Mike “The Mouth” Matusow has never been shy about voicing his frustration over being left out of the Poker Hall of Fame. With over $10 million in live earnings, four WSOP bracelets, and a 2013 NBC Heads-Up Championship, his résumé already reads like one worthy of poker immortality.
This year, Matusow is again officially on the Hall of Fame ballot and nothing would make his case more undeniable than winning the most prestigious tournament of them all: the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
To get there, Matusow — who sits 22nd in chips — has to navigate one of the most stacked fields that the WSOP conjures up. Among those still in contention is fellow Hall of Fame nominee Jeremy Ausmus, along with Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu, both Hall of Famers themselves, and both holding votes that will help determine who joins poker’s most exclusive club.
Hall of Fame politics aside, the PPC remains the ultimate mixed-game test and after two days of action, Erick Lindgren leads the final 35 with 2,969,000 chips as he looks to turn back the clock and claim the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy.
Lindgren is followed closely by three-time PPC champion Michael Mizrachi, with a host of notables like Ali Eslami, Chris Vitch, Benny Glaser, and Esther Taylor still in the hunt.
Glaser is also chasing history, eyeing his fourth bracelet of the summer, something never before achieved. Taylor continues to represent as the lone woman in the field. Meanwhile, reigning champion Negreanu remains very much alive in his quest to defend his title.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erick Lindgren | United States | 2,969,000 |
| 2 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 2,048,000 |
| 3 | Ali Eslami | United States | 1,757,000 |
| 4 | Christopher Vitch | United States | 1,739,000 |
| 5 | Andrew Yeh | United States | 1,461,000 |
| 6 | Brian Yoon | United States | 1,420,000 |
| 7 | Christian Roberts | Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 1,248,000 |
| 8 | Chris Klodnicki | United States | 1,244,000 |
| 9 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 1,110,000 |
| 10 | Jon Kyte | Norway | 1,086,000 |
Beyond the glory and Hall of Fame bragging rights, there’s serious money on the line. The field grew to 107 entries on Day 2, creating a $5,082,500 prize pool, with $1,331,322 reserved for the eventual champion. Seventeen players will cash, but only one will take home the seven-figure score, bracelet and trophy.
The action resumes inside Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, at 1 p.m. local time, starting at Level 13, with the 5,000/10,000 blinds in no-limit and pot-limit games, and limits of 20,000/40,000 in the limit games. Play is scheduled for six 100-minute levels, with a 60-minute dinner break at the end of Level 15 (≈ 6:30 p.m.).
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the exciting action as the best players in the world battle in one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year.
