Phil Hellmuth, who now has 16 bracelets, was sitting on 14 at the time.Īs players began to fall on Day 3 and Brunson wasn't one of them, the buzz began to pick up in the Amazon room much like when the Main Event final table was approaching. Heading into the series, he was tied in that position with Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey.

On the following day it was all about getting back to a WSOP final table and moving into second place all-time with 11 bracelets for Brunson. Todd Brunson had also advanced to Day 3, creating a memorable father-son moment, although he was among the short stacks. From there, his stack would continue to grow.Īt the end of Day 2, with 11 players remaining, Brunson was in fourth place. He earned an early double at the expense of future WSOP Player of the Year, Dan Zack. Doyle Brunson with Jack Effel on Day 2 of the 2018 WSOP $10k 2-7. The old WSOP crusher Doyle Brunson would show up one last time on Day 2 of the 2-7 when he quickly ran up a stack. He was mostly a high-stakes cash game player at Bellagio during his elder years. And then the unpredictable happened.Įntering the 2018 WSOP, Doyle hadn't cashed at the WSOP since 2013, and his 10th and final bracelet came in 2005. But during that 2-7 tournament five years ago, the focus from just about everyone connected to poker was on Brunson's apparent final appearance. 'Texas Dolly' would continue playing the occasional tournament until he passed, and even entered a few bracelet events at the 2022 WSOP. As such, the poker media and poker fans all gathered inside the legendary Amazon room to catch a glimpse of one of the all-time greats in action for what some anticipated would be the last time.

Prior to arriving at the Rio, Doyle teased on Twitter that it might be his last tournament ever. His son and fellow Poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson convinced his dad to register for the event on Day 2, and it had been a few years since Doyle had competed at the World Series of Poker.

Brunson, who passed away last month at 89, made a surprise appearance on that day in 2018.

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