History was nearly made on Monday as Phil Ivey narrowly missed his 11th bracelet in Las Vegas during the 2022 WSOP.

Unfortunately for Ivey, he ultimately came up short against Aleksejs Ponakovs when the Latvia native defeated Ivey heads-up. In taking down the victory, Ponakovs outlasted a field of 62 players over two days to win his second WSOP bracelet and a $1,897,363 first-place prize.

Ponakovs’ first WSOP bracelet came less than a year ago when he finished on top of the $7,777 buy-in Lucky 7’s No-Limit Hold’em High Roller. Some big WSOP fans may also remember him from his 33rd place finish in the 2013 WSOP Main Event. In post-match comments, Ponakov was still searching for words after this big win.

“I’m really pleased to finally get the bracelet. There is for sure some good stuff happening right now in my head. I will realize later [as it sinks in].”

Despite coming up short in his quest for another bracelet, Ivey, who hadn’t earned a bracelet since the 2014 $1,500 8-Game Mix, did receive a $1,172,659 consolation prize for his troubles. The score was enough to bring Ivey up to 9th place all-time in the Hendon Mob leaderboard with $37,085,801 in live tournament earnings.

All players who made the final table of the event earned six-figure scores in addition to the seven-figure prizes won by Ivey and Ponakovs.

• 1st – Aleksejs Ponakovs – $1,897,363
• 2nd – Phil Ivey – $1,172,659
• 3rd – Ben Heath – $805,024
• 4th – Gregory Jensen – $571,896
• 5th – Micahel Moncek – $420,944
• 6th – Talal Shakerchi – $321,437
• 7th – Mikita Badziakouski – $255,001
• 8th – Masashi Oya – $210,485
• 9th – Nick Petrangelo – $181,068
• 10th – Eric Worre – $162,623

What’s on tap for Tuesday

The $1,500 Millionaire Maker is in the fourth and final table with just 24 players remaining. Alen Tenorio holds the chip lead when the action gets underway at 10 AM PT. The remaining players are guaranteed at least $43,849 in prizes with first place set to receive the coveted bracelet as well as a $1,125,189 first-place prize.

Leonid Yanovski leads the 6-man final table of Event #39, the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-handed. With $55,501 guaranteed to each player and $371,358 to first, Fabian Brandes, Sean Winter, Grzegorz Derkowski, Ferenc Deak and Thomas Morrison will battle Yanovski beginning at 4 PM PT.

Day 1 of the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship is in the books with Philip Long holding a modest lead among the remaining 97 players. Other chip leaders include former bracelet winners Brad Ruben, Andrew Korn and Yuri Dzivielevski. A prize pool has not yet been established but with $1,790,400 already committed, the ultimate winner is set to receive a healthy payday.

The $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em attracted 4,786 entries during Day 1 on Tuesday. But just 189 players survived the day’s play with Lorenzo Negri enjoying the chip lead heading into Day 2 at 12 PM PT. When the cards start flying, he will be joined by 2nd in chips Robert Pettit, Peter Scheider, Alan Gendelman and notables such as Maria Ho and Chris Moorman.

Upcoming events

There are two new events on the schedule. First up is the $500 Freezeout No Limit Hold’em event, getting underway at 11 AM PT, which will be followed up by the start of the $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em.

Watch the 2022 WSOP

Poker fans can tune into the conclusion of the $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em live through the PokerGo streaming service beginning at 8 PM PT. To watch, you will need to purchase a subscription for $14.99 per month or $99 per year.

Sights and sounds from the WSOP

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