For the first time since Jeff Lisandro did it in 2009, a player has won three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets in the same series in Las Vegas. That individual's name is Scott Seiver, who called his shot on winning Player of the Year before the Series began.
The now seven-time bracelet winner took down Event #72: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship for $411,041, beating out 186 entrants. In doing so, he may have secured induction into the Poker Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible next year at age 40. And, perhaps, is now a heavy favorite in the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year race.
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Scott Seiver
United States
$411,041
2
Jonathan Krela
Canada
$274,217
3
David Lin
United States
$187,177
4
Jeremy Ausmus
United States
$130,794
5
Jen Harman
United States
$93,615
6
Mike Watson
Canada
$68,672
7
Aaron Kupin
United States
$51,661
A Summer to Remember
Seiver, one of the all-time greats before the summer began, is having a Series for the ages. He predicted doing so back in May, but even he likely couldn't have expected such incredible results.
"I feel very satisfied right now," Seiver told PokerNews after the win. "I can't really describe it. I'm like on Cloud Nine right now. This just means so much to me, and it also is a step in a personal journey I've made for myself where I've had a eye in the sky dream where I want to win one bracelet in every single discipline there is."
Scott Seiver
Seiver would like to win a bracelet in nine poker variants during his career, and he's already achieved five before turning 40. The champ's three bracelets in a single series puts him in elite company with Lisandro (2009), Phil Ivey (2002), Ted Forrest (1993), Phil Hellmuth (1993), and Puggy Pearson (1973). George Danzer won three in 2014, but his first came in the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific (APAC) series.
The WSOP Player of the Year leader when the standings are updated on Monday explained how much winning the 2-7 event means to him.
"This tournament is just unbelievably special," Seiver said. "One of, in my opinion, the most prestigious of the year, and I've wanted this one for a long time."
In 2022, Seiver nearly won this same event before finishing in second place to Pedro Bromfman. On Sunday, he was able to close it out heads-up against Jonathan Krela.
The final day of the tournament started with nine hopefuls taking their seats at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Jason Mercier started the day in the middle of the pack, but was left with 12 big blinds not long after the day had begun, which he lost against then chipleader Mike Watson. The eight remaining players moved to the feature table to begin the unofficial final table, where Robert Mizrachi was the first to go after roughly 45 minutes of play.
Mizrachi’s draw to an eight failed to hit against Krela’s pat nine, and the final table of seven players was set. Aaron Kupin started the day as the shortest stack but managed to make two pay jumps before falling in seventh more than an hour after Mizrachi had left when Jeremy Ausmus’ eight-draw hit against his pat ten.
Another lengthy stalemate then took place before Watson departed in sixth. Watson looked poised to capture his first bracelet and with that an elusive Triple Crown at one point, but a string of losses saw culminated in him losing with a pat jack against David Lin’s eight-draw. Hall of Famer Jen Harman had sat down at the final table in search of her first bracelet in nearly 20 years, but after two hours without an elimination, the blinds and antes saw the players get short-stacked.
Eventually, a three-way all-in against Seiver and Krela saw her get eliminated in fifth place, while Seiver won the pot to triple up. Seiver’s Player of the Year rival Ausmus was the next to go, as just five minutes later he got his final eight blinds in with a ten-nine against the nine of Krela. Another five minutes, start-of-day chipleader Lin was left with six big blinds, which he got in against Seiver. Each player drew one card, but Seiver drew the best and took down the pot to get heads up.
With the shorter stacks out of the way, the heads up promised to be a lengthy one. Seiver and Krela were almost dead even and had stacks of roughly 50 big blinds. However, after around 15 minutes of playtime, Krela made a huge over-bet after both players had drawn one card. Krela had made a ten-eight and sent Seiver in the tank with a nine-seven.
Ultimately, Seiver made the correct call, barely covering his opponent and ending the tournament with his third win of the summer. Krela took a lengthy look at the bracelet he had just missed out on, but eventually left the tournament area to let Seiver bask in the glory of another victory.
Based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Liam Black started his video career as a freelance documentary filmmaker in esports, before graduating from Leeds Beckett University in 2021 with a BA in Filmmaking.
He joined [I]PokerNews[/I] in September 2021 after working in the sports betting space for three years, completing other esports documentary projects in his free time.
Away from the tables, Liam is a lifelong Liverpool FC fan who also loves basketball - having played for his hometown Gateshead Phoenix at a regional level.
