An amazing day of poker lies in front of us with the final table of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship set to being shortly.
Leading the way into the stack final table is none other than Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. He won this very event back in 2010 to claim his first-ever World Series of Poker gold bracelet and it's going to be exciting to see him try to become the first-ever two-time winner.
When Mizrachi won this event back in 2010, he came into the final table fifth in chips. He'll be in better position this time around and seems to be playing his best poker. He's also running well, and anyone who knows poker knows that it a very lethal combination.
Mizrachi slightly edges out Andy Bloch for the chip lead by just 50,000. Following those two is Chris Klodnicki as the third player with over three million in his stack. A couple of young guns in Stephen Chidwick and Luke Schwartz sit in fourth and fifth, respectively, before Bill Chen, Roland Israelashvili and Bruno Fitoussi round out the final three spots.
Israelashvili may be the least known of the remaining competitors, but he's the one with the most feel-good story. Israelashvili won his seat into this event for a mere $2,250 in a satellite and is looking to maximize his return by moving up the leader board en route to hopefully grabbing the title.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat
Player
Chips
1
Bill Chen
1,293,000
2
Luke Schwartz
1,494,000
3
Andy Bloch
3,598,000
4
Stephen Chidwick
2,026,000
5
Michael Mizrachi
3,648,000
6
Chris Klodnicki
3,276,000
7
Bruno Fitoussi
188,000
8
Roland Israelashvili
694,000
The cards will be in the air promptly at 2:00 PM and it's set to be a great one. Buckle up and get ready for all of the action as only PokerNews can bring it to you.
Wow! We told you this final table would be exciting, but no one expected an fireworks display quite like this so early on.
No-Limit Hold'em
From under the gun, short-stacked Bruno Fitoussi raised all in for 170,000. Action folded over to Bill Chen in the hijack seat and he made the call before play slid to Michael "The Grinder" Mirzachi in the big blind. He reraised and made it 400,000 to go. Chen quickly moved all in for a little over 1.2 million and Mizrachi snapped.
Mizrachi tabled the to have a stranglehold on the hand against the at-risk Fitoussi and Chen, who held the and the , respectively.
The flop came down and Mizrachi's aces kept the lead. The turn was the and gave Fitoussi back a little bit of hope, but he would need another eight to fall on the river. Chen was looking for another king, but both were drawing thin.
The river completed the board with the and Mizrachi threw his hands above his hand in triumph as he won the pot to eliminate both players. Mizrachi now has a big lead with over five million in chips.
Due to Chen having more chips at the start of the hand, he finished in seventh place for $205,856. Fitoussi took home $169,879.
Stephen Chidwick was in the small blind on his final hand of final-table play, and he raised it up to 72,000. Michael Mizrachi was on the big blind, and he made the call.
The flop came down and Chidwick bet 60,000, Mizrachi called. On the turn the popped up and Chidwick moved all in for his remaining 230,000 chips. Mizrachi called.
Mizrachi showed for a flopped full house, and Chidwick was trailing with . Luke Schwartz shook his head in disbelief as Chidwick was about to be eliminated.
The river was the and Chidwick was gone. He went around the table to shake everyones hand while Mizrachi is now up to over seven million in chips.
On the latest edition of the PokerNews Podcast, Ronnie Bardah joins the team to talk Limit Hold'em, Muay Thai training in Thailand and faces. Bardah recently won his first gold bracelet in Event 40: $2,500 Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed.
From the cutoff Roland Israelashvili raised all in for just 111,000 and both Andy Bloch and Michael Mizrachi called from the blinds.
Bloch wanted two cards, Mizrachi three and Israelashvili took two. Bloch and Mizrachi opted to check.
On the second draw both blinds took two cards again, while Israelashvili only needed one. Again the action was checked.
On the final draw both blinds took one card and Israelashvili, who was at risk, stood pat. Again the action was checked.
Israelashvili turned over , but that was no good against Bloch's . Israelashvili shook everyones hand and left the tournament area as we are now down to just four players! This fifth place finish marks Israelashvili biggest career cash.
Action moved to Chris Klodnicki in the small blind and he raised with a bunch of brown T25,000 chips to put the pressure on Luke Schwartz in the big blind. Schwartz went all in for a little bit more and Klodnicki called.
Schwartz showed the and was dominating the for Klodnicki. Schwartz popped out of his chair again and hugged the dealer with one arm. He also kissed the dealer on the top of his head and pleaded for a board in his favor.
The flop came down and Schwartz stayed in front, although there was now a very good chance this pot was going to be chopped.
The turn brought the and now Schwartz pleaded, "Just put a card lower than a five! Anything but a six!"
The river was exactly what Schwartz didn't want to see as the landed on the river. Schwartz's hands were flung up in the air as he knew the worst had happened and he was eliminated.
For his finish, Schwartz took home just over $400,000 in prize money, leaving three players left for the title.
Andy Bloch raised from the button and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi reraised from the small blind. Chris Klodnicki reraised from the big blind and Bloch called all in for 260,000 total. Mizrachi also called and the flop came down .
On the flop, both Mizrachi and Klodnicki checked as the on-looking and all-in Bloch sat and waited. The turn was the and Mizrachi checked. Klodnicki bet and Mizrachi folded.
Klodnicki turned up the and Bloch the .
The river completed the board with the and ended the tournament for Bloch. He finished in third place and earned $561,738 for his finish.
On the button, Chris Klodnicki raised and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi called to see the flop. Mizrachi checked and Klodnicki bet. Mizrachi called.
The turn was the and paired the board. Mizrachi checked, Klodnicki bet and Mizrachi raised. Klodnicki called. The river was the and Mizrachi bet. Klodnicki called.
Mizrachi showed the for three kings and Klodnicki mucked, dropping down to 540,000 in chips.
On the very next hand, Klodnicki and Mizrachi raised back and forth to get the money in preflop after Mizrachi had opened from the button. The hands were on their backs and here's what was seen:
Klodnicki:
Mizrachi:
The flop came down and Mizrachi had a straight draw while Klodnicki picked up a flush draw.
The turn was the and Mizrachi made a ten-high straight. The river then completed the board with the and that was it. Klodnicki couldn't hit to make the high and even make a low and was eliminated in second place.
Klodnicki earned $896,935 for the largest score of his career, but wound up just short of the title. That goes to Mizrachi and a complete recap will be coming shortly, so stay tuned.
And there you have it. Michael Mizrachi is once again the $50,000 Poker Players Championship winner! After a five-day battle with some of the greatest poker players in the world, he came out on top. Mizrachi adds $1,451,527 to his massive list of results and he will now be in fourth place on the all-time money leader board.
The final table started off with a massive bang as Mizrachi won three in a row right away. On the third hand of play, during No-Limit Hold'em, he knocked out both Bruno Fitoussi and Bill Chen.
Mizrachi showed , and was miles ahead of Chen, who showed . Fitoussi had and after the board, both Fitoussi and Chen hit the rail.
Chidwick Goes Next
Right from the start Mizrachi crushed his opponents, and it seemed like he was in a hurry to get to the winners party. Stephen Chidwick was the next one to go out, earning $253,497.
During Pot-Limit Omaha, Chidwick got his final money in on the turn with the board showing . Mizrachi tabled for a full house, and Chidwick was drawing slim with his . The river was the and Chidwick was gone. Mizrachi already had almost half the chips in play at that point.
A Beautiful Run Ends
Roland Israelashvili was the most unexpected name at the final table, as he made the most of his $2,250 investment winning a satellite earlier this week. Israelashvili was the second shortest stack at the start of the day and earned himself $317,882 with his fifth-place finish. Israelashvili got his final chips into the pot in 2-7 Triple Draw when both Bloch and Mizrachi checked the hand down. Israelashvili ended up with a , but that was no good against Bloch's .
And Then it Got Quiet
Luke Schwartz was by far the most talkative player at the final table, and his needling comments had many players cracking up. Schwartz couldn't get anything going at the final table, but his fourth place finish is impressive to say the least. This cash marks Schwartz's first in a non Hold'em or PLO tournament and also his biggest to date earning him $406,736.
During No-Limit Hold'em, Schwartz got his money in with and was up against Chris Klodnicki's . The board ran out and due to an unlucky river, Schwartz got eliminated. Klodnicki chipped up nicely and proved himself to be a real contender for the title. He took the chip lead, but that didn't last long.
Bloch Falls Short
Back in 2006, when this tournament was hosted for the first time, it was Andy Bloch who played a record-setting-heads-up match for the title against the late Chip Reese. In 2012 Bloch came close again, but this time he busted out in third place earning $561,738.
Bloch had a good shot at winning this thing with three players remaining, but eventually he ran into the brick wall that was Mizrachi. In Pot-Limit Omaha Bloch lost a big pot, and couldn't pull off a comeback. On Bloch's final hand he got his money in during Limit Hold'em, and both Klodnicki and Mizrachi called when he was all in pre flop. Mizrachi and Klodnicki both checked the flop, and Bloch got heads up when Mizrachi folded on Klodnicki's turn-bet. Bloch turned over and was facing . The river was the and Bloch was sent home.
The One-sided Title Fight
Mizrachi started the heads-up match with 10.5 million to Klodnicki's 5.7 million. For just a couple of hands Klodnicki got up to more than six-million chips, but from that point on it was the big Mizrachi show. Klodnicki stood no chance against the fearless, agressive and well-running Mizrachi who cruised to victory.
On the final hand in Omaha-8, Klodnicki was all in pre flop and showed . Mizrachi tabled , and claimed the title when the board ran out . Klodnicki took home $896,935 for his efforts, but the massive first-place prize was for Mizrachi who won $1,451,527.