Mizrachi Wins Players Championship

The first major tournament of the 2010 WSOP, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, has been won by Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi. The former WPT player of the year had to defeat one of the toughest line-ups in the history of the WSOP to win his first bracelet and the $1,559,046 first prize that accompanies it.

The huge buy-in, coupled with the fact that all players had to play eight different poker variants throughout the tournament meant that the field was filled with the world’s most recognisable and best players. Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson were among those who just missed out on the cash, while Nick Schulman bubbled the final table.

Remarkably Michael Mizrachi was joined at the final table by his elder brother Robert Mizrachi, the two of them entering the final among the chip leaders. Robert eventually bowed out in 5th place, denying the brothers a heads-up showdown for the bracelet which would have ranked as one of the greatest moments in WSOP history.

Here are the results from the final table:

1. Michael Mizrachi, USA, $1,559,046
2. Vladimir Schmelev, Russia, $963,375
3. David Oppenheim, USA, $603,348
4. John Juanda, USA, $436,865
5. Robert Mizrachi, USA, $341,429
6. David Baker, USA, $272,275
7. Daniel Alaei, USA, $221,105
8. Mikael Thuritz, USA, $182,463

The final table was played out in No Limit Hold’em to accommodate the demands of TV broadcaster ESPN who will be screening the event on US television later in the year.

The win comes at a crucial time for Mizrachi, who was recently reported to owe the US government $340,000 in federal taxes and be facing foreclosure on the Hollywood condo he co-owns with brother Robert. For more on that story, see the www.sun-sentinel.com.

For now though the Grinder is most definitely back in the poker spotlight for the right reasons as the first pro to win a bracelet at the 2010 WSOP in one of the most hotly contested events of the summer.