Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! KFC Fan Kolev Wins 2022 WSOP Millionaire Maker ($1,125,141)
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The 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in its new home at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas has crowned a new champion as Bulgarian Yuliyan Kolev has won his second bracelet as he was the last player standing in Event #37: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em. This is the second consecutive year Kolev has won a bracelet as just seven months ago the Bulgarian won his first in online Event #9: $777 Lucky 7's No-Limit Hold'em for $146,163.
That figure is dwarfed by winning this event, both in prestige and in prize money as Kolev has won the grand prize of $1,125,141 and his first live WSOP bracelet. Kolev beat a field full of bracelet winners as he outmaneuvered the 7,961 entrants over five days to claim the bulk of the $10,627,935 prize pool. It was not without adversity as in the final two tables Kolev lost a huge flip with ace-king against Raul Martinez's pocket sevens to go down to a single 25,000 chip with the big blind at 500,000. He managed to win with that chip to go back into contention before coolering Linus Ritcher with pocket eights vs Ritcher's pocket jacks.
Kolev was cheered on by a big rail, all of who were donning upside-down KFC buckets as hats in honor of a popular American music artist.
Event #37: $1,500 Millionaire Maker Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Yuliyan Kolev | Bulgaria | $1,125,141 |
| 2nd | Oren Rosen | Israel | $695,390 |
| 3rd | Tyler Gaston | United States | $522,705 |
| 4th | Yita Choong | Australia | $395,545 |
| 5th | Dominic Brazier | United States | $301,346 |
| 6th | Stanley Weng | United States | $231,145 |
| 7th | Alen Tenorio | Brazil | $178,515 |
| 8th | Bastien Joly | France | $138,821 |
| 9th | Nick Marchington | United Kingdom | $108,704 |
| 10th | Raul Martinez | Spain | $85,718 |
Many notables were in the field with Robert Mizrachi chasing his fifth bracelet. However Mizrachi was eliminated near the end of Day 3 in 27th place. Another bracelet winner, James Calderaro, was also eliminated near the end of Day 3 in 26th Place.
Kolev came into Day 5 second in chips with 49 big blinds and managed to secure the win with fairly smooth sailing as the Bulgarian was never all in and at risk.
Winner's Reaction
PokerNews asked about his win coming from a chip and a chair after losing the big pot against Martinez and Kolev said
"It was quite funny because I knew I'm not out of the tournament but I can't do anything with that stack (less than one big blind). I was thinking, let's observe what's going on at the other table so I folded two hands before the big blind hit me. Then I went all in from under the gun and won and then won the hand in the big blind then everything started from there."
When asked about winning his second WSOP bracelet and first live bracelet Kolev said.
"The feeling is much stronger because all of your friends are here. The pressure is much more."
When asked whether the strong rail presence helped his performance, Kolev said, "It makes me feel really really calm. It's really important for my friends to be around me when I got really far (in the tournament)."
Kolev also said he'll be playing more of the 2022 WSOP looking for a third bracelet.
Recap of the Day's Action
The day started with Tyler Gaston putting the pressure on the rest of the table, but the first elimination could be credited to Kolev when Dominic Brazier shoved with queen-seven offsuit preflop for less than 10 big blinds into Kolev who called with jack-eight and hit two pair on the river, eliminating the American in fifth place for over $300,000.
His next victim was Yita Choong who called for his tournament’s life with his pocket sevens and faced queen-four offsuit for Kolev. The Bulgarian player hit a queen on the turn and Choong was out in fourth place for nearly $400,000.
Gaston, the chip leader at the beginning of the day, was knocked out next. He held jack-ten and called in the big blind a raise from Oren Rosen who held queen-ten of clubs. All the chips went in the middle on a jack-high flop with two clubs. Gaston was ahead but a queen hit the river, giving a better pair to Rosen while the last American was sent packing in third place for $522,705.
The heads-up battle was a short affair and it was the pocket rockets that secured the win as Kolev three-bet with his aces and Rosen called with queen-jack offsuit. The flop came queen-high and the money got in the middle on the turn as Kolev's aces held for him to win his second bracelet.
Congratulations to Yuliyan Kolev for winning the 2022 WSOP Event #37: $1,500 Millionaire Maker!
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team all summer long for coverage of your favorite tournaments at the 2022 World Series of Poker.
