The final event to get underway at the 2019 World Series of Poker is now in the books. The $5,000 no-limit hold’em event drew a total of 608 entries to build a prize pool of $2,877,200. The event’s fast-paced structure meant that it took only two days for that sea of players to be narrowed down to the final champion: Carl Shaw.
The 27-year-old British poker pro earned $606,562 and his first WSOP gold bracelet for the win. He was also awarded 1,680 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion of this event, enough to catapult him into 83rd place in the 2019 POY race standings sponsored by Global Poker.
Shaw entered this event just days after being eliminated from the 2019 WSOP main event in 101st place.
“I was a little bit disappointed to be honest,” said Shaw when asked about his recent deep run. “Obviously as everyone would be, running that deep in the main. It just made me more hungry, more hungry to be out here, entering more tournaments — I’m gonna be back for more bracelets.”
Shaw entered the second and final day of this event in ninth chip position with 44 players remaining. By the time the unofficial final table of ten was set, he was the clear chip leader.
Plenty of big names joined Shaw at the final table, but none big than all-time WSOP bracelet leader Phil Hellmuth. The ‘Poker Brat’ experienced a roller-coaster ride late in the day, cracking pocket aces with 5-3 offsuit to knock Samuel Ganzfried out in 12th place and surge into the top five on the leaderboard. Shortly after that, Hellmuth ran into aces again and was unable to come from behind with his flopped pair of fives. With that, he fell to just a handful of big blinds.
Hellmuth managed to spin up his stack from there, but his quest for his record-furthering 16th gold bracelet ultimately ended in sixth place. Hellmuth got all-in with 5
3 against the A
10
of WSOP bracelet winner Tony Dunst. The board came down 104
2AA. Dunst flopped top pair and Hellmuth turned a straight to take the lead, only to have Dunst river a full house. Hellmuth earned $94,899 for this deep run, which happened to come on his 55th birthday.
Shaw cracked the pocket kings of Lars Kamphues with A10 to send the German to the rail in fifth place ($130,544) and further extend his already sizable lead.
Tony Dunst closed the gap somewhat by knocking out World Poker Tour main event winner Jordan Cristos in fourth place ($182,575).
Much like Shaw, Luke Graham was fresh off a deep run in the main event. He placed 29th for $261,430 in the big dance and managed to make the final three in this event. He ended up getting all-in with A-6 up against the A-8 suited of Shaw. Neither player improved, and Shaw’s eight kicker played to earn him the pot. Graham took home $259,533 as the third-place finisher.
Shaw started with a solid lead over Tony Dunst in the heads-up battle for the bracelet, but the bracelet winner and WPT champion was able to battle his way back into contention. Dunst took the lead briefly, but Shaw was able to quickly regain control. He held roughly a 3-to-1 lead by the time the final hand was dealt.
Shaw moved all-in from the button with Q7. Dunst called for around 5 million with A9. The flop came down AJ3 to give Dunst top pair. The K gave Shaw flush and straight draws. Both came in with the 10 on the river. With that he secured the pot and the title, while Dunst had to settle for $374,886 as the runner-up finsiher. This was the third-largest score of his career, and it brought his lifetime live earnings to more than $3.6 million.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Carl Shaw | $606,562 | 1680 |
| 2 | Tony Dunst | $374,886 | 1400 |
| 3 | Luke Graham | $259,533 | $1,120 |
| 4 | Jordan Cristos | $182,575 | $840 |
| 5 | Lars Kamphues | $130,544 | $700 |
| 6 | Phil Hellmuth | $94,899 | $560 |
| 7 | Rami Mornel | $70,156 | $420 |
| 8 | Caufman Talley | $52,760 | 280 |
| 9 | Kevin Eyster | $40,374 | 140 |
For more coverage from the summer series, check out the 2019 WSOP landing page, complete with a full schedule, results, news, player interviews, and event recaps.