2024 WSOP: Michael Rocco Finally Breaks Bracelet Curse in Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship ($924,922)

Michael Rocco (cover image), the poker pro known for his razor-sharp wit and impressive tournament resume, finally broke his bracelet curse at the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP). He took down Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship, beating out a stacked field of 502 entrants and claiming a whopping $924,922 prize. After nine previous final table appearances, Rocco proved he’s not just a funny guy with a knack for deep runs; he’s a champion!

Rocco, who’s been a regular at the WSOP final tables, joked to Jeff Platt earlier this summer, “I always don’t close big spots, that’s just what I do,” after a third-place finish in Event #21: $25,000 No Limit Hold’em. But this time, he proved his doubters (and maybe even himself) wrong.

The final day started with 28 players but quickly dwindled down to three tables. Some familiar faces, like bracelet winner Daniel Smiljkovic and Pokerstars Team Pro Alejandro Lococo, fell by the wayside.

The final table itself was a rollercoaster, with defending champion Alexandre Reard initially dominating. Adrian Mateos briefly stole the spotlight with a well-timed straight, but Reard clawed his way back into contention with a rivered flush. In the end, it came down to a thrilling heads-up duel between Rocco and Reard, with Rocco emerging victorious.

Reard, last year’s champion in the same event who triumphed over a field of 550 players to claim his second bracelet, put on another stellar performance this year, coming agonizingly close to repeating his victory. Despite suffering heartbreaking setbacks at critical junctures, Reard pocketed a still-impressive $610,013 as the runner-up.

For Rocco, this win was a decade in the making. He had come close so many times, reaching ten final tables without securing the bracelet. This time, he left nothing to chance, dedicating himself to an intense 98-day study regimen, waking up at 4 AM daily to hone his skills.

“I woke up at four in the morning for ninety-eight days straight and studied for six hours every day,” he revealed. “I feel like it helped me at this tournament. I was quite short most of the time. I think I would have played a few hands differently had I not studied. It ended up working out.” And work out it did, as Rocco expertly navigated the tournament, often short-stacked, with newfound confidence and a strategic edge.

This win was a cathartic moment for Rocco, who admitted that the absence of a WSOP bracelet had been weighing on him. He has even planned to transition into a career in agriculture, making this victory even more meaningful. “Yeah, I mean, I’m sure I’ll play here and there. But I’m really not sure how the time looks,” he said about his future in poker, suggesting that this might be the end of his high-volume tournament days.

But before he trades in his poker chips for crops, Rocco has one more goal in sight: the WSOP Player of the Year title. With his recent success, he’s in hot pursuit of the current leader, seven-time bracelet winner Scott Seiver. “I would love to win the player of the year,” he declared. “I’ll play whatever else they have. I guess I’ll have to final table one of those or win one of those.”

This incredible win wasn’t Rocco’s only success at the 2024 WSOP. He has cashed in ten previous events, demonstrating his versatility across different formats like Pot Limit Omaha, Limit Hold’em, High Roller, Stud Hi-Lo, and No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. He even made it to three final tables, including seventh place in Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship, third in Event #57: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, and eighth in Event #74: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.

This victory in the NLHE Championship pushed his total live tournament earnings to a staggering $6.120 Million, with a whopping $2.707 Million of that coming from his 2024 WSOP performance alone. Regardless of whether he continues to play high-volume tournaments, Rocco has already cemented his place in poker history as a true champion.

The $10,000 NLHE Championship was an absolute monster of a tournament, attracting a massive field of 418 entrants on Day 1 alone. Late registrations were open until the start of Day 2.

Day 1 saw several poker heavyweights hit the rail, including Cliff Josephy, David Coleman, Mike Matusow, and even India’s top-ranked player, two-time bracelet winner Santhosh Suvarna. By the end of the day, only 151 players remained standing, ready to take on the challenge of Day 2.

Day 2 brought even more excitement as 84 more players jumped in, bringing the total field to a whopping 502 entrants and pushing the prize pool to a stunning $4,668,600. With a minimum payout of $20,040 for the top 76 finishers, the stakes were higher than ever.

