Daniel Willis Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #3: $500 Kickoff NLHE
A British businessman and a two-time WSOP bracelet winner went heads up for the title, and it was the former who stood alone in the end.
Daniel Willis defeated Michael Wang on Day 3 to take down Event #3: $500 Kickoff No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, securing Willis a $175,578 winning prize and his first WSOP bracelet after he outlasted the final eight players.
Wang collected $117,046 as the runner-up.
��Coming off the first event I played and having a huge win, it��s a dream come true moment,�� Willis said with a smile.
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Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Daniel Willis | United Kingdom | $175,578 |
| 2nd | Michael Wang | United States | $117,056 |
| 3rd | Shawn Smith | United States | $86,820 |
| 4th | Steven Borella | United States | $,64,920 |
| 5th | Yoshinori Funayama | Japan | $48,938 |
| 6th | Daniel Sherer | United States | $37,194 |
| 7th | John Marino | United States | $28,501 |
| 8th | David Niedringhaus | United States | $22,022 |
Willis, who entered Day 3 as the chip leader, didn��t falter at the final table and credits the momentum he gained late in Day 2.
��In deep fields, thousands of players, you get these really crucial spots where you get your chips in and it��s a really critical hand to keep that momentum going,�� Willis said. ��And so many times when I played poker professionally 10-15 years ago before I started my music journey and business, I found that those crucial spots weren��t going my way really deep for very big prize money.
��But in this tournament, it just went really, really well in those crucial spots, like (Thursday) when I was like fifth or sixth in chips, perhaps seventh, and someone shoved all in, another big stack re-raised all in, and then I got kings in the big blind, so I call. I was up against jacks, Q3 suited. The flop came 2, 4, 5, so I had to dodge an Ace, a Jack, a 6, and I did. Those are the key spots where I just kept gaining momentum.��
Not only did Willis gain momentum, he sustained it throughout Day 3 while in good spots en route to winning the event.
��The final table seemed to go really smoothly,�� Willis said. ��Someone shoved all in and I have kings; obviously an easy call. The same thing happened again and I had Aces, and it just kept going like that where I was in those dream scenarios, spots that a lot of poker players would just love to be in and would just appreciate that the luck is on your side.��
While luck is a factor, there is arguably a level of skill required to navigate the minefield of not just players, but capable players.
The overall field boasted multiple WSOP bracelet winners, including Wang, Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu, Ryan Riess, Tamas Lendvai, Jason Wheeler, Joseph Altomonte, Qiang Xu, andMarco Johnson, among others.
Going through all the tough competition isn��t lost on the WSOP��s newest bracelet winner.
��I��m just really grateful for this amazing opportunity,�� Willis said. ��And how everything unfolded to be here and to be the winner.��
With a major tournament win in his back pocket and a shiny WSOP gold bracelet on his wrist, Willis now looks forward to the future, which includes sticking around for a few more weeks in Las Vegas before he heads home.
��I��m definitely going to try and play the Mystery Bounty, probably take a day off and celebrate,�� he said. ��I��ll probably play a few more events, and then I got to get back to work.��
In this Series
- 1 Dong Meng Wins Second Bracelet & $200,000 in WSOP Tournament of Champions
- 2 Jose Garcia Wins Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em for $79,134
- 3 Asher Conniff Wins First Bracelet in Event 1: $5,000 Champions Reunion for $408,468
- 4 Daniel Willis Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #3: $500 Kickoff NLHE
- 5 James Chen Wins WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo ($209,350)
- 6 Darius Samual's 50% Bankroll Risk Pays Off in WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship
- 7 Mixed Game Legend John Hennigan Wins Seventh Bracelet at 2024 WSOP
- 8 Bryce Yockey BLASTS 25K Fantasy Draft Price After $5K PLO Bracelet Win
- 9 "I'm Only Here to Win Bracelets," says Nick Guagenti as He Captures His Second
- 10 Malcolm Trayner Made a Millionaire in WSOP Mystery Millions
- 11 Great Scott! Seiver Adds to Legacy with Fifth WSOP Bracelet
- 12 David Prociak Conquers The $1,500 Badugi for His Second Bracelet and $129,676
- 13 Simeon Spasov Wins $1,500 6-Max to Claim Second Bracelet for $439,815!
- 14 Robert Mizrachi Joins Brother on Five WSOP Bracelets After $10,000 Dealer's Choice Victory
- 15 20 Years in the Making: TJ Murphy Becomes a WSOP Champion
- 16 Caleb Furth Captures Maiden Bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better for $265,361
- 17 Dylan Weisman Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 18 Brent Hart Rises From Pack to Win Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold��em
- 19 John Racener Spins Shortest Stack Up to WSOP Gold in LHE Championship
- 20 Aaron Cummings Wins His First Bracelet In Lowball Triple Draw Event
- 21 "Feeling Vindicated": Brek Schutten Wins WSOP $25,000 High Roller for $1,405,641
- 22 Sean Troha Completes Hat Trick in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
- 23 Huge Comeback Inspires Daniel Sepiol to First Bracelet in $1,500 Shootout
- 24 Daniel Vampan Claims First Bracelet and $148,635 in $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Max
- 25 Stephen Winters Defeats 20,647 Players to Win $300 Gladiators of Poker ($401,210)
- 26 Nick Schulman Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $25K High Roller ($1,667,842)
- 27 Gruneberg & Bonnacci Capture First WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelets of the Summer
- 28 Evan Benton Goes From Poker Beginner to WSOP Bracelet Winner
- 29 Michael Christ "Gets Lucky" On His Way to Winning Event #27: $1,500 Big O
- 30 Alen Bakovic Laughs His Way to the WSOP Event #30 $600 PLO/NLH Mix Title
- 31 Nicholas Seward Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in $3,000 6-Handed for $516,135
- 32 Phil Ivey Wins His 11th WSOP Bracelet in $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
- 33 Richard Ashby Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Same Stud Event
- 34 Alex Manzano Ascends to Win Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha DeepStack
- 35 Antonio Galiana��s Big Bluff Propels Him To First Bracelet in Event #34
- 36 Another Comeback, Another Bracelet For Phillip Hui In $1.5k H.O.R.S.E.
