June 19, 2019 (Las Vegas) - Robert Mitchell is the winner of Event #37 the $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack. He takes home $297,537 and the World Series of Poker gold bracelet, his first.
The 41 year-old tournament regular booked the biggest win of his career just a week after his best ever WSOP finish. He finished 17th in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout.
“That shootout helped me a lot. I was so close I tasted the bracelet. I kind of played a little too fast three-handed. Coming here I realized, I’m just going to take my time and just be in the moment and play my best game,” he said.
He said he felt that the bracelet win was inevitable after a long time grinding, and he felt confident he would have another chance to win a bracelet.
“One-hundred percent I did. I knew I was going to have another shot at it. I’ve been playing poker for a long time and felt like it was long overdue. It’s awesome.”
Mitchell says he plays poker for the freedom, the money, and the love of the game. He does think that the bracelet gives him some validation.
“Overall, that’s what poker players play for is the bracelet. To have one now, it’s on my resume and it feels good.”
He plans to continue grinding and has no plans to increase his average buy-in. He says he’s going to keep doing what he’s been doing. He now has $465,845 in WSOP winnings.
The tournament had 2,808 entries and a prizepool of just under $2,000,000.
The final day of the tournament began with 26 players and players flew to the rail. There was a small break in busts when there were ten players remaining. They played for a while with two five-handed tables before Josh Boulton (10th) and Nick Jivkov (9th) were eliminated to bring together a final table of eight players.
Zachary Mullennix flipped against Marco Bognanni and was eliminated in eighth place. He took home $32,561 for his finish.
Then, WSOP bracelet winner Benjamin Moon fell in seventh place. He got all in for his tournament life with pocket nines against the pocket tens of Axel Hallay. Hallay stayed ahead to eliminate Moon in seventh, sending him home with $42,524. Moon’s elimination meant that the winner of Event #37 would be a first-time winner.
Kamel Mokhammad busted in sixth place and took home $56,019 his finish. He was eliminated by Mitchell, who took the chip lead five handed with that pot.
Benjamin Underwood was next to go after getting all in against Bognanni. Bognanni flopped a full house and Underwood turned a straight. Bognanni raised to put Underwood all in on the river and Underwood called. He was eliminated in fifth place and took home $74,435.
Francois Evard was eliminated in fourth place. He won $99,752. Hallay eliminated Evard and started three-handed play about 9-million behind Mitchell, Bognanni was third in chips.
After a good deal of three-handed play, Axel Hallay was eliminated in third place and took home $134,817. This left Mitchell and Bognanni heads up, with Mitchell holding a two-to-one chip lead.
Eventually, Mitchell defeated Bognanni and claimed his first WSOP bracelet and the $297,537.
Final table payouts: (Click here for a list of the full results)
1) Robert Mitchell ($297,537)
2) Marco Bognanni ($183,742)
3) Axel Hallay ($134,817)
4) Francois Evard ($99,752)
5) Benjamin Underwood ($74,435)
6) Kamel Mokhammad ($56,019)
7) Benjamin Moon ($42,524)
8) Zachary Mullenix ($32,561)
9) Nick Jivkov ($25,152)