The chip lead bounced around like a hot potato, and the tension was thick as poker legends like “Poker Brat” Phil Hellmuth, Alex Foxen, Event #58 champion Daniel Negreanu, Event #47 and Event #92 finalist Justin Saliba, Bryn Kenney, Event #29 victor Phil Ivey, 2019 WSOP $25K PLO High Roller and Triton Poker SHRS Jeju 2024 Event #19 winner Stephen Chidwick, Jason Koon, and Shannon Shorr, and many others saw their dreams of WSOP glory dashed before the money bubble even burst.

Once the bubble burst, the action didn’t slow down. We saw some heavy hitters like Eric Baldwin (11th for $60,315), Joao Simao (29th for $31,716), Joseph Mckeehen (35th for $26,932), Wing Liu (40th for $23,484), Ryan Riess (48th for $20,541), Scott Ball (57th), Event #23 and WPT Alpha8 #2 champion Daniel Sepiol (58th), Julien Sitbon (64th) and Benjamin Yu (71st) – each for $20,040, and even Indo-American Anuj Agarwal (43rd for $21,042) cash out, but they all fell short of making it to Day 3.

The final day of play started with just 28 players remaining, and things heated up quickly. It only took a couple of hours for the field to be whittled down to the last three tables. Bracelet winner and online poker legend Daniel Smiljkovic (23rd for $38,326) and Pokerstars Team Pro Alejandro Lococo (19th for $38,326) were among the early casualties.

The pace slowed down a bit as the last three tables battled it out, but eventually, Connor Rash bubbled the final table, getting knocked out alongside Brad Albrinck when Alexandre Reard flopped a set of kings.

Unofficial Final Table Chip Counts

1. Alexandre Reard – 10,500,000
2. Egor Procop – 3,775,000
3. Adrian Mateos – 3,750,000
4. Aram Zobian – 3,700,000
5. Fahredin Mustafov – 3,700,000
6. Aleks Dimitrov – 3,055,000
7. Michael Rocco – 2,025,000

Bulgaria’s Fahredin Mustafov, who started the final day as chip leader and had already made a remarkable comeback from being down to just one big blind, saw his tournament hopes dashed in a painful flip. He still walked away with a respectable $104,465 for his seventh-place finish.

Final Table Recap

The final table kicked off with a dramatic showdown. Egor Procop got his all-in against Aleks Dimitrov’s . The flop of was a gut punch for Procop, giving Dimitrov a set of jacks. But the turn brought the , giving him a glimmer of hope with a straight draw. The whole table held their breath as the river card was revealed… but alas, it was the . Procop’s rollercoaster ride ended in sixth place.

The action didn’t slow down one bit. Event #39 finalist Adrian Mateos was the next to fall, his no match for Alexandre Reard’s . The board paired Reard’s ace, sending Mateos packing in fifth place and solidifying Reard’s dominance at the table.

The rapid-fire eliminations continued, and Aram Zobian was next on the chopping block, his running into Reard’s . The board delivered a set of tens for Reard, ending Zobian’s run in fourth place.

The three-handed battle between Reard, Aleks Dimitrov, and Michael Rocco raged on until the final moments of the scheduled day. In a climactic hand, Aleks Dimitrov, holding , shoved all in, only to be called by Reard, who had . The flop gave Dimitrov two pair, but the turn got Reard ahead with a better two pair. The river card failed to save Dimitrov, giving Reard a commanding lead going into the heads-up showdown.

After a brief break, the heads-up battle began between Alexandre Reard and Michael Rocco, the former holding a 3:1 chip advantage. But Rocco wasn’t fazed. In a matter of minutes, he doubled up with against Reard’s after flopping a set on the runout to seize the chip lead.

The final hand was a heart-stopper. Reard, holding , min-raised the button, and Rocco called from the big blind with . The flop was juicy: , connecting with both players. But Reard was in the lead with queens and fives. Rocco checked the turn , and Reard fired a bet of 900,000. Rocco moved all in, and Reard, who had just over 8 Million remaining in his stack, snap-called.

The river brought the , completing Rocco’s full house and sealing Reard’s fate as the runner-up. The moment Rocco clinched the win, his friends erupted in celebration, jumping over the rail to embrace him in a scene of pure poker euphoria.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Michael Rocco – $924,922
2. Alexandre Reard – $610,013
3. Aleks Dimitrov – $410,657
4. Aram Zobian – $282,302
5. Adrian Mateos – $198,261
6. Egor Procop – $142,316

Content & Images Courtesy: World Series of Poker

Stay tuned to PokerGuru for all the latest updates as the 2024 WSOP unfolds!