Moment of the Week: Stephen Chidwick Ends Bracelet Drought

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Jun 25, 2019 3 min read Last updated Apr 21, 2020

The bracelet chase is a curious thing.

On the one hand, given the number of bracelets awarded per year �� counting those in Europe, there will be roughly 100 in 2019 �� bracelets have become easier to win than ever before in some ways.

As the years roll on and the regulars get more and more events to fire, that becomes clear in looking at the PokerNews chip counts in the live reporting. Check out the counts in any big buy-in, small field event and one's gaze is met by a barrage of bracelet badges. Some events hit a point where more bracelet winners are left than non-bracelet winners.

On the other hand, it's still pretty damn tough to win a poker tournament. The big buy-ins are filled with hardened veterans who have seen it all and have usually tightened up the most obvious of leaks. The small buy-ins bring their own challenges, requiring the dodging of thousands of mines en route to a finish that often features short stacks and high variance.

So, it's not surprising that a few of the best have slipped through the cracks and failed to secure a bracelet. One player in particular stood out, though.

Making His Appearance Count

Long tabbed by countless observers as the best player without a piece of WSOP gold, Stephen Chidwick's desire to end his drought appeared to be on the backburner in the past couple of years as he focused more on nosebleed events held at ARIA and other venues around the world.

No doubt, the financial dividends made the switch well worth it. After having a personal best year of $3.5 million in 2017, Chidwick made that look like chicken feed with over $10 million in 2018 and $3 million in just the first few months in 2019.

Given his shredding of the high roller scene and his plans to spend time with his family �� including a newborn daughter �� overseas, expectations for Chidwick in the 2019 WSOP may have been at an all-time low. After years of being one of the most expensive players in the $25,000 fantasy draft, Chidwick went for a $3 pittance. PokerNews' prognosticators also turned a little lukewarm on his chances, after tabbing him as the breakthrough player for years.

So, of course, Chidwick cooked up one of his best chances yet on his first appearance at the Rio, taking a sizable chip lead with about a third of the total chips heading to the streamed final table of seven in Event #45: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.

While things didn't break his way early on, he wound up making mincemeat of the final table. He picked off an all-in bluff by Alex Epstein with just one pair on the turn, busted Matthew Gonzales when he bricked a million outs on the flop against top pair, and dispatched James Chen heads up when Chen paid off top set of aces on three streets for almost all of his chips.

In just a few hours, Chidwick had erased all of what he called "a lot of heartbreak" and pocketed a characteristically massive cash to boot: $1,618,417.

It took more than 50 cashes worth north of $2 million across 10 years of WSOP events, but the grinder from Deal, U.K. finally raised up WSOP gold. All that time and effort made it all the sweeter, and that's why it's PokerNews' pick for moment of the week.

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