DAVID MISCIKOWSKI BREAKS THROUGH WITH $5K NLHE VICTORY
Like a prize fighter in an epically long boxing match, David Miscikowski took his punches in a heads-up battle against Norbert Szecsi. And, like a prize fighter, after every hit to his stack, he fought back, eventually triumphing over his tough competition to win his first bracelet in the $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event as well as a hefty $719,707 payday.

The mano a mano battle between Miscikowski and Szecsi topped off a tough final table in one of the more stacked fields of the summer.  For the 28 year old Miscikowski, it is his first win at his first final table, but he has been posting consistent deep runs both live and online for several years.

Today, all that grinding paid off, and even the soft-spoken 28-year-old currently living in Costa Rica had to admit it was quite the personal accomplishment. "It feels great. This is one of the biggest sweats I've ever had," he said following his win.  "It feels nice to come through."

If you were to ask Miscikowski's friends about him, they tend to offer one of two descriptions. First, they talk about his poker talent. Then, they talk about his calm demeanor. A number of players on Miscikowski's rail described him as the calmest person they know. Even Miscikowski agrees. When asked what people should know about him, here is what he had to offer:

"I'm just always chillin."

These two character traits were on display in full force today. More than once, Miscikowski was down under 20 big blinds, facing a 4-1 chip deficit.  Even when he seemed down for the count though, calm was the perfect word to describe him. Each time, he calmly battled back, eventually triumphing over his competition to win one of the biggest first place paydays of the summer.

The runner-up, Szecsi, was looking to become the 19th repeat bracelet winner of 2014 as well as the first-ever multiple bracelet winner from the country of Hungary. Instead, his bracelet hopes will have to wait for another day,  but the tidy second place payout of $444,425 is not a shabby consolation prize.

The final table of this event was a decidedly international one with four different countries represented. It also boasted two bracelet winners in Szecsi and Manig Loeser (3rd). In addition to the two champs, there were also three other players with previous final table experience, Kevin MacPhee (6th), 2010 November Niner John Dolan (8th), and Blake Bohn (9th).  This final table also featured the seventh final table appearance by a woman this summer at the WSOP, Margareta Morris, who finished in fourth place.

The second $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event on this year’s schedule drew 696 players and produced a $3,271,200 prize pool. The top 72 finishers each earned a payday. Some of the notables who cashed include Taylor Paur (65th), Eric Froehlich (59th), Phil Hellmuth (35th), Hasan Habib (26th), Jason Koon (13th), and Josh Arieh (12th)

Here are the final table results from the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event:

1st: David Miscikowski - $719,707
2nd: Norbert Szecsi - $444,425
3rd: Manig Loeser - $288,912
4th: Margareta Morris - $212,202
5th: Oliver Price - $158,064
6th: Kevin MacPhee - $119,267
7th: Jean Gaspard - $91,037
8th: John Dolan - $70,265
9th: Blake Bohn - $54,792