Scott Blumstein wins 2017 WSOP Main Event

After the event, Blumstein was the picture of humility. One of his first remarks in the post-tournament press conference was to thank his parents for their support, as well as friends who helped him improve his skill set and prepare for the final table. And when asked if he'd now start playing high roller events, he shrugged and said most likely not. "I don’t have an ego in this game," he added "I know where I stand. I know two weeks ago I was just a New Jersey online grinderand nothing’s really changed [...] This is just one poker tournament. It takes variance and luck and playing your best. And all those things came together."

This was Blumstein's first time ever playing the Main Event, and it was a memorable performance. He jumped into the chip lead on Day 7, and led the final table almost wire to wire. "I feel pretty fortunate throughout the whole tournament to have a big stack. That’s what the Main Event allows you to do […] I definitely think having a big stack allows you put pressure on and increases your chances of winning."

Daniel Ott, also playing in his first Main Event, finished runner up for $4,700,000. Ott, a 25-year old from Altoona, Pennsylvania, followed a much different path at the final table than Blumstein. Ott was in the middle of the pack when the final table started Thursday night, and he was much closer to the bottom than the top of the leaderboard. But he made a strong push during Friday's session, entered the last night second in chips, and made a valiant effort to catch Blumstein. But once they were heads up, Blumstein pulled away, and secured his victory at 12:10 a.m.

When the 2017 Main Event began, there were 7,221 entries, making this the third-largest Main Event in the history of the World Series of Poker and the biggest field since 2010. The tournament got underway on July 8. After seven days of poker over ten calendar days, only nine players remained, the official final table. Blumstein was already ahead of the field. Here’s how the players stacked up as the final table began:

1 - Scott Blumstein – 97,250,000
2 - John Hesp – 85,700,000
3 - Benjamin Pollak – 35,175,000
4 - Bryan Piccioli – 33,800,000
5 - Daniel Ott – 26,475,000
6 - Damian Salas – 22,175,000
7 - Antoine Saout – 21,750,000
8 - Jack Sinclair – 20,200,000
9 - Ben Lamb – 18,050,000