There were eight events in action on Day 33 of the 2023 World Series of Poker and with characters such as Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey and Martin Kabrhel all featuring deep in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty event, there was always going to be drama. The best of it was save until last as Phil Hellmuth won his 17^th and record-extending World Series of Poker bracelet as he turned a full house to beat Justin Zaki and claim glory from nowhere in the $10,000-entry Super Turbo Bounty event.

Poker Brat Punches the Air in Celebration, Claims Bracelet #17

Phil Hellmuth’s incredible poker career took another turn last night as the Poker Brat won a barely comprehensible 17^th WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas. This was no lights-on neon-lit spectacular. It was a small hours victory at one of the outer tables in a single-day Super Turbo Bounty event for his record-extending latest and 17^th bracelet. It will, however, taste just as sweet to the Californian as he claimed a victory that at one stage looked totally improbable but in the end looked a certainty.

Heading into the final dozen players in this fast-paced event, Hellmuth was low down in the chipcounts, a short stack with just over 10 big blinds. Somehow, Hellmuth survived, and after Phil Ivey’s event ended in sixth place when the 10-time bracelet winner got it in with only for Hellmuth to re-jam and hold with , the writing was on the wall. Hellmuth saw off Ivey and in doing so took a pivotal lead.

After the exits of Chris Savage, Kelvin Kerber and Tom Kunze, Justin Zaki was the only man standing in the way of Hellmuth and he lasted just a single hand of heads-up play. On a flop of , Hellmuth led for a million chips and Zaki bought the bait, shoving for his whole stack. It was a lot with 80% of the chips in play on the line for the single pot.

Zaki held for a gutshot straight flush draw, and needed to hit at least a spade when Hellmuth turned over for a flopped bottom two pair. The turn was the and Hellmuth left his seat, thinking it was done. But he realised his mistake. A five of spades was the one card in the deck that could doom him; it would give Zaki the straight flush. Time seemed to stand still as Hellmuth waited, then celebrated as the landed on the river.

Congrats to @phil_hellmuth on winning bracelet #17 just now! #WSOP (video from @StevejKraft) pic.twitter.com/Yups91Jp98

— Tim Totten (@N4GN) July 2, 2023

Hellmuth had done it, claiming a 17^th WSOP title and the top prize of $803,818. Running up the room in excitement, he turned back to the table and held his head in his hands as the magnitude of the achievement seemed to almost physically catch up with him.

Afterward, Hellmuth announced to the world that he had won his latest WSOP and his second in just 21 months.

BOOM!! Hello 17th World Championship!!! #POSITIVITY @WSOP #PHNiceLife pic.twitter.com/HHDjAPvG6v

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 2, 2023

A short time later, the champagne came out at ARIA where he celebrated with friends.

Congrats to @phil_hellmuth on winning his 17th WSOP bracelet!!

After he won, he came to Aria to celebrate with the crew @dmoongirl @CryptoApprenti1 @Darrrkus @Joelprelog pic.twitter.com/kOzsBd2XXh

— Ryan Feldman (@TheRyanFeldman) July 2, 2023

Cameras and phones bouncing into his eyeline, Hellmuth took time out to speak with PokerNews and tell them what it meant to him.

?EXCLUSIVE?

Watch @phil_hellmuth's first response after winning his record 17th gold @WSOP bracelet. pic.twitter.com/knxYhk1FrT

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) July 2, 2023

David Guay Claims for Canada After Dramatic Last Day Win

The Canadian player David Guay won Event #64, the $600-entry Deepstack Championship as he celebrated Canada Day by getting the better of overnight leader John Taylor heads-up. Three players survived to the last day, and both Americans lost out to Canadian David Guay on Canada Day.

Steven Stolzenfeld busted Guay when his lost to Guay’s with all the chips in the middle pre-flop. The board of condemned Stolzenfeld to a third-place finish, where he earned $124,850. That pot gave Guay even more chips as he built a massive lead heads-up as he had just under 110 million chips to Taylor’s 20m.

It didn’t take long for the final battle to be over, Taylor’s unable to hold against Guay’s as the board came and the latter paired his six on the flop to win. In doing so, he claimed the $271,032 top prize and his first WSOP bracelet. A visibly emotional Guay told press after the event that he knew who he was going to speak with first.

“I’m going to call my mom soon to let her know,” he said. “It’s great, I had a lot of friends and family here on the rail and some I only know from way back at Playground Poker in Canada.”

Guay’s victory will live long in the memory of his many supporters after a Canada Day victory to make everyone who knows him proud.

Pu Sees of Szecsi Heads-Up for Title, Rich Falls Short

Six players returned to action in the 6-Max Event #65, the $5,000-entry Six-Max NLHE Event. It was the Chinese player Weiran Pu who ended up the victor as he beat overnight leader and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Norbert Szecsi to the title and $938,244 top prize.