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In this Series
- 1 Can't Stop Kopp: Katie Kopp Wins First Bracelet of the 2022 WSOP
- 2 David Peters Wins 2022 WSOP Event #2: $100K High Roller Bounty for 4th Gold Bracelet
- 3 Scott Seiver Wins 4th Bracelet in 2022 WSOP Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout NLH ($320,059)
- 4 For a Higher Cause: Brad Ruben Wins 4th Bracelet in 2022 WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Dealer's Choice
- 5 Dan Smith Captures 1st Bracelet; Wins 2022 WSOP Event #6: $25K Heads-Up Championship
- 6 Norbert Szecsi Captures The Third Bracelet of his Career at the 2022 WSOP
- 7 Manig ''Ohio77'' Loeser Wins Second Online Bracelet in as Many Years
- 8 Amnon Filippi Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #7: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better ($252,718)
- 9 Chad Eveslage Wins 2022 WSOP Event #8: $25,000 High Roller ($1,415,610)
- 10 Alex Livingston Wins 2022 WSOP Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud ($103,282)
- 11 Henry Acain Wins 2022 WSOP Event #5: $500 The Housewarming ($701,215)
- 12 Raj Vohra Wins His First Bracelet at the 2022 WSOP; Takes Down the $600 Deepstack
- 13 Ben Diebold Wins 2022 WSOP $10,000 Dealer's Choice 6-Handed Championship ($299,488)
- 14 Jake Schindler Wins First Bracelet and $1,328,068 in Event #12: $50,000 High Roller
- 15 First Time's the Charm: Michael Moncek Wins Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em
- 16 Frenchman Leo Soma Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #14: $1,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em ($456,889)
- 17 Dominick Sarle Wins 2022 WSOP Event #17: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball ($164,243)
- 18 Bryan Schultz Wins 2022 WSOP Event #18: $1,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em ($330,057)
- 19 Stefan Lehner Wins First Bracelet in Event #16: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($558,616)
- 20 Denis Nesterenko Wins Event #20: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw ($108,250)
- 21 Tong Li Wins $1,467,739 and First Bracelet in Event #19: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
- 22 Adam Friedman Wins Fifth WSOP Gold Bracelet in Event #22: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship
- 23 Brian Altman Captures His Maiden WSOP Bracelet in the Online $400 Ultra Deepstack
- 24 Christopher Chatman Flips to Win First WSOP Bracelet in Event #24: $1,000 Flip & Go
- 25 Rob Wazwaz Ships Event #25: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstacks For $358,346
- 26 Mike Jukich Wins the $1,500 Monster Stack at the 2022 WSOP For $966,577
- 27 K9 & Canine Lucky for Jonathan Cohen in Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship ($245,678)
- 28 Michael Simhai Hits the Mark in 2022 WSOP Event #27: Shootout NLH ($240,480)
- 29 Robert Cowen Wins Bracelets in Back-to-Back Years; Binks $50K PLO High Roller for $1.4M
- 30 Maxx Coleman Wins Elusive First Bracelet in the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 31 15 Years in the Making: Daniel Weinman Nabs 1st Bracelet in Event #30: $1,000 PLO
- 32 Nino Ullmann Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in the $3K NLHE 6-Max Event
- 33 Brian Hastings Captures Sixth Bracelet in Event #31: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship
- 34 Musician Steve Albini Wins (And Breaks!) Second Bracelet in 2022 WSOP $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
- 35 Lok Chan Wins 2022 WSOP Event #35: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet on First Trip to WSOP ($144,338)
- 36 Ali Eslami Takes Down Event #36: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $135,260 and Maiden WSOP Bracelet
- 37 Justin Pechie Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in the $1,500 Freezeout
- 38 Pedro Bromfman Is Triumphant in Event #38: $10,000 2-7 Single Draw Championship
- 39 Ramsey Stovall Wins First Bracelet In 2022 WSOP $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty ($191,223)
- 40 Matt "PmpknHead" Szymaszek Wins WSOP Online Bracelet Event #4: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max
- 41 Aleksejs Ponakovs Defeats Phil Ivey to Win Event #42: $100,000 High Roller for $1,897,363
- 42 Zack Wins Second Bracelet of the 2022 WSOP; $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship ($324,174)
- 43 David Perry Defeats Chris Moorman in the 2022 WSOP $500 Freezeout ($241,729)
- 44 Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! KFC Fan Kolev Wins 2022 WSOP Millionaire Maker ($1,125,141)
- 45 Phil Hui Mounts Comeback to Win Third Bracelet In $1,500 PLO at the 2022 WSOP
