Kevin Gerhart has become the second double-bracelet winner of the live portion of the 2021 World Series of Poker, by taking down Event 62, $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, on Wednesday night. Gerhart's win was worth $186,789, and the result joins his victory less than two weeks ago in Event 40, the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. Gerhart joins Anthony Zinno as players who've twice claimed bracelet gold during the live series.
Tuesday's win was also Gerhart's fourth WSOP bracelet triumph in the last three years. He won his first in a $1,500 Razz event in 2019, then followed that up with a victory in a WSOP ONLINE Pot-limit Omaha 6-handed tourney in 2020.
Gerhart's second bracelet win of the series also moves him into second place on the 2021 Player of the Year leaderboard. Through Wednesday's results, Gerhart trails Jake Schwartz by less than 70 points in a hotly contested race. Schwartz has managed to move into the lead despite not having won any events this fall. He has, however, logged 13 cashes and 15 final tables. Zinno was knocked from the top spot just 48 hours ago and currently sits in third in the POY chase, another 15 points behind Schwartz.
Frontrunner Day 3 for Gerhart
Unlike several recent event winners, Gerhart enjoyed a big-stack edge throughout much of the final day. He began Wednesday's finale in second place, trailing only eventual third-place finisher Matthew Kaplan. Gerhart had moved into the lead by the time Event 62's eight-player final table was set, and he never dipped below third place in chips the rest of the way.
Gerhart so dominated the final table that he knocked out six of his seven opponents, excepting only fifth-place finisher Alexandr Orlov. Orlov was bounced by the final by eventual runner-up Dustin Dirksen, who very briefly battled back to take a narrow lead before Gerhart eliminated him as well.
Gerhart had retaken a narrow edge just prior to his tourney-deciding collision with Dirksen. In the final hand, Dirksen led the betting through a 9s-2h-6h flop and a Jc turn. A dangerous Kc river card proved to be the decider, as Gerhart bet enough to force Dirksen to fold or call off his remaining chips.
A pot-committed Dirksen pondered, then called. He showed Qh-Js-7d-5h, which had been top pair (and the best hand) on the turn, with draws to both the straight and a low. Gerhart, though, spiked that river king to his Kh-10c-10d-8h, high-only hand, to seal his fourth career bracelet win.
Event 62, $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (8-Handed) – Final-table results
- Kevin Gerhart (United States) - $186,789
- Dustin Dirksen (United States) - $115,440
- Matthew Kaplan (United States) - $81,696
- Sterling Lopez (United States) - $58,695
- Alexandr Orlov (Russia) - $42,823
- Roman Hrabec (Czech Republic) - $31,733
- Michael Trivett (United States) - $23,891
- Dylan Wilkerson (United States) - $18,278
Featured image source: Haley Hintze
