Garth Yettick has captured his first WSOP bracelet and a $131,061 winner’s prize after emerging victorious from a tough final table in the $1,500 8-Game Mix.
The American topped a field of 494 entrants to take the biggest share of a prize pool of $659,490.
Although only seven players returned to the playing hall, there was a jaw-dropping 14 bracelets between the participants.
This was a seriously tough final table and the result is all the more spectacular when you learn that Garth Yettick had not cashed in a live poker tournament since 2005.
And what if we told you that the cash in 2005 was, until today, his only live cash in his career. Just amazing.
After defeating Josh Arieh heads-up, Yettick told reporters:
“I definitely feel like I was super lucky. I was very short stacked through the majority of yesterday. Whenever the chips did go in, I just won the races. It feels great, winning the bracelet and winning the money too. I’m just always happy to be playing poker.”
Final Action
As play resumed, Garth Yettick was one of the short stacks and, if we’re honest, most would have expected him to be heading home within a level or two.
But, in fact, it was Yettick who would be sending home the first of the seven players when his flush came in to beat the kings of Xiaochuan Zhang in PLO.
Mixed game specialist Marco Johnson was next to leave a couple of hands after colliding with Yettick in a round of 2-7 Triple Draw to lose most of his stack before Yettick finished the job.
Maxx Coleman had been doing well but the general run of play slowly depleted his stack before he chanced his luck in a PLO hand with ace-high and queens only for Yettick to call him off with ace-king high.
And then there were only four left with John Racener cursing his luck after nothing had gone his way during the session.
John Cernuto and Yettick had hit him hard in a couple of key pots and then it was all over when his ace-six turned sour against the ten-nine of the former.
Three-time bracelet winner Cernuto was seemingly on a roll but it didn’t last long with the wild swings. A non-descript pot against Josh Arieh saw him risk king-four only to find out he was up against pocket nines.
Josh Arieh was naturally a massive favourite against his journeyman opponent and the flow of play from the very first hand seemed to show that.
In fact, very quickly he had a five-to-one lead over Yettick who was no doubt expecting the inevitable.
But, as is often the case, it took only two key hands to turn the tables. Top two against Arieh’s draw that didn’t arrive was the first. And then ace-queen found enough help against nines to switch the chip lead for the first time.
The run of play was all towards Yettick from that moment on. Arieh did win a double-up but very soon after it was all over and his hopes for a seventh bracelet were over.
$1,500 8-Game Mix Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | Garth Yettick | United States | $131,061 |
| 2 | Josh Arieh | United States | $85,667 |
| 3 | John Cernuto | United States | $57,249 |
| 4 | John Racener | United States | $39,135 |
| 5 | Maxx Coleman | United States | $27,379 |
| 6 | Marco Johnson | United States | $19,614 |
| 7 | Xiaochuan Zhang | China | $14,397 |
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