- 46 Andrew Yeh Rides to Victory in Event #44: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship ($487,129)
- 47 Frenchman Jonathan Pastore Wins 2022 WSOP Event #46: $5,000 6-Handed NLHE ($771,765)
- 48 First Bracelet for Cyprus; Menikos Panagiotou Wins 2022 WSOP Event #48: $1,500 Eight Game Mix
- 49 Alex Foxen Goes Wire-to-Wire in $250K Super High Roller on Way to Maiden Bracelet ($4,563,700)
- 50 Simeon Spasov Completes Come-From-Behind Win in Event #49: $2,000 NLH ($527,944)
- 51 Joao Simao Takes Down Second Bracelet For $686,242 In $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha
- 52 WSOP Rookie Kijoon Park Wins Event #52: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed ($219,799)
- 53 William "swaggyb" Corvino Captures First Bracelet in the $600 Online Deepstack Championship
- 54 Eric Smidinger Full of Emotion After Winning 2022 WSOP Seniors Event ($694,909)
- 55 James Todd Wins 2022 WSOP Event #54: $500 Salute to Warriors ($161,256); $74,809 Raised for USO
- 56 Written in the Stars: Paul Hizer Outlasts the Field in the 2022 WSOP Colossus ($414,490)
- 57 Martin "115FTW" Stoyanov Wins The $500 WSOP Bracelet Turbo Deepstack
- 58 Patrick Leonard & Espen Jørstad Win 2022 WSOP Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team ($148,067)
- 59 Lawrence Brandt Wins $1,500 PLO8 After Gruelling Final Day ($289,610)
- 60 Shota Nakanishi Wins His First Bracelet in Event #60: $10,000 Short Deck ($277,212)
- 61 Tamas Lendvai Wins Event #57: $600 Deep Stack Championship No-Limit Hold'em ($299,464)
- 62 Do It for Dari: Dash Dudley Wins 3rd WSOP Gold Bracelet for Daughter After Coming Back from 3BB Short Stack
- 63 Dan Cates Makes History; Wins Back-to-Back $50,000 Poker Players Championship ($1,449,103)
- 64 Come Back Kid: Massoud “CBK” Eskandari Wins First Bracelet in Super Seniors for $330,609
- 65 Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $10K PLO-8 Championship ($611,362)
- 66 Konstantin Angelov Wins 2022 WSOP Event #64: $600 PLO Deepstack ($199,466)
- 67 Nacho Barbero Takes 2022 WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty Bracelet Back to Argentina
- 68 Austria's Jessica Teusl Wins 2022 WSOP Ladies Championship ($166,975)
- 69 Young Sik Comes From Behind To Win The Mini Main Event For $594,189
- 70 Sean Troha Completes Comeback and Wins the $10K PLO Championship ($1,246,770)
- 71 Quincy Borland Crowned Champion of Event #68: $1,000 Million Dollar Bounty ($750,120)
- 72 Bradley Anderson Wins 2022 WSOP Event #72: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo ($195,565)
- 73 Daniel Strelitz Wins His Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #73: $1,500 Razz
- 74 Harry "timexCNT" Lodge Wins His First Bracelet in the $7,777 Lucky 7's Online High Roller ($396,666)
- 75 Pei Li Crowned Champion in Event #74: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha ($190,219)
- 76 Yevgeniy "Kazak132" Minakrin Wins Online Event #9: $1,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship ($238,315)
- 77 Former Professional StarCraft Player Jinho Hong Wins Poker Hall of Fame Bounty
- 78 Julien Perouse Captures Bracelet In Online $3,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller 8-Max ($324,767)
- 79 Mike Allis Potentially Going Out on a High After Winning the One Drop ($535,610)
- 80 Canada's Sebastien Aube Takes Down Event #78: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em ($499,636)
- 81 Gregory [Removed:372] Wins 2022 WSOP Event #75: $777 Lucky Sevens ($777,777)
- 82 Romans Voitovs Wins 2022 WSOP Event #80: $600 Mixed NLH/PLO ($158,609)
- 83 Julien Martini Wins His Fourth Bracelet In Razz Championship for $328,604
- 84 Mo Arani Wins Event #81: $5,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em ($665,459)
- 85 Richard Alsup Wins Event #82: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack ($272,065)
- 86 João Vieira Outlasts Lander Lijo to Win Second WSOP Bracelet ($1,384,415)
- 87 Espen Jorstad Wins 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000
- 88 Michael Wang Stages a Heads-Up Comeback to Win His Second Bracelet
- 89 Lawrence Brandt Wins Second Bracelet of 2022 in $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. ($205,139)
- 90 Gianluca "InMyHouse" Speranza Claims Maiden Golden Bracelet
- 91 Jaspal Brar Tops Field In Event #88: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em For First Gold Bracelet ($190,731)
- 92 Minh Nguyen Saves Bad Summer w/ Victory in 2022 WSOP $1,500 The Closer ($536,280)
- 93 Gregory Jensen Wins 2022 WSOP Event 86: $10,000 6-Handed Championship ($824,649)
- 94 Benjamin Kaupp Wins Tournament of Champions to Close Out 2022 WSOP ($250,000)
