart and a ton of creativity, but in the end, Yockey's chip advantage was too much to overcome. The final pot of the night was a preflop race, which handed Yockey the title.
