Marco Johnson didn't let Chino Rheem win his first WSOP bracelet

Marco Johnson denied Chino Rheem his first WSOP bracelet

Mixed-games specialist Marco Johnson won his third World Series of Poker bracelet, taking down the $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em. The event drew 1,561 entries and built a prize pool of $3,473,225.

Johnson came to the final table with the second-largest stack and soon clashed in a big pot with one of the chip leaders, Sebastian Schulze. The American regular held pocket kings and held up against the German's AK to become the runaway chip leader. Schulze then busted in ninth place, earning $44,840.

Heading into heads-up against Chino Rheem, Johnson started with a 3-to-1 chip advantage. In the decisive hand, Johnson moved all-in preflop with ♦️♦️ and Rheem called with ♠️♣️. Johnson made a straight right on the ♠️♥️♥️ flop. The ♣️ on the turn and the ♥️ on the river didn't help Rheem, and he finished second for $341,970. It was the fifth time in Chino's career that he came up just short of a WSOP title.
"I've known Chino for 20 years. Like me, he's become a different player. We're both probably a bit more reserved now. He played an absolutely fantastic tournament. I'm immensely grateful that I had enough luck to beat him heads-up. It felt especially good to beat him specifically, because he's a very good player," Johnson said after the win.

Marco Johnson won a bracelet for the first time in 10 years. In 2016 he won the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E, and in 2013 he took the title in the $2,500 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed. After his second title, he reached the WSOP final table 22 times. For winning the freezeout, Marco earned $513,885. The American regular also said he would give this bracelet to his first son.

"I won my previous bracelet when my wife was pregnant with our first son. And I promised my son that if I won another one, I'd give it to him. So I finally got a bracelet for him."