Tyler Cornell Secures His First WSOP Bracelet

They say the best things to come those who wait, and boy Tyler Cornell waited. Cornell finally got his hands on his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet some 11 years after first cashing at the WSOP.

Cornell came out on top of a 139 strong field in the $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2021 WSOP. June 2010 was the first time he cashed in a WSOP tournament, finishing 125th in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event for $3,878. Now he has some poker gold and a colossal $833,289 cash prize.

Chance Kornuth popped the money bubble on Day 2. He three-bet shoved his last ten big blinds with Ah-Qs only to run into Adrian Mateos’ Ks-Kd. Kornuth spiked a queen but failed to catch any other outs.

Cornell Third in Chips at the Final Table

Jonathan Jaffe sat down at the nine-handed final table as the chip leader. Cornell was third in chips, with Mustapha Kanit sandwiched between them.

Jason Koon’s time on the final table was limited, and he crashed out in ninth for $79,834. Blinds were 25,000/50,000/50,000a, and Michael Liang opened to 115,000. Koon made it 230,000 to go before calling off his 1,150,000 stack when Liang shoved. Liang turned over Qs-Qc and Koon the Ac-Ad. The cruel 9c-3d-6d-4d-Qh board busted Koon.

Adam Hendrix fell in eighth for $100,733 after clashing with Cornell. The latter opened to 105,000 on the button, and Hendrix called in the big blind. Hendrix check-called bets on the 2s-9c-4d flop and 7s turn before check-calling a shove on the 9s river. Cornell showed As-8s for a flush, Hendrix flashed king-nine and crashed out.

Seventh place and $128,654 went to Paul Newey, a British businessman turned poker pro. Newey committed his last 4.5 big blinds with As-3s, and Cornell called with 6s-6d. Newey paired his three on the flop but he never fully caught up.

Play ended for the evening when Mohammad Arani bowed out in sixth for $166,012. Arani’s short-stacked shoved with 3h-3d proved no match for Cornell’s Ac-8d.

Four Eliminations Away From a Bracelet

The final five players returned to the action knowing they were four eliminations away from becoming a WSOP champion. Cornell led the way but victory was far from assured because the remaining players were extremely talented.

The waters grew less shark-infested with the exit of Kanit in fifth. Italy’s Kanit got his stack in with As-Kh on a Qd-Jh-6s flop against Jaffe’s Qc-Tc. A 9c turn and 4h river sent Kanit to the cage to collect $216,842.

Jaffe came unstuck during the 60,000/120,000/120,000a level in a hand versus Liang. Jaffe lost most of his stack after an unsuccessful triple barrel bluff. The rest of his chips went in with Kh-5h, which lost to Liang’s Ac-Kc. Jaffe made do with a $286,202 prize.

Mateos’ quest for a fourth WSOP bracelet ended in a third-place finish worth $381,870. The Spaniard called off his seven big blinds with Ah-9c and failed to connect with the 7s-5d-2s-8c-4s board, therefore losing to Cornell’s 9s-9d.

Cornell held a massive 18,800,000 to 2,100,000 chip lead over Liang, and it proved a gap too large to bridge. Liang fought valiantly but shoved ten big blinds with Ks-2d, and Cornell called with Ac-2c. The Ad-6h-3d flop increased Cornell’s lead, but the Td turn gave Liang some outs. The 2h river was not one of them, and Liang busted. Second place weighed in at $515,014 with the champion scooping $833,289.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Tyler Cornell	United States	$833,289
2	Michael Liang	United States	$515,014
3	Adrian Mateos	Spain	$381,870
4	Jonathan Jaffe	United States	$286,202
5	Mustapha Kanit	Italy	$216,842
6	Mohammad Arani	United States	$166,102
7	Paul Newey	United Kingdom	$128,654
8	Adam Hendrix	United States	$100,733

Three Other Champions Crowned

Three other players became WSOP champions since the last time we checked in.

• Connor Drinan – winner of Event #5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $163,252
• Martin Zamani – winner of WSOP.com (NV/NJ) Online Braclet $5,300 NL Hold’em Freezeout for $210,600
• “NJ_AcesmarkA” – winner of WSOP.com (NV/NJ) Online Bracelet $500 NL Hold’em BIG 500 for $89,336

Brad Johnson

You name the game, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Brad has either played it or placed a wager on it! Brad calls himself a natural gambler, and someone who gains as much enjoyment from writing about the crazy game of poker as he does playing it.

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