Adam Friedman Defeats Todd Brunson for WSOP Gold

Day three of event 15 of the World Series of poker saw two big names looking to make history. Phil Hellmuth and Phily Ivey were both still alive when 19 players remained. Hellmuth would be looking to pick up his 12th gold bracelet, widening the gap between himself and Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan to two. Ivey would be looking for bracelet number 9, putting him just behind the three leaders, and netting him a fortune in bracelet bets.

For Hellmuth, the possibility of a 12th bracelet ended when eventual winner Adam Friedman made a six-five low on fifth street and an queen high flush on seventh to scoop the whole pot leaving Helmuth crippled. A few hands later Friedman eliminated Hellmuth with aces up.

"I thought this was the one," Hellmuth said to his wife as he headed to the cage to pick up his winnings.

Ivey made the final table, but busted in 7th place. John Monnette, who has already won a bracelet in a Stud event at the 2012 WSOP, also made the final table, taking 3rd place for $109,444. Todd Brunson finished as runner up despite coming into heads-up play with a 2:1 chiplead over Friedman.

For his victory, Friedman takes home $269,037 and his first piece of WSOP gold.