In this WSOP Week in Photos, we take a look back at the moments that punctuated the second full week of action in the Rio. We have some housekeeping from last week to tidy up first. We didn't make it all the way through the week, but we had a couple very notable winners.
First up, the stacked final table in Event #10: $5,000 Seven-Card Stud. Bryn Kenney, Jeff Lisandro, Perry Friedman, and Tim Finne were among those already departed from this picture, and the final duel came down to John Monnette and Huu Vinh.
Huu Vinh gave it a spirited and long-suffering performance, but he could only will so many cards from the deck.
\"Angry\" John Monnette doesn't look so angry after besting the field of 145 players to earn his second WSOP gold bracelet.
Stud wizard Jeff Lisandro finished in fifth place in that event, by the way.
Brian Hastings found his first bracelet after conquering the bracket in the $10,000 Heads-Up event.
So far, the summer's best feel-good story came from Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout. Meet Brandon Schafer.
Schafer used to player poker professionally -- and successfully. Among other achievements, he was the EPT Grand Final runner-up in 2005, and he got a smell of gold when he finished 11th in a WSOP event in 2008.
Schafer fell out of love with the game after that, though, and he decided to pursue something more fulfilling to himself. Following in his brother's footsteps, he enrolled in U.S. Army flight school, and he has a roll call at Fort Rucker in Alamaba on June 15, 2012.
Schafer returned to Las Vegas for the Electric Daisy Carnival and some Sin City shenanigans before his enrollment. The WSOP was in town, of course, and the rest is the stuff of storybooks. He decided to give it another try, maybe shake off the rust. Three days later, Schaefer was on top of the poker world with another six-figure score and his first bracelet. Remarkable.
Phil Ivey made his first final table of the 2012 WSOP in Event #15: $5,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo. It didn't go so well, though, and he bowed out in seventh place.
The heads-up finale in that event played on deep into the night with Todd Brunson and Adam Friedman grinding back and forth.
Adam Friedman could barely keep his head up at times as the clock ticked past all reasonable hours.
Doyle Brunson stayed up well past his bedtime to watch his son try to win his second WSOP bracelet.
See, there's Todd. But we caught him when things weren't going so well.
Friedman finally took control of the match in the wee hours, and with the limits really escalating, Brunson was soon on the ropes. It was over, eventually, with Friedman finding his first WSOP bracelet.
Matt Matros took down Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em -- Six-Handed. Another remarkable performance here: Matros has now won gold at three consecutive WSOP.
The night of June 10 is one that will forever be remembered in the Rio. More specifically, the early morning of June 11. In the Amazon Room, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Event was playing down to a winner, but it wasn't going to be easy. The final table included Hoyt Corkins, Daniel Weinman, Matt Marafioti, Shaun Deeb, Manuel Bevand, Alex Venovski, Ali Eslami, Phil Ivey, and Andy Frankenberger. Yikes.
Over in the Pavilion, history in the making. With 11 bracelets (all in hold'em), Phil Hellmuth was heads-up with Don Zewin for No. 12. In a razz event, no less.
Don Zewin? Why does that name sound familiar? Oh yeah, he just happened to finish third behind Johnny Chan and Hellmuth in the 1989 Main Event. That was Hellmuth's first bracelet. And now Zewin was the only thing standing between the legend and his 12th.
Back to the Amazon Room where it was now Ivey and Frankenberger heads-up for the PLH title. A huge crowd had gathered, and the Night of Phil was in full swing.
Ivey had a big lead in heads-up play, and the planets seemed to be aligning in some strange way over Las Vegas. Phil and Phil both closing in on bracelets.
Frankenberger wasn't messing around, though, refusing to back down.
In the end, Frankenberger pulled off what some would call a stunner. And what others would call a fantastic poker player earning his second gold bracelet. Either way, the bracelet was his, the second of his young and decorated career.
Hustle back over to the Pavilion with the mass of spectators who were doing the same. They'd just watched one Phil lose heads-up, and now it was Hellmuth's turn to try for gold. He had much less difficulty than the other Phil in the other room.
The added presence of the crowd seemed to spur Hellmuth into another gear, and he was able to close out his match within a few minutes. Bracelet No. 12 for the all-time leader!
That's enough bracelets for now as we've powered into the twenties. Much more to come next time!
