Dan Smith Wins WSOP Bracelet and $509,717 in Heads-Up Championship

You can remove Dan Smith from the list of best poker players yet to win a bracelet after he triumphed at the 2022 World Series of Poker by winning Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up Championship. Smith defeated Jake Daniels, Laszlo Bujtas, Alex Foxen, and Jonathan Jaffe on his way to entering the semifinals today.

Smith faced off against Dario Sammartino, and once he defeated the Italian who registered his second consecutive third-place finish, Smith would square off with German Christoph Vogelsang in the finals. After a back-and-forth match that would see both players looking to break through for their first WSOP bracelet, it would be New Jersey-born and Las Vegas-resident Smith defeating Vogelsang in the finals to be finally crowned and WSOP bracelet winner.

“I’m not typically a very sentimental person,” Smith said after defeating Vogelsang. “I remember before the One Drop final table, everyone was like, ‘how important is it for you to be playing for this bracelet?’ and I was, ‘I’m focused on the $10 million today.’ Today it really is, and was about the bracelet.”

After defeating Daniels and Bujtas on Day 1 of Event #6, Smith faced off with fellow high roller regular Foxen on the money bubble, and after taking down Foxen, Smith would match up against Jaffe in the quarterfinals. Another victory went Smith’s way to see him advance to the semifinals on Sunday, June 5, which would be streamed on PokerGO.com. Smith would be matched up with Sammartino who finished in third-place just a few days earlier in Event #2: $100,000 High Roller Bounty. Smith had the early advantage against Sammartino, and although the Italian managed a few doubles, he would inevitably fall when his ace-six was outdrawn by the ace-four of Smith.

As Smith advanced to the finals, he would be sitting across from Vogelsang whose biggest win was at the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl for $6 million. Once the match was underway, Vogelsang grabbed the early advantage as he surged out to a two-to-one lead where it stayed for over an hour of play before Smith took his first major lead in the match when he made two pair. Vogelsang doubled back into the lead after picking off Smith with a flush and applied continued pressure until it was Smith’s turn to double when his pocket sixes held against Vogelsang’s ace-five. Shortly after, Smith would push with ace-four and Vogelsang called all-in with a superior ace. But when a four landed on the flop and no additional help arrived for Vogelsang, he was eliminated in second place, and Smith was the newest WSOP bracelet winner.

Dan Smith Now a WSOP Bracelet Winner

Entering every World Series of Poker, there is always a discussion about the best players to have never won a bracelet. Dan Smith’s name was always on that list as he amassed an incredibly impressive WSOP resume that include 50 cashes, 10 final tables, and over $10 million in earnings.

“I’ve had great World Series results,” Smith said regarding his WSOP career. “Just because I’ve happened to mostly get third place in WSOP events – if that’s the way my career or my life has been unlucky, it’s unbelievably fortunate.”

Double Up Drive Success

Smith’s Double Up Drive charity has been raising money since 2014 and select effective charities to be part of a drive campaign each year. With the help of the poker community, Double Up Drive have raised a staggering amount of money that have helped people around the world.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished in poker, and I think this is an important checkbox on my legacy and as one of the all-timers,” Smith said about creating his Double Up Drive charity and what it still means to him. “I’m even more proud of what the whole poker community and I have come together to do with Double Up Drive. We’ve raised $25 million for good causes, and while I love poker and am proud of it, the thousands of people that would have died are now alive because of that.”

“I’m happy that poker is my vessel to do this good. I am immensely proud of Double Up Drive, and I am optimistic that it will continue to do well.”

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