Congratulations to American Scott Blumstein who has won the 48th WSOP Main Event for $8,150,000. The New Jersey 25-year-old beat a field of 7,221 players in the 888poker-sponsored $10k Main Event to be awarded the coveted gold and diamond bracelet. On the final day of play, he beat Frenchman Benjamin Pollak and countryman Dan Ott.
Blumstein said: "I don't have an ego in this game. I check my ego at the door. Just two weeks ago I was a New Jersey online grinder and nothing has really changed. Money doesn't really motivate me but it's nice to have some freedom and I'm going to have that opportunity now – whether it's poker, business or going back to school.
John Hesp, the Yorkshire grandad who become an overnight poker superstar during his sensational run at the WSOP, finished fourth for $2.6 million. He said he hoped he had brought a “little light and happiness” in to the game and plans to celebrate his extraordinary result with a caravanning holiday in the Yorkshire Dales with wife Mandy.
The WSOP will now be going “on tour” with WSOP International Circuit events at the amazing Iguazu Falls in Argentina from August 2-8 and Rotterdam (August 25 to September 2).
Final nine results:
There were 7,221 entries in total, creating a $67,877,400 prize pool. Brits did phenomenally well over the 74 events of this year’s WSOP with Liv Boeree, Max Silver, Chris Brammer, Elior Sion and Chris Moorman all winning their first ever gold bracelets. It was a record-breaking Series overall, with a 48-year high of 120,995 entries and a record $231,010,874 awarded in prize money.
. There were close to 17,000 cashes in total, including our very own Fraser MacIntyre, who made the money in three events including 237th out of a staggering 7,761 entries in the Millionaire Maker for $6,043 and 50th in the £1k Pot Limit Omaha for a further $3k.
Upcoming WSOP International Circuit events include: Argentina (August 2-8) and Rotterdam (August 25 to September 2). Stops in Campione, Brazil, Rozvadov, St Maarten, Paris, Sydney and Punta del Este in Uruguay are all on the schedule for this year with four more stops planned for 2018 including Marrakech and Tbilisi in Georgia.