Two Former Poker Players Championship Winners Seek Another Victory as the Final Day Looms
Michael Mizrachi has made a name for himself among the poker community due largely in part to his success in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. It's been eight years since his first victory in the event, but he's proved time and time again that he belongs here, going toe to toe with some of the greatest poker players in the world. As the final day of the 2018 Poker Players Championship looms, Mizrachi, once again, sits atop the leaderboard with the chip lead over the final six players.
Standing in his way is another player who has once conquered this event, John Hennigan. Hennigan has already captured World Series of Poker gold once this series, and he's looking for another win to add a second Poker Players Championship to his already impressive résumé.
The rest of the field seeks their first victory in this event. Multiple-bracelet winner Benny Glaser seeks another title, hoping to add would be a crown jewel to his already remarkable career. Aaron Katz, who finished 11th in this event last year, is looking for vindication after already surpassing his finish from last year. Mike Leah hopes to build further on an illustrious career by taking down one of the most prestigious poker events. A win here would give Leah his second World Series of Poker bracelet.
And then there is Dan Smith. Smith has been a staple of the high-stakes poker community for many years, with much success all over the world. He boasts over $20 million in recorded live tournament earnings with over $5 million of that coming from the World Series of Poker and he has multiple appearances at World Series of Poker final tables. But despite all that, Smith still doesn't have a World Series of Poker bracelet, and many players consider him to be one of the best players without one. Smith comes into the day second in chips and will look to close this one out to lock up his first WSOP victory.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Smith | United States | 4,485,000 | 112 | 28 |
| 2 | Aaron Katz | United States | 2,600,000 | 65 | 16.5 |
| 3 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 8,865,000 | 222 | 55.5 |
| 4 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 2,210,000 | 55 | 14 |
| 5 | Mike Leah | Canada | 1,220,000 | 31 | 7.5 |
| 6 | John Hennigan | United States | 2,400,000 | 60 | 15 |
Action is set to begin in at 2 p.m. local time with action kicking back off in the no-limit hold'em round of play. The button with start on Katz with four hands left in the game rotation, and just three minutes left on the clock in Level 21. Action today will be live streamed from start to finish.
PokerNews will continue to provide coverage of the event and we'll be here until a winner is crowned. Make sure to stay tuned in to see if "The Grinder" can lock up an astonishing third Poker Players Championship, or if a new winner will be crowned.
flop, with Katz only having 130,000 to put in. 
and the river a 
, bringing a backdoor flush for Glaser to bust Katz. He exits in sixth a year after taking 11th in this event.
, Glaser bet, Leah raised all in for 185,000 total, and Glaser called with 
, trailing Leah's 
.
turn and 
river completed the board, safe for Leah to double up.
for number one, Smith mucked, and Mizrachi won the pot.
and Mizrachi bet effectively 270,000. Leah called all in with 
for top two pair, while Mizrachi was drawing with 
.
to give Mizrachi another two outs, but the 
river officially locked up the double for Leah.
and Leah moved all in. Mizrachi quickly called. 
peeled off on the turn though and that left Leah drawing dead as Mizrachi made a straight to the six. The river was the 
flop and Hennigan bet. Both players called. 
and Hennigan fired again. Smith called and Mizrachi raised. Everyone stayed in to see the 