Aaron Cummings has taken a huge lead over Travis Erdman by winning three hands in quick succession. In the first hand, Erdman tried bluffing the river after drawing one when Cummings stood pat. Cummings called with 9x8x7x4x3x and won the hand.
In the second hand, a smaller pot ensued where Cummings showed down 9x6x5x3x2x to win another hand.
The final hand saw Cummings and Erdman put in four bets each before the first draw. Both players drew one on the first and second draw and Erdman check-called bets from Cummings twice.
On the final draw, Erdman drew one and Cummings stood pat. Both players checked and Cummings showed down 9x8x5x4x2x for his third nine in a row.
Aaron Cummings raised on the button, Travis Erdman shoved all in for 575,000, and Cummings called the few extra chips. Both players drew two cards on the first draw. Erdman drew two on the second draw and Cummings opted for one.
On the final draw, both players drew one and opened up their cards.
Travis Erdman: 9x7x4x2x
Aaron Cummings: 7x5x4x3x
Cummings went first and revealed a Jx to complete a jack low. Erdman peeked at his card but found the Ax to see his tournament life come to an end.
With that, the tire shop owner from Montana has done the improbable by winning the same event in back-to-back years! He's the first player to win the same event in consecutive years since Dan Cates won the Poker Player's Championship in 2021 and 2022.
Going back-to-back in the same event is an incredible feat, with Cummings winning his second bracelet after topping a 635-player field to win $157,172. He defeated Travis Erdman heads-up after the pair vied for the chip lead throughout the final table, with Erdman settling for second place and $104,739.
Cummings came into the final day seventh in chips, and despite being just ten eliminations away from history, he wasn't dwelling on his shot at making history.
"I definitely thought about [going back-to-back]" Cummings told PokerNews. "But it's still a long battle to get there. I was a little short coming into the day, so I knew it was going to be tough. But obviously there's a chance."
Like last year, Cummings says things went smoothly. He won all the big pots, and things just went his way. In a tough field, he had to battle past former bracelet winners, but says that the field is what makes an event like 2-7 Triple Draw fun.
Aaron Cummings
"The people are always great. That's why I play it. It's always fun and the people are what makes it fun."
From midway through the final table, it appeared that the pair were destined for heads-up, but things didn't go his way to start out as Erdman opened a massive lead.
"In this game, I feel like you just have to play the hands the best you can and let the chips fall where they fall," said Cummings. "I just continued to do that, and it turned around, and everything went my way after that.
"One of my old friends has this quote, which is perfect for this. He says 'It's like déjà vu all over again' And that's all I've been thinking about for the last 15 minutes. Everything's identical, it's just crazy."
A place in history for Cummings who wins his second bracelet after doing it all over again.
Aaron Cummings
Final Day Recap
A sedate start to the day eventually saw play reach the final table in only a couple of hours, with Jon Turner and Brandon Shack-Harris among those eliminated.
Start-of-day chip leader Hideki Nakamura bubbled the final table, with Erdman leading the final seven. Two-time bracelet winner Nathan Gamble saw his stack dwindle, and tripled up twice before falling in seventh.
With the chip lead changing almost every orbit, Andres Korn went on a march, winning three hands in a row before giving it all back and ultimately being eliminated by Kristan Lord. Lord then sent David Mead to the rail, before Lord himself was eliminated by Erdman.
Erdman and Cummings were at the top of the counts, and it felt almost inevitable that the pair would meet heads-up. James Tilton fell in third with stacks level entering heads-up play.
Travis Erdman
Heads-Up Play
It felt like one-way traffic to open up heads-up play, as Erdman won a flurry of hands to open a more than 3:1 lead over his opponent. However, Cummings found his footing and battled back to once again level the stacks.
Then it was Cummings' turn. Forging a lead that looked likely to be permanent, it was Erdman's turn as he battled back with three-in-a-row to even things up.
In limit games, you have to go on a streak. And that's what Cummings did. Making three nines in three hands to break Erdman's resistance. Despite Erdman doubling once, the second all-in saw Cummings secure victory and a historic back-to-back title.
That concludes the PokerNews coverage for this event. Stay tuned for more coverage from the 2025 WSOP, with live updates for all upcoming events available by clicking here.
