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WSOP 2022: Controversies That Rocked The Boat So Far

World Series of Poker (WSOP) is one such series that is known to grab eyeballs for smashing victories, emotions running high, grandeur, and controversies, of course. Although players winning their maiden bracelets or bumping up their tally grabs headlines, tempers flaring and things flying in the air also make heads turn (to watch in amusement or in shock). In this article, we will look at some of the controversies that have rocked WSOP 2022’s boat so far. 

Phil Hellmuth’s Ill-Timed Washroom Break

Even a 16-time WSOP bracelet winner must ensure that he keeps his chips safe. In a widely publicized incident, when Hellmuth was grinding the $10K 2-7 Single Draw Championship, he was among the top 21 players. After the poker champ returned from the washroom, he found his poker chips missing. Could happen right? Yeah. But finding those chips in another player’s bag is odd? The thought of some robbing Hellmuth’s chips might seem bold, but was that the case? Read on.

Apparently, the chips were mixed with Farzad Bonyadi’s stack, but no one knew how this happened. Talking about the incident, the Poker Brat said, “We went on break, and I’m kind of smart; I knew it was going to take them a while, so I went to the bathroom, but I left my chips in a rack, and then Scott Seiver said leave Phil’s chips in a rack. And then one of the other players took them and put them in his stack.”

A wild situation occurred in the @WSOP $10k 2-7 Championship, when @phil_hellmuth‘s stack was partially merged with another player’s on a break. PokerNews spoke with Hellmuth to get the details. Read about it here. https://t.co/GKd21WZ7bR

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) June 19, 2022

Usually, in such cases, it isn’t too difficult to procure the chips as casino authorities will look at the CCTV footage and figure out what exactly happened and what the missing stack looked like. In Hellmuth’s case the WSOP staff confirmed that his stack size was indeed 135,000 in line with the Poker Brat’s estimation of slightly more than 130,000 chips. In other news, this poker dynamite congratulated himself (oh yeah, he did that)! In what was a perfect example of ‘pat yourself in the back’ the 16-time WSOP bracelet winner congratulated himself on his entry-to-cash ratio and for extending his WSOP cash record. Now, this is funny because Hellmuth isn’t new to the WSOP felts, and this tweet made quite the stir, and several players liked and retweeted it!

Alleged Cheaters In The $100,000 High Roller Bounty 

Social media handles of several players erupted with posts about cheaters grinding in WSOP 2022 after Ali Imsirovic, Bryn Kenney, Sergi Reixach, and Jake Schindler were spotted grinding in the $100,000 NLHE High Roller. In the past, these players were involved in some or the other online controversy. There wasn’t too much noise, but a minor outcry about these players participating in the event did grab eyeballs. WSOP cannot ban a particular player based on their actions outside of the WSOP felts or in other casinos and online events. And in the case of the above-mentioned players, WSOP had no solid reason to keep them at bay. 

Think Before You Muck

Jaswinder Lally aka ‘angle’ shipped the $1,500 Dealer’s Choice – 6 Handed event in the 52nd WSOP series and this time, too he was grinding in the same event. One particular hand in this event stood out and reminded all players that even the most skilled ones can make mistakes. 

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ALSO READ: WSOP 2022 Bracelet: New Design And Significance

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In one such hand, Lally was playing against yet another bracelet winner Joseph Couden. The latter raised pre-draw while Lally three-bet out of the blinds. Even before Couden could act, Lally tapped on the table, which signifies a check. So, Couden went on to say that his action was pending. Lally replied, “Sorry, I was already standing pat.” This went on for a long time until Lally bet and Couden called. Immediately, Lally said. “Eighty-six,” to which Couden reacted by mucking his cards even before Lally flipped and showed {4-}{4-}{8-}{6-}{2-}. 

The pot was pushed towards Lally, and Couden clearly went by the verbal announcement of the other player. The pot was given to Lally based on the age-old poker rule that once you muck your cards, there’s no going back. These are just some of the controversies from the ongoing WSOP 2022 series. Keep checking this space to read about more such controversies from WSOP 2022. 

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