2019 World Series of Poker

Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
Day: 1
Event Info

2019 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
9x5x4x3x2x
Prize
$1,099,311
Event Info
Buy-in
$50,000
Prize Pool
$3,552,000
Entries
74
Level Info
Level
27
Limits
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
0

The $50,000 Poker Players Championship Kicks Off at 3 p.m.

Michael Mizrachi and his brothers after his third PPC win in 2018
Michael Mizrachi and his brothers after his third PPC win in 2018

One of the most anticipated events of the 2019 World Series of Poker is here as the $50,000 Poker Players Championship begins today at 3 p.m.

Many of the biggest names in the game consider this their main event, as winning in the eight-game format against the best in the world is what many believe to be the toughest challenge the WSOP schedule presents.

With a combined 32 bracelets won by the 10 winners of this event, luck is certainly not what comes to the forefront in the PPC. The skill required to defeat the toughest tournament field of the summer by being proficient in each variant is what is consistently echoed by players and past champions.

David "Chip" Reese, the first champion of this event and for whom the Memorial Trophy is named after, was long considered by his peers to be the best all-around poker player. After his win in 2006, Reese said, "It's not just one day or two days. It's every day." The PPC requires excellent all-around poker over the course of several days, and two players who will no doubt be playing today know a little something more about this than the rest.

Defending champion Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi is an unprecedented three-time winner of this event, having won it in 2010, 2012 and in 2018. Mizrachi also finished fourth in 2016. The other player with multiple PPC titles is Brian Rast, who earned top honors in 2011 and 2016.

Here is a look at the past entries, prize pool, champions, and first-place prizes:

YearEntriesPrize PoolWinnerPrize
2006143$6,864,000Chip Reese$1,716,000
2007148$7,104,000Freddy Deeb$2,276,832
2008148$7,104,000Scotty Nguyen$1,989,120
200995$4,560,000David Bach$1,276,806
2010116$5,568,000Michael Mizrachi$1,559,046
2011128$6,144,000Brian Rast$1,720,328
2012108$5,184,000Michael Mizrachi$1,451,527
2013132$6,336,000Matthew Ashton$1,774,089
2014102$4,896,000John Hennigan$1,517,767
201584$3,696,000Mike Gorodinsky$1,270,086
201691$4,176,000Brian Rast$1,296,097
2017100$4,800,000Elior Sion$1,395,767
201887$4,176,000Michael Mizrachi$1,239,126

The tournament structure is different from years past. In addition to beginning with 300,000 in chips (up from 250,000), the tournament also begins with limits of 1,500/3,000. In past years that was Level 4, so right from the start the play is going to mean much more than it has in recent years.

The schedule for Day 1 calls for six 100-minute levels to be played, which should have players bagging and tagging at about 2 a.m. Registration remains open until the end of Level 10 (about 10:20 p.m.) on Day 2 (Tuesday).

Be sure to keep it here for live updates on all of the action, as the quest to crown the 2019 Poker Players Champion begins!

Tags: Brian RastMichael Mizrachi