Phil Ivey is widely considered the greatest poker player of all-time, and he’s closing in on the biggest win of his career.
The 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner is among the big stacks in Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, the tournament some mixed game high rollers consider to be the most anticipated event of the year in poker.
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Day 4 has begun with 12 remaining players out of 89 in the marathon-style format tournament. One player will take home $1,178,703 and the coveted bracelet. While that wouldn’t be Ivey’s largest cash ever — $3.6 million is his biggest — it would be the most prestigious.
Ivey isn’t the only poker legend chasing glory deep in the PPC. Daniel Negreanu, one of the smallest stacks entering Day 4, is hoping to end an 11-year bracelet drought, while Michael Mizrachi is attempting to become the first four-time Poker Players Championship champion.
WSOP Player of the Year?
Ivey is already in the money in the PPC, his ninth live cash of the summer. Two weeks ago, he moved alone into second place all-time with his 11th bracelet when he took down Event #29: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship for $347,440.
Not only is the poker legend having one of his best summers ever, Ivey’s performance has put him in position to win the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year award. At present, he’s sitting in sixth place with 2,152 points. But he’s guaranteed a minimum of 119 points regardless of where he finishes in the Poker Players Championship.
Chris Hunichen, having the summer of his life, sits atop the leaderboard with 2,751 points. Ivey would overtake the lead with a PPC victory as the tournament’s champion will receive 1,198 points. With the midway point of the series in the rear view mirror, the Player of the Year race is heating up, and every deep run is becoming huge.
Current 2024 WSOP Player of the Year Top 10
The above leaderboard is as of Wednesday morning before play began. Ivey isn’t the only player on that list whose points will increase as soon as the event they are playing concludes. But he’s in position, should he win the Poker Players Championship, to take over the lead and potentially become the favorite the rest of the summer. Even with a top six finish in the PPC, he’d move into third place, only about 200 points off Hunichen’s pace.
That said, Shaun Deeb is sitting there in seventh place lurking, and Jeremy Ausmus is going to be tough to hold off. And, of course, “Big Huni” and Scott Seiver aren’t about to just quite playing. So, even if Ivey were to win the PPC, he’d be far from a lock to become the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year.
At the time of publishing, Ivey was sitting on 2,300,000 chips, down from the 3 million he had when the day began. Negreanu, who is having a rough summer, was beginning to build up his stack and has gone from 10th in chips to fifth, tied with Ivey, in a matter of 30 minutes. There will be some significant WSOP Player of the Year implications on the line as the Poker Players Championship, which ends Thursday, winds down.
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