John Cynn of Jacksonville Florida won one of the longest heads-up battles in the history of the World Series of Poker Main Event, eventually defeating player Tony Miles after 10 hours and winning $8.8 million.
The main Event drew 7,874 players, the second highest filed in its history. The event was held at the Rio Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Cynn’s win came two years after he finished 11th in a field of 6,737 in the 2016 Main Event.
“Neither was supposed to happen,” Cynn, 33, told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “To make 11th is insane on its own. To win, that’s literally something you dream of but never expect to happen. When I got knocked out in 11th, I was really happy. Right now, I feel overwhelmed. It’s all the emotions times 10. … You can’t compare that to anything else in poker.”
On the final hand, Cynn won on the final hand with three kings after Miles went all in with two pair.
According to the Review Journal, the final table set the modern Main Event record for most hands with 442. The final day lasted 11 hours, 20 minutes.
Also winning at the WSOP this year was poker pro Phil Helmuth, who won his 15th WSOP bracelet in a $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold ’em tournament that ran concurrently to the main event.
Hellmuth has held the all-time bracelet lead since he won his 11th career WSOP title in 2007, surpassing the 10 bracelets won by Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson. Phil Ivey later reached 10 bracelets in his own right, but Hellmuth is now five gold bracelets ahead.
