Jerry Wong Wins 1st WSOP Bracelet in $10K Razz Championship

The list of the best poker players to have never won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is now one name lighter as Jerry Wong has triumphed to win his first WSOP bracelet in Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship.

Before Wong's maiden WSOP win, he had previously reached ten WSOP final tables, including two runner-up finishes, a third, two fourth-place finishes, and a fifth-place finish in this very event in 2018. For his victory, Wong collects $298,682 in prize money and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet that was a long overdue addition to his trophy case.

"I'm kind of speechless," Wong said after winning his WSOP bracelet. "I want to say hello Frisco, and give a shoutout to all my guys in Fort Lauderdale."

The Razz Championship attracted 123 entrants and would need another day to complete the event. Day 3 began with 13 players, and once two levels had been played out, just six players remained with the action being livestreamed exclusively on PokerGO.com. Poker Players Championship winner Elior Sion held the chip lead as John Hennigan would be the first casualty when his ten-nine low lost to Wong's seven-five. Talal Shakerchi would exit in fifth place when he was all-in on sixth street and finished with a nine-seven, but lost to Carlos Chadha's eight-seven low.

After chips went back and forth between the final four, Sion would exit next when finished with a jack-seven low to fall short against Wong's nine-eight low. Chadha held a chip advantage of two-to-one over his two opponents as the final three players would battle for nearly four-and-a-half hours before the decision was made to bag for the evening.

Returning for Day 4, it would be Wong holding the advantage over Michael Moncek and Chadha. Although Wong surged ahead in the early goings, it would be Chadha the first to strike by moving into the chip lead after making a rough-eight. As Moncek's chip stack continued to dwindle, he would be all-in on third street and finish with a queen-nine low against the queen-eight low of Wong as heads-up play began with Chadha sitting with a 6,200,000 to 1,250,000 chip advantage over Wong. Heads-up play lasted nearly three hours, and it would be the Wong show. Wong grinded away at Chadha's lead and eventually took the advantage before putting his foot on the gas to have Chadha on the ropes.

With Chadha down to just three big bets, the final hand would see Chadha call all-in on sixth street with an eight-four low against Wong's nine-seven. Wong improved with a three to make a seven-six, and when Chadha caught paint, he would settle for second place as Wong was crowned the Event #33 winner.

2023 WSOP Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship Final Table Results

After so many close calls throughout his career at the WSOP, Wong can now call himself a WSOP champion after winning the Razz Championship for $298,682 in prize money. The grueling three-handed battle and the subsequent heads-up match came with many ups and downs for Wong, but inevitably he came out on top.

"I've played a lot of cash games and I don't think either of these two guys had a lot of experience," Wong said on playing Chadha and Moncek short-handed. "Heads-up is very natural to me."

With his first WSOP bracelet now in his possession, Wong's confidence is high, but not so high that he'll be doing much different for the remainder of the WSOP.

"I'm just going to play the same schedule I was playing before," Wong said on how he'll approach the rest of the WSOP. "I generally don't like to play the PPC. It's a pretty tough tournament. It's mostly for prestige and glory, and you know, I'm just trying to make money for my family."

Isaac Haxton Remains On Top of PGT Leaderboard

With his victory in the Razz Championship, Jerry Wong collects his first set of PGT points for the season and moves into 56th place on the PGT leaderboard. Everyone is looking up at four players who have accumulated more than 1,000 PGT points this season. 

Isaac Haxton leads with 1,436 PGT points on the back of his three wins at the PokerGO Cup, U.S. Poker Open, and his first bracelet at the WSOP. Cary Katz is second with 1,330 PGT points after finishing runner-up to Jans Arends in the $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. Following his fourth-place finish in the Secret Bounty, Jeremy Ausmus now sits in third place with 1,041 PGT points, while Ben Lamb is in fourth place with 1,028 PGT points after winning his second WSOP bracelet earlier in the week.

Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Use code “DREAM30” for $30 off an annual PokerGO subscription now!