Two Braziians began the final event, but Vitor Dzivielevski didn’t last long, busting with to Tyler Cornell’s after the American paired both of his cards by the river. Out next was Angelina Rich, who lost with pocket fours to Pedro Garagnani’s pocket kings to cash for an excellent $209,366. Garagnani may have won that pot, but he was out next, winning $289,819 when he moved all-in on a flop of with and lost to his caller Pu with as the turn and river sent the second Brazilian in the first three exits home.

Three-handed, it was a crucial pot as Pu moved into the lead. Soon after, Pu won with as Cornell four-bet shipped with and never looked close to overhauling Pu’s pocket rockets. That gave the Chinese player a heads-up lead of 38 million to Szecsi’s 21 million chips and just a few hands in, it was all over. Szecsi four-bet shoved with but was crushed by Pu’s and the board of couldn’t save the Hungarian.

Pu’s rail erupted and the latest first-time bracelet winner at this year’s World Series was confirmed.

Okamoto in Charge in Ladies Championship

Japanese player Shiina Okamoto leads the final seven into action in the $1,000 buy-in Ladies Championship, also known as Event #67. The professional architect constructed a pile of chips that anyone would be proud of as she amassed a gargantuan stack of 11.67 million chips on the penultimate day of the event.

Okamoto’s lead is such that she has more than double the count of any one of her challengers, with Tara Cain (4.75 million) and the overnight chip leader Mary Dvorkin (2.65 million) needing to play catch up let alone everyone else. With a top prize of $192,167 on the line and a first-time bracelet winner guaranteed, an exciting day’s play is coming tomorrow as the event concludes in the Thunderdome live on PokerGO.

Smith in the Lead, Haxton and Matakis Still Hanging On

The final 11 players in the $50,000-entry PLO High Roller Event #71 are confirmed and while Tyler Smith (14,000,000) has a massive chip lead going into the final day of action, he is being chased down by some phenomenal opponents. Jesse Lonis is closest to the leader on 8.65m chips, with short stacks Adam Hendrix (3.5m), Isaac Haxton (2.5m) and WSOP Player of the Year leader Ian Matakis (2.15m) all knowing that one pot could put them right back in it the ‘four card game’.

With a massive $2.3 million up top on this event, one of the biggest prizes of the 2023 Word Series so far will be won in 24 hours’ time… as well as the bracelet.

Baker, Brewer and Livingston Chase Single Draw Gold  

The $10,000-entry Event #69, otherwise known as the No Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship, has one day left and three former bracelet winners attempting to conquer it to take home the $367,599 top prize.

David ‘ODB’ Baker (4,580,000) is in the chip lead. He’ll be favorite, with three previous bracelet wins. Both Chris Brewer (2,765,000) and Alex Livingston (1,900,000) will be hoping to spring a surprise, however, and by doing so would win bracelet #2.

Bagged for the day. 3 left play to a winner tomorrow

— Chris Brewer (@Chris_D_Brewer) July 2, 2023

Colossus Crowd Once Again Huge

Day 1b of the $400-entry Colossus Event #70 saw 8,188 entries play down to just 1,021 survivors, creating a total Day 2 field of 1,986 players from 15,893 entrants. That’s almost 2,000 more players than last year and of the Day 1b survivors, Scott Keaton was top dog, ending the day on 1,358,000 chips. Big names to feature in the top 110 included Seniors final table player Dan Heimiller (979,000), Norwegian Preben Stokkan (665,000) and British former Five Diamond Classic winner James Dempsey (600,000).

Phil Hellmuth hinted that he was going to burn any opposition to victory only yesterday. The truth behind his incredible success? He’s part dragon.

I keep doing me ???: day-after-day, year-after-year. Rough hand in @WSOP $50K Pot Limit Omaha. Top player targeted me, but I wanted his action. He got lucky, busted me, but I didn’t say a word. I am Phil Hellmuth, I am a dragon ???: I breathe fire at the poker table ??? pic.twitter.com/QdI2pfsml9

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 1, 2023

Gabe Kaplan back at the poker table? Welcome Home, crusher.

Haven't played in the WSOP in five years. Thinking of playing in the next event. It's a turbo (one day) I might get lucky and I've still got those student loans hanging over my head.

— Gabe Kaplan (@GabeKaplan) July 1, 2023

Ben Spragg is beyond talking to about your bad beat… especially in that tournament.

"You're not gonna believe how I just busted the Colossus."

I can say with complete certainty that I will absolutely believe how you just busted the Colossus.

— Spraggy (@spraggy) July 1, 2023

And finally, who’s up for a WSOP Main Event last longer bet? We’ll lay Martin Zamani taking this bet.

Thinking to run a 10k last longer in main, msg me if you wanna get in.

— Bryn Kenney (@BrynKenney) July 2, 2023

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