After starting the final table as a short stack, Michigan poker player Harvey Mathews mounted a dramatic comeback last Friday to capture his first World Series of Poker bracelet in Las Vegas .
One of 720 players in Event #13 , the $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em , Mathews earned a huge $391,914 first prize for the effort, by far the largest win of his poker career. Mathews outlasts other WSOP bracelet winners, formidable poker foes to bring win to Michigan
Mathews used to play the WSOP regularly prior to 2011, when “Black Friday” shut US players out of online poker for several years. He returned to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Vegas to compete in events in 2019 . That summer, Mathews earned one small cash to bring his career tournament earnings close to $30,000 .
Now, the 38-year-old from Mt. Morris has suddenly increased that total to more than $400,000 .
In speaking to USPoker , Mathews described the experience as “pretty surreal.”
“I’ve always dreamed and wanted to win a bracelet, but I never thought it was an actual possibility,” he said. “This event was a pretty star-studded field, so it feels great to get the win.”
Indeed, among those Mathews had to outlast at the final table was four-time WSOP bracelet winner Michael Gathy, who eventually finished third. Other notables making deep runs in the event included Niall Farrell , Tristan Wade , Daniel Weinman , Sergio Aido , Jerry Wong , Maria Konnikova , and Brock Parker . A big hero call: ‘I went with my read and was correct’
In fact, it was a big hand against Gathy that proved a turning point during the tournament’s endgame for Mathews.
Matthews reached the nine-handed final table as one of the short stacks. He started the third and final day still near the bottom, in fifth position out of seven players. He scraped his way back, though, and enjoyed the chip lead as the field further narrowed.With three left, Gathy had moved back to the top of the counts. That’s when Mathews and Gathy battled their way to the […]
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