Brian Rast Wins Record Equalling Third Poker Players Championship

After five grueling days of play, Brian Rast has emerged as the Poker Players Champion for a record-equaling third time, defeating Talal Shakerchi heads-up. With this win, Rast has moved level with Michael Mizrachi for the most Poker Players Championship victories and becomes only the 19th player in the history of the WSOP to win six bracelets.

Dominating Performance

While Rast has played well throughout the event, there’s no doubt that his most dominant performance came when it mattered most. Throughout the whole of Day 5, Rast was in complete command of the table, and while he didn’t start the day as chip leader, it was only a matter of time before he’d replace Shakerchi at the top of the leaderboard.

After winning a big pot versus the then second-place Talal in 2-7 Triple Draw, Rast claimed his first victim of Day 5, knocking out Kristopher Tong in No Limit Hold’em  - Rast’s 99 holding against Tong’s AKs. Rast quickly scooped James Obst in Omaha Hi-Lo to eliminate the Australian from the event, giving him 4x the chip stack of second-place Talal.

It would only take another couple of minutes for Rast to claim another victim, as he scooped Matthew Ashton in another Omaha Hi-Lo hand to take the match heads-up. Even heads-up play didn’t last very long, as it only took Rast about five hands to bust Talal. After scooping yet another Omaha Hi-Lo hand, Talal bricked out in a Razz hand, giving Rast the coveted $50K Poker Players Championship bracelet and the top prize of $1,324,747.

Hall of Fame Imminent?

One of the storylines coming into this event is Rast’s eagerness to make it into the Poker Hall of Fame. He has stated in previous interviews that he wants to do everything he can to cement his legacy in the poker world and earn a place in the Poker Hall of Fame.

Rast was already being spoken about as a likely candidate for this year’s entry, given his five bracelets and years playing the highest-stakes cash games. However, winning his third Poker Player’s Champions and his sixth bracelet overall may just be the momentum he needs to get over the line this year.

When asked about his chances of making it this year, Rast said, “I mean, listen, I have my opinion but the truth is, is the people that vote on are in the Hall of Fame. So what I think doesn't matter, you know, my job is to come to the poker table and play when I want to and compete and we'll let the people in the poker hall of Fame make that decision and, you know, I just keep doing what I do and we'll see what they say.”

You could see just how much the victory meant to Rast, who immediately called his wife back in Brazil to share the good news after winning the event. When speaking on what winning this event for the third time meant to him, Rast said, “I mean, the most emotional maybe was after I won my first PPC, which was like my first major tournament I ever won. Maybe a little more emotional after this one than the second one. I don't know, this one just, you know, it just, it just meant a lot, like I'd say, in like 16, 17 and 18, I was playing everything all the time.”

Given Rast’s obvious talent for mixed-game tournaments, we’re sure this won’t be the last we’ll see of him in the $50K PPC.

Event #43 $50,000 Poker Players Championship Final Table Results

Will Rast eventually go on to win a record-breaking fourth Poker Players Championship? Will we see another six-time bracelet winner at this World Series? Stay tuned for all the latest WSOP news and events.

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