Facing a tournament with 20,488 entries represents a huge challenge. Therefore, being the champion of an event of this size and still winning a WSOP bracelet is more than enough reason to celebrate. American Philip Chun achieved this feat, climbed to the top of the podium of Event #1 (US$ 550 Mini Mystery Millions) and earned US$ 400,000.
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Thus, the champion made a point of thanking those who were by his side during the journey to the title. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be here holding the bracelet if it weren’t for Kristen as a coach”, Chun said in an interview with PokerNews, mentioning the work done by high stakes player Kristen Foxen at Chip Leader Coaching.
However, to shout champion, the player had to overcome some foreign opponents at the final table. Frenchman Axel Bayout finished in fifth place and received US$ 115,000. On the podium, Indian Kartik Ved took third place and a reward of US$ 200,000. The silver medal went to Palestinian Jalil Houssain, who pocketed US$ 265,000.
In addition to this, the biggest rewards of the tournament came from the so-called mystery envelopes. American Andrew Shelton found the highest bounty and celebrated the incredible reward of US$ 1 million. Meanwhile, among the Brazilians, Bianka Abade made it into the prize range and ended her participation in 436th place, receiving US$ 1,670.
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Check out the final table payouts:
| Position | Name | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip Chun | United States | US$ 400,000 |
| 2 | Jalil Houssain | Palestine | US$ 265,000 |
| 3 | Kartik Ved | India | US$ 200,000 |
| 4 | David Prociak | United States | US$ 155,000 |
| 5 | Axel Bayout | France | US$ 115,000 |
| 6 | Joseph Trezzo | United States | US$ 90,000 |
| 7 | Alex Kaviani | United States | US$ 72,000 |
| 8 | Rocco Iati | United States | US$ 43,000 |
| 9 | Jurgen Pirgu | United States | US$ 43,000 |
The road to the title
However, Philip Chun revealed that he secured a spot for Day 2 through the turbo version of the tournament. Also, throughout the entire contest, he did not have the opportunity to open any of the envelopes with the biggest prizes. According to the player, this detail helped concentration and focus to keep advancing in the competition.
Thus, the champion arrived at the final table with the third largest stack among all survivors. Additionally, he explained to PokerNews that he constantly observed the table dynamics. “In poker tournaments, everything is always changing. So I kept adjusting my strategy”, he said when commenting on the opponents’ profiles and stack sizes.
Finally, it is worth highlighting that the US$ 400,000 prize represents more than double all the rewards previously recorded in the name of Philip Chun on The Hendon Mob. After winning the bracelet, he has accumulated US$ 763,526 in career earnings. Before this historic score, the American’s biggest prize was only US$ 88,193.
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