While Espen Jorstad was making World Series of Poker history by becoming the first Norwegian to win the Main Event, the poker summer drew to a close as 15 more bracelets were won before the WSOP’s end.
Perhaps the biggest winner, besides Jorstad, of course, was Ryan Messick, who turned the last $500 WSOP.com bracelet event in Pennsylvania into a third-place finish and an additional $100K in the Tournament of Champions $1 million freeroll that ended the first WSOP summer on the Strip.
Mohammad Arani
$5K Freezeout
756 entries
$665,459
Pushing his WSOP tournament wins over the $1 million mark, Arani won his first bracelet in the freezeout. It was his 52nd cash in WSOP events, including at Circuits, and his fourth one this summer.
Richard Alsup
$800 Deepstack
2,812 entries
$272,065
The Minnesota resident won his first bracelet in the large-field event. He has 25 WSOP cashes, mostly for the minimum, but was finally able to break through at the end of this year’s WSOP.
Joao Vieira
$50K High Roller No-Limit
97 entries
$1,384,413
The poker superstar from Portugal won his second bracelet in the high-roller event and pushed his lifetime tournament winnings pile nearly to the $6 million lifetime mark. He also finished sixth in the WSOP.com online $5,300 high-roller event on Sunday for $58,800. He cashed 17 times this WSOP.
Lawrence Brandt
$3K HORSE
327 entries
$205,319
The only reason Brandt even played in this HORSE event was because he was waiting around for the start of the Tournament of Champions, which he got into after winning his first bracelet on June 27. He never played a HORSE tournament before, but he won it anyway. It was his seventh cash of the summer.
Minh Nguyễn
$1,500 The Closer
2,968 entries
$536.280
Nguyen, like many poker greats who share his last name, is a cashing machine — but this is his first bracelet. He’s a successful online player and has cashed 18 times this year, with most of them coming at WSOP.com in New Jersey in May.
Greg Jensen
$10K 6-Handed No-Limit Championship
394 entries
$824,649
The hedge-fund manager from Connecticut won his first bracelet in the big buy-in Championship event with his fifth cash of the summer. He also finished fourth in the $100K high-roller event this year for another $500K, and bagged 14th in the $50K event. Look for him on the high-roller circuit.
Michael Wang
$5K 8-Handed No-Limit
573 entries
$541,604
The professional poker player from New Jersey won his second bracelet, the first coming in a $5K event in 2014. He has WSOP 118 cashes since 2012 and will soon pass the $2 million mark.
Jaspal Brar
$1,000 Super Turbo
1,282 entries
$190,731
The first bracelet for the Edmonton, Alberta resident came with his 31st WSOP cash. He has more than $1 million in tournament cashes.
Benjamin Kaupp
Tournament of Champions $1 Million Freeroll
470 entries
$250,000
Kaupp took a WSOP.com Pennsylvania Circuit win in a $215 event in February and turned it into a quarter-million dollars by becoming the first Champion of Champions in the $1 million freeroll open to all WSOP bracelet and Circuit winners in 2021-22.
Gianluca Speranza
$5,300 WSOP.com High Roller Freezeout (NJ/NV)
245 entries
$324,625
The Italian pro won his first bracelet on the WSOP’s last weekend, which got him into the Tournament of Champions, where he finished ninth for an additional $15K. He also nearly won the $400 online event, but stalled in third. He has 44 WSOP cashes and more than $4.5 million in tournament cashes.
Shaun O’Donnell
$500 WSOP.com Summer Saver (NJ/NV)
1,189 entries
$125,330
The New Jersey player has many cashes on the Circuit, both live and online, but this is his first bracelet. He has nearly $500K in WSOP cashes, and made a deep run in the Main Event in 2018.
Matt “MDOGG” Garza
$500 WSOP.com Summer Saver (Michigan)
229 entries
$27,823
Garza, of Rochester Hills, Michigan, won the final WSOP.com bracelet in the state. He finished fourth in the $777 bracelet event the day before for an additional $6,534.
Ryan “MagicJohnson” Hiller
$777 WSOP.com Lucky 7’s (Michigan)
123 entries
$21,946
Hiller won his first bracelet on WSOP.com Michigan and pushed his tournament cashes close to the $150K mark. He has 30 WSOP cashes, most of them online.
Peter “nosmal” Williamson
$777 WSOP.com Lucky 7’s (Pennsylvania)
115 entries
$20,519
Williamson has two cashes to his name, according to the Hendon Mob. They both came during WSOP.com online bracelet events. He’s entered 11 online tourneys on WSOP.com in Pennsylvania.
Ryan “Gravity3155” Messick
$500 WSOP.com Summer Saver (Pennsylvania)
200 entries
$24,300
Messick won his first bracelet on Sunday in this event, hopped on a plane the next day to play in the Tournament of Champions freeroll, and finished second for an additional $100K. Messick has cashed in WSOP events since 2015.
