25 June 2019 (Las Vegas) – Kevin Gerhart won his first World Series of Poker bracelet late Tuesday. Gerhart finished first in Event #54: $1,500 Razz, besting a field of 363 entries to earn $119,054.

This payout virtually doubled Gerhart’s career WSOP earnings. Gerhart has already seen success on the WSOP Circuit, earning his first Circuit ring last November.

Not only is this Gerhart's first bracelet, it's also his first razz tournament. "First bracelet, first final table, first fully razz tournament – I’ve played a bunch of HORSE tournaments," he said after the event. "I felt great the entire time. There were three other tough players at the final table and they got knocked out early, and I felt like it was my tournament to win or lose from that point. It feels amazing."

"My goal this summer was just to make a final table," he added. "And the first final table you make, you win a bracelet. That’s unreal."

To secure his first bracelet, Gerhart had to face Sergio Braga, of Brazil, heads-up. Gerhart, who had led for much of the final table, carried a substantial lead into the heads-up battle. The short-stacked Braga doubled up a couple times, but Gerhart kept wearing him down, and eventually collected the last of his opponent's chips. "I still can’t believe it’s over. I had him in three times, and he doubled up all three, and the fourth one … that was it."

Had Braga won, he would've been the third Brazilian bracelet winner of the 2019 WSOP.

Gerhart was a dominating force at the final table. He held the lead virtually the entire time, and he eliminated six of his seven final-table opponents.

The event started on Sunday, June 23 with 363 entries. At the end of Day 1, there were 127 players left. The top 55 made the money, and 15 made it to Day 3 on Tuesday.

Day 3 began at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, and they were down to the official final table of eight players after about three hours. The final table had an international flavor, emphasizing the “World” is “World Series of Poker.” There was a Brazilian, an Argentinian, an Australian, a Polish player, and a Senegalese player, in addition to three Americans.

The first bustout from the final table occurred about an hour later. It was Grzegorz Wyraz, dowsing the hopes of Polish poker fans. He earns $9,663 for his eighth-place finish. Australia was the next flag to fall. Robert Campbell was eliminated in seventh place, earning $12,837. Campbell won his first career bracelet less than two weeks ago, but fell just a little short of pulling off a double.

After Campbell busted out, the pace of eliminations slowed, although the pace of play did not. Large pots frequently moved back and forth, and on several occasions short-stacked players doubled up. The next elimination didn’t occur until about 10:15 p.m., when three-time bracelet winner Scott Clements (who also won an bracelet earlier this summer) was sent to the rail in sixth place ($17,440).

He was followed about 45 minutes later by Jean Said. This is Said’s first WSOP cash, and if he had won, he would have been the first Senegalese WSOP bracelet winner. Instead, he has to settle for fifth place ($24,216). Less than half an hour later, Andrew Korn was eliminated as well. Korn, from Argentina, came into the final day with the chip lead, and ended up in fourth place for $34,352.

About an hour later, Joseph Hoffman became the third-place finisher ($49,762), leaving Kevin Gerhart and Sergio Braga heads-up for the bracelet.

This is a preliminary article. A full recap will be posted later tonight.

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Here are the final table payouts: