Phil Ivey Wins 8th Bracelet

Phil Ivey has won his eighth WSOP bracelet, defeating Bill Chen heads-up in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event for a $329,840 payout. The win is yet another milestone for Ivey who pulls further away as the leading tournament money winner in the world and joins Erik Seidel as the only players to have acquired 8 WSOP bracelets. Phil Hellmuth still leads the WSOP rankings with 11 bracelet wins.

The $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. final table was filled with big names including Jeff Lisandro, John Juanda, Chad Brown and David Baker – but it was Ivey who was the centre of attention amongst the crowded rail. Ivey had a great start to the day – which began with 25 players – picking up lots of chips to enter the final table in 2nd place. From there, he came through a long heads-up with Chen, during which the chip lead changed numerous times, to claim the win.

The $329,840 that Ivey receives for winning will pale in comparison to the millions of dollars he may stand to receive in side betting from the likes of Eli Elezra, Tom Dwan and Howard Lederer. While the details of these bets have not been disclosed it is known that Ivey made a $5m wager with Lederer that he would win two WSOP bracelets over the course of the next two years. Today’s win is a huge step towards the Full Tilt pro accomplishing that goal.