Ivey’s WSOP APAC Success; Final Stages of WPT Barcelona

Ivey Wins his Ninth WSOP Title

Phil Ivey further cemented his position as one of the world’s greatest players today by taking down Event 3 of the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific.

Having cut his way through 80 players, Ivey finally collected his ninth WSOP bracelet after besting Brandon Wong in a lengthy heads-up battle.

Today’s final started out with Ivey and Daniel Negreanu vying for the top spot. However, as the chips flew and Robert Campbell joined Kevin Song on the rail, it would be a case of another missed opportunity for Mr. Negreanu.

After moving all-in with a flush draw on an [Ac] [Tc] [4h] flop (in the round of PLO), Daniel finally succumbed to the two pair of Brandon Wong.

Having eliminated one of the toughest players in the finale, Wong used his momentum to skip past Graeme Putt and take the chip lead heading into a showdown with Ivey.

A tense heads-up match then ensued as Wong use his chip stack to good effect in the early stages of the match. However, as the rounds past and the games changed, it was Ivey who gained the upper hand.

Indeed, by the time the dealer shifted the game to 2-7 Triple Draw, Ivey began to go to work. After an ace high river crippled Wong’s stack, Ivey was able to bring the tournament to a close when his T-9-8-3-2 low was able to fade the superior draw of Wong.

As the final few chips were pushed towards Ivey, the cameras descended to capture his seminal WSOP victory and the next step on his quest towards Hellmuth’s record.

WPT Barcelona Finale

Earlier today the WPT’s final fiesta in Barcelona kicked off with just six players left in contention and leading the way at the start was Canadian pro, Chanracy Khun.

Bagging 2,393,000 chips at the close of yesterday’s session, Khun’s stack was enough to start today’s final table ahead of seasoned WPT player, Benjamin Pollak (1,899,000).

While Khun and Pollak were leading the way when it came to being the bookie’s favourites, it was local cash game grinder Sergio Fernandez who held the affections of the rail.

Having qualified for the  €3,500 Main Event through a live satellite, Fernandez ended the session in fifth place.

The race towards the title kicked off earlier today and already the action has been explosive from the start. Indeed, during the first hand of play, Antonio Alfaia successfully 3-bet all-in over the top of Tahiri Hassani Najib to bolster his stack.

At the time of writing all six players still remained. For live updates, click here.