- 37 Timur Margolin Wins Third Bracelet in Event #36: $800 NLHE Deepstack for $342,551
- 38 John Fauver Wins The First Ever $10k Big O Championship For $681,998
- 39 Sergio Aido Wins 2024 WSOP $50,000 NLHE High Roller ($2,026,506)
- 40 Two Bracelets in Two Weeks: Scott Seiver Wins Sixth WSOP Gold in $1,500 Razz
- 41 James Obst Captures Second WSOP Bracelet in $10K Stud
- 42 Xixiang Luo Wins First-Ever WSOP NLHE/PLO Bomb Pot Mix Event
- 43 Magnus Edengren Gets His Crowning Moment in $1,500 Mixed Omaha
- 44 Kingery's Ransom: Longshoreman Ships $2K No-Limit Hold��em for $410,359
- 45 "It Was My Time": Chris Hunichen Captures First Bracelet & $2.8M in $100K High Roller
- 46 Peter Park Wins First Bracelet and $240,724 in Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty!
- 47 Dominant Performance: Pedro Neves Crushes On Way to WSOP Monster Stack Bracelet
- 48 Extra Special Day for Christopher Vitch As He Wins Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 49 Mostafa Haidary Tears Through the Final Four to Win Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
- 50 Third Time's the Charm: Patrick Moulder Captures First Bracelet and $177,045 in $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw
- 51 Frank Funaro Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10k Super Turbo Bounty
- 52 Dario Sammartino Wins First Bracelet in Event #61: $2,500 Stud 8/Omaha 8 for $222,703
- 53 Sean Jazayeri Claims First Bracelet in Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em
- 54 We Want the Funk! David Funkhouser Wins First Bracelet in $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball
- 55 Paolo Boi Stages Impressive Comeback to Win Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($676,900)
- 56 Daniel Negreanu Wins 7th WSOP Bracelet in $50,000 Poker Players Championship
- 57 Ben Collins' All Ins Were Unbeatable in Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors
- 58 Heads-Up Masterclass Propels Elie Nakache to $10K PLO Championship Title
- 59 Determined Scott Seiver Captures 3rd 2024 Bracelet by Winning $10k No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 60 Runner-Up No More: Shiina Okamoto Wins Ladies' Event With Fierce Determination and Confidence
- 61 WPT Announcer Tony Dunst Wins Third World Series of Poker Bracelet
- 62 David Eldridge Overcomes the Odds to Claim Second Bracelet in $25k PLO High Roller ($2,246,728)
- 63 VAMOS! Martin Alcaide Claims First Bracelet and $501,250 in Event #70: $400 Colossus
- 64 Matthew Lambrecht Wins $10,000 Mystery Bounty for First WSOP Bracelet
- 65 Team Setna is "On Cloud 9" as the Duo Take Down Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No Limit Hold��em
- 66 Wing Po Liu Flies High To Win Second Bracelet for $209,942
- 67 Nine Years After Near Tragedy, Arash Ghaneian Wins Second Bracelet in $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship
- 68 First Cash, First Bracelet as Daniel Perkusic Dominates $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
- 69 Georgios Skarparis Wins Mini Main Event After a Promise to His Student ($554,925)
- 70 Francis Anderson Wins 2024 WSOP $800 Independence Day Celebration ($501,040)
- 71 Dominating Final Table Performance Sees Aditya Agarwal Take Down Event #82: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($189,661)
- 72 Chance Kornuth Flips His Way to Fourth Bracelet in Event #85: $1,000 Flip & Go No-Limit Hold'em
- 73 Matthew Alsante Triumphs Over the Pros in $5K 8-Handed No Limit Hold'em ($785,486)
- 74 It��s a Poker Fairytale For Carsten Heidemann, Winner of Event #84: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold��em
- 75 2024 WSOP Online: Watson Becomes Poker's 10th Triple Crown Winner; Prociak Claims Third Bracelet
- 76 Sascha Wilhelm Scores Biggest Career Win in $1k Mystery Bounty PLO
- 77 ��This Bracelet is Worth Three��: Calvin Anderson Joins Five-Timer Club
- 78 Joseph Sanders Claims First Bracelet and $269,530 in $1.5k 6-Max PLO
- 79 Jared Bleznick Captures First Bracelet in $50k No-Limit Hold'em High Roller
- 80 Career-Best Score and First WSOP Bracelet for $3K HORSE Winner Gary Bolden
- 81 Inaugural $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship A Huge Success as Clement Richez Wins $1,041,989
- 82 Michael Rocco Caps Off Career Summer by Capturing First Bracelet
- 83 Xixiang Luo Doubles Up with Second Bracelet of the Summer in Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E.
- 84 Michael Liang Turns the Tables in Heads-Up to Win $777 Lucky 7's for $777,777
- 85 Summer Saved! Alex Livingston Claims Second Bracelet and $390,621 in Event #97: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed!
- 86 Jonathan Tamayo Wins Record-Breaking 2024 WSOP Main Event ($10,000,000)
- 87 Aneris Adomkevicius Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #99: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em
- 88 Ching Da Wu Conquers The $1,500 Closer at the 2024 WSOP
- 89 Kyle ��BluffNTuff�� Lorenz & William ��mortyc137�� Nunley Win Final WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelets
