Brent Hanks, Leif Force and Cory Zeidman first bracelet winners of 2012 WSOP

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Published June 1st, 2012 in WSOP

So far the 2012 World Series of Poker is picking up right where the 2011 WSOP left off, with poker pros winning their first WSOP bracelets. This new trend really shines a spotlight on just how competitive the world of poker has become over the years (no longer dominated by the same 50 or so players) and how small the margin for error has become.

Event #2: $1,500 No Limit Holdem tournament

The first open-event bracelet winner of 2012 was Brent Hanks, who defeated a very tough final table to capture his first WSOOP bracelet. Hanks may not be a household name, but the young poker pro has definitely impressed his peers, so much so that he is one of Jason Mercier’s regular stake-horses.

After the eliminations of Vanessa Selbst in 4^th place and Andrew Badecker in 3^rd place, Hanks and his heads-up opponent Jacob Bazeley cut a deal seeing the two chop-up the remaining prize-pool.

Here is a look at the final table payouts from Event #2:

Brent Hanks – $517,725
Jacob Bazeley – $322,294
Andrew Badecker – $224,029
Vanessa Selbst – $161,345
Ryan Schmidt – $117,921
Abdyl Konjuhi – $87,231
Michael Kaufman – $65,377
JP Kelly – $49,621
Richard Park – $38,106

Event #3: $3,000 Heads-Up NLHE/PLO tournament

Leif Force first made waves at the 2006 World Series of Poker where the dreadlocked youngster looked like anything but a poker player, and now a more clean-cut Force can add his name to the list of WSOP bracelet winners after winning the inaugural PLO/NLHE Heads-Up tournament.

Force defeated Andy Frankenberger in the Elite 8 round of the tournament; Julian Powell in the semi-final, and then Jason Koon in the finals to win the tournament.

Here is a look at the payouts for the final eight players inEvent #3:

Winner: Leif Force – $207,708
Runner-Up: Jason Koon – $128,660
Lost in Semi-Finals: Simeon Naydenov – $73,655
Lost in Semi-Finals: Julian Powell – $73,655
Lost in Quarter-Finals: Greg Merkow – $28,409
Lost in Quarter-Finals: David Benefield – $28,409
Lost in Quarter-Finals: Andy Frankenberger – $28,409
Lost in Quarter-Finals: Annette Obrestad – $28,409

Event #4: $1,500 Seven-Card-Stud 8 or better

Another World Series of Poker tournament that crowned a winner on Thursday was the 7-Card-Stud 8 or better event, where Cory Zeidman overcame a tough final table that included Todd Brunson, Mike Mizrachi, Xuan Liu, and Chris Bjorin to win his first bracelet.

Liu and Bonnie Ross gave women their fifth finish in the Top-8 over the first four WSOP tournaments in 2012, perhaps a harbinger that the ladies’ bracelet drought in open-events is coming to an end this year.

Here is a look at the final table payouts from Event #4: