Phil Ivey Leads $50,000 Poker Players Championship

June 26, 2019 Jan Kores

While the turnout of 74 players is the smallest in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship history, the record-low attendance has been well compensated by the appearance of two iconic players: Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan.

With 1,254,000 in his bag and 10 bracelets under his belt, Ivey is a hot candidate to earn his fourth PPC cash.

After a tumultuous day at the felt, Ivey managed to catapult himself into pole position late in the day, leading the last 38 players upon completion of the second day.

With 1,254,000 in his bag and 10 bracelets under his belt, Ivey is a hot candidate to earn his fourth PPC cash.

This year's champion will take home $1,099,311 but it's still early to discuss the top prizes. Only twelve players will walk away with a profit and it's likely that Day 3 will bring the tournament close to the bubble but not into the money.

Just bought in to my first tournament at the wsop in quite a long time. — Tom Dwan (@TomDwan)

Having spent more time playing poker in Asia than on American soil in the last few years, Ivey and Dwan have been welcome attractions to the PPC field. While Ivey had already made his return to WSOP last year, Dwan hasn't cashed at the WSOP for eight years. The famous pro showed up right at the late registration buzzer but, unfortunately for him, his appearance was short-lived as he fell in tonight's final level.

Tom Dwan showed up right at the late registration buzzer. Unfortunately for him, his appearance was short-lived as he fell in the day's final level.

Two former Chip Reese Memorial Trophy winners remain in contention with John "World" Hennigan right on Ivey's heels in the chip counts. 2014 champion Hennigan, who won his sixth WSOP bracelet earlier this summer, was among the top stacks for the better part of the day and he finished with 1,209,000.

The other former PPC winner who has made it through the first two days is 2013 champ Matthew Ashton, who sits in seventh place with 911,000 in chips.

Three-time winner and defending champion Michael Mizrachi won't add his fourth win this year. Mizrachi fell to Prahlad Friedman in a hand of pot-limit omaha, leaving his brother Robert the lone representative of the well-decorated family. The oldest of the Mizrachi brothers bagged 417,000 in chips.

The remaining field boasts, unsurprisingly, a ton of stellar players with Chris Vitch (1,103,000), David Oppenheim (1,062,000), and Josh Arieh (939,000) rounding out the top five.

Day 3 of what is often dubbed the 'toughest poker tournament on the planet' kicks off on Wednesday, June 26, at 2 p.m. local time, with action resuming with 12,000/24,000 limits. PokerNews will be on the ground to provide live updates throughout the Poker Players Championship and the 50th annual World Series of Poker.

Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Day 3 Seat Draw

Room Table Seat Player Country Chip Count Amazon 402 1 Timofey Kuznetsov Russia 762,000 Amazon 402 3 Robert Mackie United States 900,000 Amazon 402 4 Dario Sammartino Italy 296,000 Amazon 402 5 Roy Thung United States 406,000 Amazon 402 6 John Monnette United States 257,000 Amazon 403 1 Tomer Daniel United States 157,000 Amazon 403 2 Illya Trincher United States 170,000 Amazon 403 3 Prahlad Friedman United States 390,000 Amazon 403 4 Mike Glick United States 512,000 Amazon 403 5 Eric Wasserson United States 87,000 Amazon 406 1 Jesse Martin United States 204,000 Amazon 406 2 Luke Schwartz United Kingdom 744,000 Amazon 406 3 Andrew Brown United States 539,000 Amazon 406 4 Josh Arieh United States 939,000 Amazon 406 5 Bryce Yockey United States 715,000 Amazon 406 6 Jared Bleznick United States 829,000 Amazon 407 1 Daniel Cates United States 751,000 Amazon 407 2 Phillip Hui United States 490,000 Amazon 407 4 Chris Vitch United States 1,103,000 Amazon 407 5 Phil Galfond United States 178,000 Amazon 407 6 Isaac Haxton United States 802,000 Amazon 409 1 Brian Hastings United States 121,000 Amazon 409 2 Phil Ivey United States 1,253,500 Amazon 409 3 Adam Friedman United States 643,000 Amazon 409 5 Robert Mizrachi United States 417,000 Amazon 409 6 Matthew Wood Canada 731,000 Amazon 410 1 Talal Shakerchi United Kingdom 293,000 Amazon 410 2 John Esposito United States 420,000 Amazon 410 3 Mikael Thuritz United States 247,000 Amazon 410 4 David "ODB" Baker United States 497,000 Amazon 410 5 Jason Mercier United States 412,000 Amazon 410 6 Chris Klodnicki United States 615,000 Amazon 411 1 David Benyamine United States 937,000 Amazon 411 2 Shaun Deeb United States 704,000 Amazon 411 3 Lyle Berman United States 437,000 Amazon 411 4 Matthew Ashton United Kingdom 911,000 Amazon 411 5 David Oppenheim United States 1,062,000 Amazon 411 6 John Hennigan United States 1,209,000

History of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship

Year Entries Prize Pool Winner Prize 2006 143 $6,864,000 Chip Reese $1,716,000 2007 148 $7,104,000 Freddy Deeb $2,276,832 2008 148 $7,104,000 Scotty Nguyen $1,989,120 2009 95 $4,560,000 David Bach $1,276,806 2010 116 $5,568,000 Michael Mizrachi $1,559,046 2011 128 $6,144,000 Brian Rast $1,720,328 2012 108 $5,184,000 Michael Mizrachi $1,451,527 2013 132 $6,336,000 Matthew Ashton $1,774,089 2014 102 $4,896,000 John Hennigan $1,517,767 2015 84 $3,696,000 Mike Gorodinsky $1,270,086 2016 91 $4,176,000 Brian Rast $1,296,097 2017 100 $4,800,000 Elior Sion $1,395,767 2018 87 $4,176,000 Michael Mizrachi $1,239,126 2019 74 $3,552,000 $1,099,311

Day 3 of this prestigious event will not be live streamed, but Day 4 and 5 will be! Sign up for PokerGO and watch the game's greatest players battle it out for one of the most illusterous trophies.