Event #6: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship

It was a grueling match to finish off the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship but in the end, Dan Smith captured his very first gold bracelet along with $509,717. Smith was emotional after his victory over Christoph Vogelsang who was forced to settle for second place and $315,029.

For many in the poker community, Smith has been known as 'the best player without a bracelet' but he will no longer have to walk around with that title after topping the capped-out 64-player field. The American poker pro has come close on numerous occasions at the WSOP including a second-place finish at the 2016 High Roller for One Drop where he cashed for over $3 million. Along with eight top-three finishes, Smith has accumulated over $10 million at the summer series in Las Vegas over his short career.

Smith admitted he was in shock after the match, considering it was a whirlwind of a day: "It was a tough match, a lot of hands were pretty crazy and it felt like everything was going against me. I'm not typically a sentimental person, but today is and was about the bracelet. I had to get lucky to get there but I'll take it."

"It was always something I was thinking about," Smith pointed out about not having a WSOP title before this victory. "But I wasn't overly stressed about it not happening yet."

Giving back to charity is something that is also very important to Smith and he has created the Double Up Drive as his way of giving back to those that are less fortunate. It is something that he holds very close to his heart but Smith was willing to expand on it after his match.

"I'm very proud of what I accomplished in poker and I think this is an important checkbox on my legacy as one of the all-timers. As wild as that is, I'm even more proud of what the whole poker community and I have come together to do with Double Up Drive. We have raised $25 million for good causes and while I love poker, thousands of people that would have died are now alive because of that. I am happy that poker has been my vessel to do this good but I am immensely proud and optimistic that it will continue to do well."

2022 WSOP Event #6 Final Table Results

The field was capped at 64 runners when it all started three days ago. A high-profile tournament on the WSOP schedule no doubt attracted many big names in the poker community including Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Erik Seidel, among others. However, just eight players were able to grab a piece of the prize pool and only four players made it to the final day.

Final Day Action

Smith started off his semifinal against Dario Sammartino while Vogelsang faced off against Kevin Rabichow. Both matches remained fairly even through the opening levels but both Smith and Vogelsang started to pull away after the first break. Vogelsang was the first to finish his match after turning a pair of queens against the pocket sevens of Rabichow. All of the chips went in the middle of the river and Vogelsang was fortunate enough to advance.

Smith found himself at risk against Sammartino at one point but woke up with the larger of the two pocket pairs and held for a double up. From there, Smith picked away at Sammartino's short stack, and eventually, the two both found an ace and got it all in. Smith trailed but managed to hit his kicker on the flop and Sammartino was eliminated.

The heads-up final between Smith and Vogelsang started off slow but it quickly gained momentum as the blinds grew. The two players traded the chip lead back and forth and it was Smith who found himself on the verge of being eliminated. However, a timely double-up with pocket sixes put Smith back in the lead. Just moments later, the two players both picked up an ace and got their chips in the middle preflop.

It was Smith who held ace-four, the same hand he eliminated Sammartino with earlier in the day. Vogelsang had the dominating ace-ten but a four on the flop put Smith just two cards away from victory. Vogelsang was unable to improve on the turn or the river which brought applause from the room inside Bally's Ballroom.

Despite things looking grim for Smith earlier on, he said it was a constant battle throughout the match. "Big buy-in, tough field, every match super tough. People love to give Christoph a hard time but he's a hell of a player. He's tanking because he's really considering every spot. I didn't steal a pot easily, every pot was a fight. This was one of the cooler ones to win."

Smith continued to elaborate that even though it took some time to finally win his first WSOP bracelet, he still considers his career a great success. "I've had great World Series results. Just because I happened to mostly get third place in WSOP events, if that's the way my career or life has been unlucky, that's incredibly fortunate. I think my results have been great without the 'W' but this helps."

Dan Smiths' Road to Vitory

That wraps up the coverage here for this event but the PokerNews live reporting team will be on-site to bring you plenty of more action in the coming days.

Christoph Vogelsang limped in on the button and Dan Smith raised to 450,000 in the big blind. Vogelsang three-bet shipped all in and Smith called off his stack of 2,740,000 chips.

Dan Smith:   
Christoph Vogelsang:   

Smith was in a great position to double up and the flop of     left him well out front. The turn was the   which changed nothing and the   secured the double up for Smith.

Dan Smith	5,500,000	2,800,000
Christoph Vogelsang	4,100,000	-2,800,000

Christoph Vogelsang called and Dan Smith checked from the big blind.

The     flop brought a bet of 100,000 from Vogelsang and Smith called.

The   put three diamonds on the board and, after a minute, Vogelsang continued for another 325,000. However, Smith took his time and then elected to raise the turn to 925,000. Vogelsang thought for another 60 seconds and then made the call.

With 2.25 million already in the middle, the   arrived on the river and after two minutes, Smith went all-in. Vogelsang snap-called and turned over    for a flush.

Smith looked rattled as he turned over the    to give the German a 3:1 chip lead.

Christoph Vogelsang	7,200,000	3,600,000
Dan Smith	2,400,000	-3,600,000

Christoph Vogelsang opened to 225,000 and Dan Smith three-bet to 725,000. Vogelsang relatively quickly called.

The flop came     and Smith continuation bet for 450,000. Vogelsang folded.

Dan Smith	5,500,000	100,000
Christoph Vogelsang	4,100,000	-100,000

Christoph Vogelsang raised to 180,000 on the button and Dan Smith called in the big blind. The flop fell     and both players checked to the   on the turn.

Smith led out with a bet of 200,000 on the turn and Vogelsang complied with a call. The river was the   and Smith put together a pot-sized bet of 760,000. Vogelsang flicked in a chip to call and Smith tabled    for two pair to take down the pot and move into the lead.

Dan Smith	5,400,000	1,200,000
Christoph Vogelsang	4,200,000	-1,200,000

Christoph Vogelsang raised to 180,000 on the button and Dan Smith defended from the big blind. The dealer spread the flop of     and Smith check-called a bet of 120,000 from Vogelsang.

The turn was the   and Smith quickly checked again. Vogelsang checked as well and the   hit the river. Smith checked for the third time which led to Vogelsang sliding out an overbet of 850,000. Smith pitched his cards to the muck and Vogelsang collected the pot.

Christoph Vogelsang	5,800,000	300,000
Dan Smith	3,800,000	-300,000

The two players are taking a quick 10-minute break.

Christoph Vogelsang	5,500,000	-100,000
Dan Smith	4,100,000	100,000

Dan Smith opened to 135,000 and after about a minute, Christoph Vogelsang elected to three-bet to 460,000. Smith called and they were off to a big flop.

The flop came     and following 90 seconds of deliberation, Vogelsang put out 300,000 chips. Smith called.

A   arrived of the turn and after two minutes in the tank, Vogelsang bet 875,000 and Smith let it go to give Vogelsang a 2:1 chip lead.

Christoph Vogelsang	6,400,000	800,000
Dan Smith	3,200,000	-800,000

Christoph Vogelsang bumped it up to 95,000 on the button and Dan Smith called out of the big blind. The flop came     and Smith checked to Vogelsang who continued for 65,000. Smith called and the   landed on the turn.

Smith checked again and Vogelsang reached back for a bet of 275,000 this time. Smith still called and the   completed the board. Two quick checks and Smith showed    for two pair to rake in the pot.

Christoph Vogelsang	5,600,000	0
Dan Smith	4,000,000	0