Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi Wins First World Series of Poker Bracelet

Published on June 2nd, 2010 7:03 pm EST

It wasn't easy, but Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi managed to win his first World Series of Poker bracelet earlier today.

Mizrachi picked one of the toughest tournaments in poker in which to win his first bracelet - the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship.

"The Grinder" certainly lived up to his nickname during this event. After losing a massive pot to David Oppenheim, Mizrachi appeared to be destined for an early final table exit. However, Mizrachi kept his head in the game, received a few key double-ups and went on to win the entire tournament.

For his victory, Mizrachi took home nearly $1.6 million, as well as his first WSOP bracelet and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. Vladimir Schmelev, who put up a valiant fight, ended up finishing in second place for $963,375.

Here is how the final table of this event ended up finishing out:

1. Michael Mizrachi, $1,559,046
2. Vladimir Schmelev, $963,375
3. David Oppenheim, $603,348
4. John Juanda, $436,865
5. Robert Mizrachi, $341,429
6. David Baker, $272,275
7. Daniel Alaei, $221,105
8. Mikael Thuritz, $182,463

Michael Mizrachi eliminated his brother, Robert Mizrachi, in fifth place.

With his victory early Wednesday morning, Michael Mizrachi now has an impressive $8,677,089 in lifetime tournament cashes. This includes a World Series of Poker bracelet and two World Poker Tour titles.

"The Grinder" is currently 13th on the all time money list, ahead of names such as Johnny Chan and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.

An interesting note - according to Pauly, a "trusted source" of his said that Patrik Antonius backed both Michael and Robert Mizrachi in the event. That's a pretty nice payday for Antonius as well if that's that case.

Congratulations to "The Grinder", who hit a massive score exactly when he needed it the most.


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Filed Under: Tournament Results