WSOP -- Johnny Chan Falls Short in Bid for Bracelet No. 11

Close, but no cigar.

Phil Hellmuth remains in sole possession of first place on the all-time bracelets list with 11, but Johnny Chan gave him quite a scare yesterday.

Chan made poker’s version of the Elite Eight in the world championship of heads-up no-limit hold’em, needing only to beat three more opponents to capture the prestigious championship and join Hellmuth as the only two players with 11 bracelets.

However, Chan couldn’t get past Jamin Stokes, after a lengthy four-hour plus heads up- battle.

Joining Stokes in the final four was Leo Wolpert, Nathan Doudney, and John Duthie. Wolpert and Duthie won their semi-final matches to earn their spots in the championship, which will play out today.

Chan has been a fixture in the poker elite since winning his first bracelet in 1985. He won back-to-back main event championships in 1987 and 1988 before finishing runner-up to Hellmuth in 1989.

However, his last bracelet came in 2005, in a $2,500 pot-limit hold’em event. This is the second longest bracelet dry spell of his career, the only longer stretch being his drought in ’89-’93 Series.

Kenny Tran won last year’s heads-up championship at the World Series.

CardPlayer.com will be providing live updates from the event throughout the day.

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