There will be seven players returning to the felt for the final day of Event #10: €25,500 Mixed Games Championship. The cards will go in the air at 3 p.m. local time and it will be a fight to see who can come away with their first World Series of Poker gold bracelet...or their 16th.
It was a near-perfect Day 2 for Besim Hot who was one of the last players to register in the tournament but wasted no time in building up his stack. Hot will enter the final table with over one-third of the chips in play and a stack of 15,795,000. His next closest competitor is Dzmitry Urbanovich who eliminated Johannes Becker on the money bubble and brought an end to the night with 7,425,000 chips.
However, much of the focus today will be on Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu who have a combined 21 WSOP bracelets between the two of them. Hellmuth sits on a stack of 5,495,000 and Negreanu is not far behind with 5,315,000. Hellmuth will be channeling all of his positivity to add to his record 16 bracelets and Negreanu will be looking to give himself a comfortable lead in the Player of the Year race.
Julien Martini (4,475,000), Alex Livingston (4,005,000), and Benny Glaser (2,750,000) round out the remaining players at the final table. Martini and Glaser already have bracelets to their name and will be looking to add more while Livingston is still searching for his first after coming so close in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Final Table Seating Assignments
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Dzmitry Urbanovich
Poland
7,425,000
2
Julien Martini
France
4,475,000
3
Besim Hot
Switzerland
15,795,000
4
Phil Hellmuth
United States
5,495,000
5
Benny Glaser
United Kingdom
2,750,000
6
Alex Livingston
United States
4,005,000
7
Daniel Negreanu
United States
5,315,000
There will be 21:43 remaining in level 18 when the players return to their seats. The levels will continue to be 60 minutes in length with a 15-minute break after every two levels. Because of play halting just as the final table redraw was done, there will also be a draw for which game the players will start with at the start of the day.
The entire prizepool of over €1,068,000 will be up for grabs today with a min-cash being worth €38,389 and the winner taking home €385,911. A lot of money is up for grabs but for some of these players, it is all about the prestige of beating the best players in the world and walking away with the title.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Prize (in EUR)
Prize (in USD)
1
€ 385,911
$428,361
2
€ 238,509
$264,745
3
€ 162,463
$180,334
4
€ 111,689
$123,975
5
€ 77,502
$86,027
6
€ 54,287
$60,259
7
€ 38,389
$42,612
Follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team for all of the live updates throughout the final day and to find out who will walk away with the WSOP gold bracelet.
Benny Glaser completed with an eight showing and was called by Daniel Negreanu, Julien Martini, and Besim Hot. Glaser also bet fourth street and all three players called.
On fifth, Glaser bet again and Negreanu raised. Martini and Hot called and Glaser was all in for 590,000. Sixth street provided a ton of action with Negreanu firing in the first bet. Martini raised, Hot called, and Negreanu three-bet. Martini stuck in a four-bet and Hot finally folded. Negreanu thought about capping it but just called.
The action went check-check on seventh and Negreanu showed for an eight-high straight. Martini held for a six-high straight and a better low as the two players split the side pot. Benny Glaser had in the hole and peeled off the to complete a ten-high straight, chopping half of the main pot.
Julien Martini was all in on third street against Besim Hot and paired his four on fifth, while Hot had a flush draw on sixth. Martini peeled the and remained with a pair of fours, however, Hot missed it all with the as final card and they chopped as Hot had a low.
Julien Martini: / /
Alex Livingston: / fold
Daniel Negreanu: / /
Martini was then all in for 505,000 after completing and a raise by Alex Livingston and a call by Daniel Negreanu. On fourth, Livingston and Negreanu checked and Negreanu bet fifth to force out Livingston. Martini had a made straight but Negreanu had two pair and a straight flush draw.
A blank for Martini was revealed first and Negreanu somehow missed everything with the .
He recorded with his phone and said "three pair don't beat a straight."
After falling to the short stack, it didn't take much for the rest of Alex Livingston's chips to get in the middle. He was heads-up against Besim Hot on fifth street when all of the cards were turned over.
Hot flipped over / for a ten-high straight while Livingston made a set of aces on sixth street. Livingston had one more chance to improve to a full house but was unable to do so, becoming the first player eliminated at the final table.
Phil Hellmuth completed with a five and Daniel Negreanu called with a seven. Negreanu led out on fourth and Hellmuth just called. Negreanu bet again on fifth and Hellmuth raised to put Negreanu all in for his last few chips.
Negreanu showed while Hellmuth held . Once sixth street was delivered, Hellmuth had an eight and Negreanu double-paired which left him drawing dead.
Dzmitry Urbanovich completed with a nine and Julien Martini came along with a king. Martini check-called on fourth and Urbanovich led out on fifth which Martini called after thinking for a minute.
Urbanovich bet again on sixth and Martini called, leaving himself with just 125,000 chips remaining. Martini didn't like the result after peeling his last card but he stuck in the chips anyway. Urbanovich flipped over for two pair while Martini had for a pair of deuces and a missed low draw.
Benny Glaser raised to 600,000 with one T-25,000 chip behind and Dzmitry Urbanovich called on the button, as did Phil Hellmuth in the big blind. Hellmuth checked the flop and Glaser moved all in, Urbanovich raised to 850,000 and that forced out Hellmuth.
Benny Glaser:
Dzmitry Urbanovich:
The board completed with the turn and the river to eliminate Glaser in 4th place for €111,689.
Dzmitry Urbanovich was all in after fourth street and needed some run-good as Phil Hellmuth already had a nine-seven draw, which he hit with an eight on fifth.
Urbanovich picked up some hope on sixth when he had a seven-six draw, but paired the on seventh to end up drawing dead, Hellmuth further improved to an eighty-seven with a as final card.
Urbanovich was eliminated in 3rd place and takes home €162,463 for his efforts while Besim Hot and Hellmuth will battle for the coveted gold bracelet after a short break.
Besim Hot raised the pot to 750,000 on the button and Phil Hellmuth called out of the big blind. The flop came and Hellmuth checked to Hot who bet 500,000. Hellmuth check-raised to 2,000,000 and Hot shoved all in. Hellmuth committed his entire stack of just under 7,000,000.
Besim Hot:
Phil Hellmuth:
Hellmuth was currently in the lead with an ace-kicker but Hot still had plenty of outs. The on the turn was one of them as Hot improved to a full house. Hellmuth was left drawing to an ace and the on the river was not going to cut it. Hellmuth was forced to settle for his 11th runner-up finish while Hot will celebrate his first WSOP gold bracelet.
A full tournament recap along with a winner's interview will follow shortly.
A new World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner has been crowned at the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe and it was Besim Hot that has become the second-ever Swiss champion after taking down Event #10: €25,500 Mixed Games Championship. Hot had to defeat mixed game specialists and big names of the international poker scene on his road to victory and came out on top of a heads-up battle with none other than 15-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.
The event drew a total of 45 entries to create a prize pool of €1,068,750 and Hot received a top prize of €385,911, while Hellmuth missed out on number 16 and had to settle for €238,509. It was the second 8-Game final table of the series at the King's Resort in Rozvadov for Hellmuth, who finished 3rd in Event #5: €2,500 8-Game Mix and narrowly missed out on further cementing his status in WSOP history and came runner-up for the 11th time.
Hot, who describes himself as his own boss, was born in Macedonia and moved to Switzerland at a young age where he currently resides in Zurich. It is the biggest live cash for Hot so far, who has now accumulated more than $2.1 million in live tournament earnings and taken over the number one spot on the Swiss all-time money list ahead of online crusher Linus "LLinusLLove" Loeliger.
He was one of many Day 2 entries and entered the final day with more than one-third of the chips in play as he dominated the late action with sheer relentless aggression. That would not change for the final table either, as he remained in the driver's seat and maintained the top spot for all but a few minutes. He was not intimidated by the big names he was facing and kept to his usual strategy.
"I played my game from the start, like always, and kept building pots. I didn't play my cards but the opponents. Most of my hands were bluffs as you could see, especially in the big pots, and I forced my opponents to fold. It didn't really matter who was sitting at my table, I just play my game against Phil Ivey, Isildur, and all the others."
When asked what the bracelet means to him, Hot had the following to say.
"It is actually a long story. Some six or seven years I was one of the best Swiss players and went to Las Vegas to win a bracelet for Switzerland. But because of my stupidity, I lost my entire bankroll on the first night and had to fly back home. They were all laughing at me."
Hot doesn't plan on flying to Las Vegas to win another WSOP bracelet and instead stick to tournaments in Europe where he is a well-known name in High Roller tournaments. It was also his final tournament at the 2019 WSOPE as he already had a family vacation in Dubai planned for the next few days no matter what the outcome of the final table.
"I don't really know yet what I will play next. If there is something interesting coming up, I always decide on short notice and based on gut feeling.
Daniel Negreanu also reached the final table and finished sixth to take over the lead in the 2019 WSOP Player of the Year race, notching up another cash in Event #11: €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha as he multi-tabled his way to a 20th place. In the breaks and during long hands he was not involved in, Negreanu would jump out of his seat and play a few hands in the PLO tournament to reach the final three tables.
Dzmitry Urbanovich finished third in "his Main Event" as he specifically traveled to Europe's biggest poker arena at the King's Resort in Rozvadov for this tournament and cashed for €162,463, while the final table also featured three-time WSOP bracelet winner Benny Glaser, one-time WSOP bracelet winner Julien Martini and 2019 WSOP Main Event 3rd place finisher Alex Livingston.
Final Result Event #10: €25,500 Mixed Games Championship
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (in EUR)
Prize (in USD)
1
Besim Hot
Switzerland
€385,911
$428,361
2
Phil Hellmuth
United States
€238,509
$264,745
3
Dzmitry Urbanovich
Poland
€162,463
$180,334
4
Benny Glaser
United Kingdom
€111,689
$123,975
5
Julien Martini
France
€77,502
$86,027
6
Daniel Negreanu
Canada
€54,287
$60,259
7
Alex Livingston
Canada
€38,389
$42,612
When the final table kicked off, Besim Hot held more than one third of the chips in play and remained comfortably ahead of the six big names that were all eying for more WSOP glory. Daniel Negreanu needed at least sixth place to take over the 2019 WSOP Player of the Year top spot and he would get exactly that as the two Canadians on the final table were the first two to bust.
Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo hands provided spectacular showdowns and it would take more than two full levels before Alex Livingston was sent to the rail when his set of aces was no good against the ten-high straight of eventual champion Hot. All shorter stacks were at risk sooner or later but somehow escaped, and it was Negreanu that had to settle for sixth.
Phil Hellmuth had promised late on Day 2 to punish Negreanu and he would eventually be the one that dealt the final blow in a Razz hand after Negreanu had been left short and was drawing dead with a double pair against an eight.
With increasing limits and short-handed action it didn't take long to reduce the field further and Hellmuth was able to pull into a comfortable place, he even took over the lead for a brief period of time. Julien Martini saw his hopes of a second WSOP bracelet vanish against Dzmitry Urbanovich and Benny Glaser, who endured a roller coaster day, didn't get there with a gutshot against the pocket pair of Hot in No-Limit Hold'em.
Down to the final three, Hot immediately assumed control to take down big pots against Hellmuth and Urbanovich. Throughout the final table, Hellmuth had been winning a lot of chips during Razz and it came as no surprise that he would eliminate Urbanovich in Razz when he made an eighty-seven and entered heads-up with just a minor disadvantage.
However, it wouldn't take long for Hot to establish a commanding lead and Hellmuth was ready to throw in the virtual towel.
Before another round of Razz hands started and down 1-7 in chips, Hellmuth said "It this was a fight, I'd stop it," prompting a simple "running hot" from his Swiss opponent.
It would be all over in a PLO hand in which both flopped trips nines. Hot had a straight redraw and turned a full house to leave Hellmuth with yet another runner-up finish on the WSOP resume.
That wraps up the PokerNews updates from Event #10: €25,500 Mixed Games Championship, but another four gold bracelets are up for grabs at the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe throughout the next two weeks.
Pictures courtesy of Katerina Lukina / King's Resort