Erik Seidel Wins Ninth WSOP Gold Bracelet In Online $10,000 Buy-In Event

Erik Seidel is a living poker legend. The 61-year-old Poker Hall of Fame member has played at the highest stakes available for decades now, accumulating $38,915,859 in tournament earnings and recording 29 tournament titles along the way.

The most recent of those wins came when Seidel topped a field of 624 entries to take down the 2021 World Series of Poker Online $10,000 buy-in ‘Super MILLION$’ no-limit hold’em high roller event. Seidel banked $977,842 for the win, along with his ninth career WSOP gold bracelet.

“Thanks everyone for the kind words, I’m totally thrilled!” Seidel wrote on social media after the win. “Really caught me by surprise because I’m so out of my element online. Hope I can sleep.”

Top poker pros from around the globe took to social media to sing Seidel’s praises in the wake of his victory.

“Congrats on bracelet no. 9!” wrote all-time bracelet leader Phil Hellmuth. “You are an all-time great poker player.”

With the win, the New York City-native entered into a tie with Johnny Moss for the third-highest bracelet count in WSOP history. The pair sits just one bracelet behind the epic trio of ten-time bracelet winners Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and Johnny Chan. Hellmuth remains the runaway leader with 15.

Seidel’s last victory at the series came in the 2007 WSOP $5,000 deuce-to-seven lowball championship event. His very first bracelet win was secured 29 years ago, in the 1992 $2,500 buy-in limit hold’em event. Ironically, it was Hellmuth he defeated for the title.

Seidel now has more than $6.7 million in total WSOP earnings, including the $280,000 he earned as the runner-up to Johnny Chan in the 1988 main event in his first recorded tournament score. The moment was made famous in the 1998 poker movie Rounders.

The final day of the event began with Francisco Benitez in the chip lead and Seidel in seventh place among the remaining nine players. Rui Ferreira was the first to fall, with his A-K running into the pocket jacks of Thomas Muehloecker. Ferreira was unable to improve by the river and settled for $129,410 as the ninth-place finisher.

Bracelet winner and online tournament legend Isaac Baron was the next to hit the virtual rail. He lost a huge chunk of his stack with pocket jacks against the pocket queens of Chin-Wei Chien to fall to the bottom of the leaderboard. While he managed to mount a small comeback, it ended when his Q-J clashed with the pocket aces of Chien. Baron took home $166,632 for his eighth-place showing.

Seidel scored his first knockout of the day when he picked up pocket kings and raised from middle position. Claas Segebrecht three-bet shoved with pocket nines and Seidel made the easy call. Both players hit a set by the river, but Seidel’s three kings reigned supreme. Segebrecht finished seventh for $214,558.

Joachim Haraldstad’s run in this event came to an end when his A-8 ran into the A-K of Benitez, who had only added to his chip lead since the final table had begun. Neither player improved and Haraldstad was sent home with a consolation prize of $276,269.

A classic preflop race determined the next elimination. Chien got all-in preflop with pocket fours facing the A J of Muehloecker. An ace on the flop gave the Austrian player a big lead which he never relinquished. Chien banked $355,729 as the fifth-place finisher.

While that preflop showdown was more or less a fair fight, the next knockout was the result of a cooler. Shyngis Satubayev picked up pocket tens in the small blind after the chip leader raised on the button. Satubayev three-bet shoved, only to have Benitez quickly call with pocket queens. The superior pair held up and Satubayev busted in fourth place for $458,043.

With that pot, Benitez had more than half of the chips in play, while Muehloecker sat in second place and Seidel brought up the rear. The next big showdown occurred when Benitez min-raised from the button with A Q. Muehloecker three-bet shoved from the big blind with a dominated A 10. Benitez made the call and the board came down clean to give him yet another knockout.

Muehloecker earned $589,785 as the third-place finisher, the second-largest payday of his career. He now has nearly $8.2 million in total tournament earnings to his name.

Benitez entered heads-up play with more than a 4:1 chip lead, but it didn’t take long for Seidel to find a double-up. The former Mayfair Club member picked up pocket queens against the pocket jacks of Benitez and held to close the gap significantly. Just a few minutes later he moved into the lead by taking down a three-bet pot without showdown. After picking off an ill-timed bluff from his opponent, he had suddenly built a nearly 2:1 lead of his own.

On the final hand, Seidel limped in on the button with A 8. Benitez raised holding A K. Seidel three-bet all-in and Benitez called. Seidel was behind, but the J 10 4 flop gave him the nut flush draw to go along with his live-card outs.

The turn was the A, which didn’t change anything. The 3 completed the board, however, giving Seidel the flush to lock up his ninth WSOP gold bracelet. Benitez was rewarded for his deep run with $759,419.

Here is a look at the payouts awarded at the final table:

Seidel’s Nine Bracelet Wins