Welcome to the 9th Annual $50,000 Poker Players' Championship
Back in 2006, the World Series of Poker introduced the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship, a tournament designed to determine the game's greatest all-around player. The event was originally played in a H.O.R.S.E. format, but now it's morphed into a rotation of eight games — limit hold'em, Omaha hi-low, razz, seven-card stud, stud hi-low, no-limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, and 2-7 triple draw lowball.
The tournament, which was created at the request of the players back in 2006, attracted 143 entrants in its first year. David "Chip" Reese ended up winning the inaugural event for $1,716,000, and since then some of the game's best have laid claim to the title (see chart below).
According to the WSOP, "poker greats consider the winner of the event the best all-around player because it demonstrates he or she can outplay the competition in a wide range of game variations with high stakes on the line."
There have also been some noteworthy milestones, which we'll highlight for you here:
- Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi is the only player to win the Chip Reese Trophy twice.
- Seven other players have final tabled the event twice, including John Hanson, Andy Bloch, Bruno Fitoussi, Matt Glantz, David Singer, Barry Greenstein, and Huck Seed.
- Last year's champ, Matthew Ashton, became the first non-American to win the title. He did so by defeating American Don Nguyen in heads-up play (in 2006 and 2011, the final table of this event was comprised solely of Americans).
- No woman has ever cashed in this event.
- Andy Bloch and Barry Greenstein lead the all-time cashing list in this event with four cashes each.
- The $50,000 buy-in is the second-most expensive of the 65 events at the 2014 WSOP.
Not only will the eventual winner take home a WSOP gold bracelet and a large payday, they'll have their name inscribed on the commemorative "Chip Reese Trophy," which is named in honor of the inaugural winner, who passed away in 2007. "The iconic trophy was first added for the event's champion in 2008, with the winner keeping the top part of the trophy for the year, while his name is engraved on the bottom half, etched forever in history," the WSOP explains.
The biggest names in poker are expected to take part in this tournament, but some who've already stated that they'll be forking over $50,000 are Gus Hansen, Dan Heimiller, Ben Yu, Robert Mizrachi, Randy Ohel, Vanessa Selbst, Mike Gorodinsky, and the defending champ Matthew Ashton. In addition there have been satellites running the past two days, so we'll see a handful of qualifiers taking their shot, all hoping to add their name to this prestigious list:
Former $50,000 Poker Players' Championship Winners
| Year | Winner | Prize | # of Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Chip Reese | $1,716,000 | 143 | $6,864,000 |
| 2007 | Freddy Deeb | $2,276,832 | 148 | $7,104,000 |
| 2008 | Scotty Nguyen | $1,989,120 | 148 | $7,104,000 |
| 2009 | David Bach | $1,276,806 | 95 | $4,560,000 |
| 2010 | Michael Mizrachi | $1,559,046 | 116 | $5,568,000 |
| 2011 | Brian Rast | $1,720,328 | 128 | $6,144,000 |
| 2012 | Michael Mizrachi | $1,451,527 | 108 | $5,184,000 |
| 2013 | Matthew Ashton | $1,774,089 | 132 | $6,336,000 |
Day 1 will feature five levels — each lasting 100 minutes — and players will begin with 150,000 in tournament chips. Cards will be in the air at 4 p.m. local time, so join us then as we kick off one of the most prestigious events of the summer!
but that was no good against Leah's 
, and Linde made the call. Linde called another 30,000 on the 
turn, and Shak bet 35,000 when the board paired with the 
. After a brief thinking period, Linde said he was all in, covering Shak's 44,000 more.
, and he bet 1,300. Sergii Baranov made the call, but Abe Mosseri wanted to play for more: 6,300. Ashton made the call, and Baranov ducked out of the way. Mosseri slowed down with a check on the 
river, and Ashton bet 4,800.
for fives full. Mosseri shook his head and mucked, and the defending champ is off to a nice start here on Day 1.
and Negreanu checked. Selbst continued for 2,400 and Yu quickly got out of the way. Negreanu flatted and the 
and Negreanu checked once more. Selbst checked behind and Negreanu rolled over 
for a pair of tens. Selbst threw her cards away and Negreanu took down the pot. He's now up to around 216,000 in chips while Selbst has dropped to 112,000.
flop, on which Rast bet 4,800. Sternheimer called, and Rast kept the barrels coming with 8,500 on the 
emerged on the river. At this, Rast fired out 27,000. Sternheimer tanked for awhile, asked for a count of the bet, and then decided to look his opponent up.
for trips, and that was enough to rake in the pot.
turn actually have Glick the lead with Broadway, but then the 
spiked on the river!
