ATHANASIOS POLYCHRONOPOULOS SECURES SECOND WSOP GOLD BRACELET IN EVENT 17

Two years after capturing his first WSOP Bracelet,  Greek poker pro Athanasios Polychronopoulos struck gold once again late Monday night after winning Event 17, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em.

The 29-year-old former restauranteur defeated Manuel Mutke of Germany to claim his second WSOP title, worth $518,755. Both of Polychronopoulos' bracelets have come in $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Events and he now has in excess of $1.27 million in WSOP earnings.  He is the first player in WSOP history to win two large field events with buy-ins of $1,500 or less.

Mutke scored his first WSOP cash with his runner-up finish, earning $322,908.

This $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event drew 2,105 players and generated a prize pool of $2,841,750. The top 216 players earned a payday. Layne Flack (210th), bracelet winners Sean Getzwiller (206th) and Simon Charette (160th), Steve O’Dwyer (134th), Jake Cody (126th), Allyn Jaffrey Shulman (111th), Ari Engel (78th), Matt Jarvis (37th), Jake Balsiger (31st), three-time bracelet winner Matt Matros (27th), and Barry Greenstein (11th) were some of the notables who earned a payday.

The final table was yet again stacked with a line up of notable pros despite the large field in the event. It also featured two of the hottest players of the summer, both making repeat final table appearances. Joe Cada made his fourth career final table appearance and his second final table of the summer, while David “Bakes” Baker continued his hot streak by becoming the first player to make three final tables this summer. Baker posted an eighth place finish to go along with his fourth and sixth place showings.

The final table also included poker pro Joe Ward, who made a deep run in the 2010 WSOP Main Event (taking 28th) and Circuit regular Everett Carlton, who was looking for a gold bracelet to go with his gold Circuit ring. Carlton, a former high-stakes golfer turned poker pro made his highest cash to date, finishing in 3rd place for $224,455

Here are the final table results for the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Event 17:

1st: Athanasios Polychronopoulos - $518,755
2nd: Manuel Mutke - $322,908
3rd: Everett Carlton - $224,455
4th: Joe Cada - $161,652
5th: Samuel Taylor - $118,145
6th: Michael Kurth - $87,398
7th: Joseph Ward - $65,502
8th: David “Bakes” Baker - $49,716
9th: Thomas Nicotera - $38,178

An in-depth profile and interview is available on WSOP.com