Brad Owen is All-In Against Phil Ivey at WPT World Championship Meet-Up Game

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Senior Editor & Live Events Executive
4 min read
Phil Ivey x Brad Owen

December's World Poker Tour World Championships capped off the end of an exhilarating poker year for the WPT. Their Prime tour was a huge success around the globe, and the WPTWC was also one of the most anticipated events of 2023. While the $40 million guarantee for the Main Event had a small overlay, the WPT received plaudits from all corners of the poker community for being so ambitious.

Prior to Dan Sepiol taking down the WPT World Championship for $5.3 million, WPT hosted a mega meet-up game at Wynn, Las Vegas with some of the biggest names in poker taking on members of the public. And earlier this week, popular vlogger and WPT ambassador Brad Owen shared a glimpse of what happened at the MUG in his latest vlog, where he found himself battling the likes of Phil Ivey.

Bradley Dollars Up for Grabs

Owen kicks off his $1/$3 cash session with a stack of $100 and finds himself all-in soon after sitting down.

After raising with pocket queens to $15 and getting three callers to the 753 flop, the vlogger ripped in his remaining $85 and picked up one caller. Owen tabled his overpair before the board completed with the A4. Amazingly, his opponent tabled the Doyle 102 for a backdoor wheel to the amazement of the table.

Another hundred Bradley dollars were put on the table, and Owen quickly found himself at risk for his stack once again. The cutoff opened to $15 before Owen jammed with AQ. The big blind put in the call as did the cutoff.

Action checked through to showdown with the final board of 73J72 on display, leaving Owen with ace-high. The cutoff had the winner with pocket sixes, besting the big blinds fives.

Finding himself 0/2 on runouts, Owen moved all in blind for $93 and was involved in another three-way all-in. Owen tabled his K10 and was up against fours and Kx9x. This time, Lady Luck smiled down on Owen as he clawed close back even after the A53103 runout.

Flopping Top Set Against Gus Hansen

Gus Hansen
Gus Hansen

Owen was then moved to the same table as three-time WPT winner Gus Hansen and flopped a monster against the poker icon.

Following an under-the-gun limp, Owen picked up pocket queens again and raised to $15. There were five callers, with Hansen being one of them. With $93 in the middle on the Q98 flop, Owen continued for another $65.

"Now you're lying," commented Gus before he and the rest of the table folded. Owen tabled his top set to show he had the goods and went into the green for the first time during the session.

However, any profit quickly evaporated after Owen got into a flip with fives versus ace-king. Big slick ended up making a full house, giving Owen's opponent the win in the $320 pot.

Playing with Your Favorite Poker Player

Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey

Another table change later, and Owen found himself opposite his favorite ever poker player in Ivey. It didn't take long for the two to tangle as Owen three-bet shoved for $180 with A8 and was called by Ivey's pocket threes.

Owen found no help as the board ran out with the K2104J, and Ivey gladly took in the pot.

After around five hours of play, Owen ended his session with a nominal $300 loss, but of course, the MUG wasn't about winning or losing but about the spirit of the game and giving fans a couple of good stories.

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Senior Editor & Live Events Executive

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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