Who Won Events 81-88 at the 2022 World Series of Poker?

The final set of WSOP bracelet winners from the 2022 World Series of Poker ranged from experienced pros to second-time winners this series and even included a few first-time winners whose dreams came true late in this year’s World Series. From high roller to series caver events,

Mo Arani Wins $5,000 Freezeout Event for $665k

American pro Mo Arani won his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet as he conquered the $5,000 buy-in NLHE Freezeout Event #81. Heads-up, Arani beat Johannes Straver to the win and just as importantly, the huge top prize of $665,459.

The final table was a quick affair, and saw the dramatic exits of big names like Adam Hendrix (4^th for $211,295), Toby Lewis (5^th for $154,806) and Cliff Josephy (7^th for $86,917) all missing out on gold on the day.

The overnight chip leader, Peter Turmezey missed out in third place as the Hungarian busted for $292,665. With Straver battling bravely heads-up to take the runner-up prize of $411,279, it was left to Arani to celebrate a momentous win and his new WSOP bracelet.

Alsup Beats Whitehead for Gold in Deepstack Win

Richard Alsup won the $800-entry Deepstack NLHE Event #82 for a top prize of $272,065 after two-time WSOP bracelet winner Ari Engel and Irish poker pro Marc MacDonnell both failed to make the heads-up despite running all the way to the final four players.

Ukrainian player Artem Metalidi also made the final table and so too did Ryan Jaworski, who finished fifth. British player Gary Whitehead couldn’t quite win the final battle but can feel proud of a great runner-up performance which was worth $168,093 as Alsup claimed gold and the $272,065 top prize.

Joao Vieira Wins Second Bracelet for $1.3 million

Portuguese poker professional Joao Vieira (pictured above) won his second bracelet of a glittering career, taking down Event #83 for a top prize of $1.3 million. With nine players reaching the final table, Greek player Alexandros Theologis busted first, his pocket jacks not able to triumph when Brian Rast hit with ace-king. After Stephen Chidwick was eliminated in eighth place, Fedor Holz busted in seventh. All-in with ace-queen, Holz lost out to eventual runner-up Lander Lijo’s ace-king.

Sean Perry busted in sixth before Brian Rast left in fifth after his ace-jack lost to Vieira’s ace-king. Dan Colpoys lost his stack with pocket sixes as the overnight chips leader couldn’t overtake Vieira’s pocket eights. After Galen Hall busted in third place, Lijo began heads-up with a lead of 19.5 million to Vieira’s 12.6 million chips. It wasn’t enough, however, as the Portuguese player came back to win against his Western Europe rival.

Brilliant Brandt Wins Second Bracelet in H.O.R.S.E. Event

Lawrence Brandt won his second WSOP bracelet after the delayed Event #84 played down from three to one on the penultimate day of the 2022 World Series of Poker. Having won Event #58, the $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo 8 or Better event, Brandt ‘s second bracelet win this summer meant he joined Dan Zack and Espen Jørstad in winning two pieces of WSOP gold in Las Vegas.

Minh Nguyen Wins First WSOP Bracelet

Event #85, the $1,500-entry The Closer, ended with a total of 2,039 entries and a bumper prizepool of almost $4 million. With 17 players returning to Bally’s on the final day, Minh Nguyen won the top prize of $536,280 and his first WSOP bracelet.

Players such as Madelyn Carr (4^th for $186,770) and Michael Liang (3^rd for $247,890) both got close but would lose out in the same hand, leaving Ahmed Karrim with a decent lead heading in the final duel.  The Closer’s Day 1a chip leader, Karrim couldn’t hold out, losing out to  Nguyen when the winner had the nut straight against Karrim’s top two pair.

Greg Jensen Wins Six-Max Gold for $824k

Costing a whopping $10,000 to enter, Greg Jensen won the 6-Max NLHE Championship for a top prize of $824,649 as 394 entries created a massive prizepool of over $3.67 million in Event #86.

Just the final six players returned as the final table convened to play down to a winner with Moldova’s Pavel Plesuv holding the lead. The Moldovan would lose heads-up to Jensen, however, as the American knocked out every one of his opponents bar one to claim his first WSOP bracelet late in the series and the top prize of $824,649.

Wang Wins Second Gold After Amazing Heads-Up Comeback

Michael Wang came back from a losing position of 4-to-1 down in chips to win Event #87, the $5,000-entry NLHE 8-Max event. Players such as Erik Seidel and Yuval Bronshtein both made the eight-handed final table where America’s Cardroom pro Vanessa Kade cashed in 10^th place, just missing her first WSOP final table.

When the final table began, Kartik Ved and Farid Jattin had a massive chip lead over the field with around 90 big blinds each, some way clear of third-place Erik Seidel, the nine-time WSOP bracelet winner having 22 big blinds. Players including Fred Golberg (7^th for $70,734) and Billy O’Neil (6^th for $83,740) busted before Yuval Bronshtein (5^th for $126,089) and Ved (4^th for $172,103) both left the action. Erik Seidel cashed in third for $238,321), which he said saved his summer after the event.

Wang started heads-up 4:1 behind in chips, but doubled-up twice with better hands before having a 12:1 lead and calling it off for five bigs, hitting quads by the river with six-three to win his second bracelet, denying Colombian player Jattin his first.

Super Turbo Gold Won by Jaspal Brar for $190k

In the final scheduled event of the WSOP in 2022, Event #88, the $1,000-entry Super Turbo NHLE event, saw Jaspal Brar take the title and his first-ever gold bracelet, winning $190,731 at the expense of runner-up Jesse Lonis, who cashed for $117,872.

With players such as Jason Wheeler (19^th for $6,426), Jesse Sylvia (28^th for $5,333) and Phil Hui (41^st for $4,487) all running deep in an event with 1,288 entries, it was the unfancied Brar who claimed the biggest score of the $1.1 million prize pool and that most chased of poker trophies, the gold WSOP bracelet.

Photographs courtesy of PokerGO, home of the 2022 World Series of Poker, with final table live streams throughout July.