Jason Koon wins 1st WSOP bracelet; Phil Hellmuth denied 16th

Scratch Jason Koon disconnected the database of champion poker players without a World Series of Poker bracelet.

Koon, a high-stakes standout with much than $32 cardinal successful vocation tourney earnings, won Event 11 of the WSOP, the $25,000 buy-in Head-up No-limit Hold’em Championship, aboriginal Friday astatine the Rio.

Koon prevailed successful a single-elimination bracket of 57 players, earning $243,981. Gabor Szabo finished 2nd for $150,790.

“It’s 1 of those things erstwhile you’re connected an airplane and a idiosyncratic is like, ‘Do you person a bracelet?’ I’m conscionable like, ‘Nope.’ At slightest I tin yet accidental yes to that,” Koon told PokerNews. “I emotion coming here. I deliberation I’ll play poker forever, and erstwhile it’s each said and done, I deliberation it’s inevitable I’ll person respective of them.”

Koon had 50 cashes for much than $2.2 cardinal successful WSOP events but had ne'er finished disconnected a victory. (The WSOP awards trophy bracelets for tourney wins.)

Koon’s erstwhile champion decorativeness was 2nd spot successful a $3,000 Heads-up No-limit Hold’em/Pot-limit Omaha lawsuit successful 2012.

At different last array Thursday, Ari Engel claimed his 2nd WSOP bracelet, taking down Event 9, the $10,000 Omaha High-Low Championship. He prevailed successful a tract of 134 entries, earning $317,076. Zachary Milchman finished 2nd for $195,968.

Phil Hellmuth missed a accidental to widen his WSOP bracelet record, finishing 5th for $80,894. He remains the all-time person with 15 bracelets, 5 much than immoderate different player.

Other caller bracelet winners include:

— Jaswinder Lally won Event 7, the $1,500 Dealer’s Choice six-handed (307 entries), for $97,915 and his archetypal bracelet.

— Zhi Wu won Event 8, the $600 No-limit Hold’em Deepstack (4,527 entries), for $281,406 and his archetypal bracelet.

— Michael Perrone won Event 10, the $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-limit Hold’em (1,640 entries), for $152,173 and his archetypal bracelet.

— Yuval Bronshtein won Event 12, the $1,500 Limit Hold’em (422 entries), for $124,374 and his 2nd bracelet.

Contact Jim Barnes astatine jbarnes@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV connected Twitter.