Dan Smith Wins $25k WSOP Heads-Up Championship for $590,717

Dan Smith can finally be removed from the list of best poker players to not win a bracelet after he was victorious at 2022 WSOP $25,000 Heads-Up Championship. Smith defeated Jake Daniels, Laszlo Bujtas, Alex Foxen, and Jonathan Jaffe on his way to entering the semifinals today.
 
Smith faced off against Dario Sammartino, and once he defeated the Italian who registered his second consecutive third-place finish, Smith would square off with German Christoph Vogelsang in the finals. After a back-and-forth match that would see both players looking to break through for their first WSOP bracelet, it would be New Jersey-born and Las Vegas-resident Smith defeating Vogelsang in the finals to be finally crowned and WSOP bracelet winner.

“I’m not typically a very sentimental person,” Smith said after defeating Vogelsang. “I remember before the One Drop final table, everyone was like, ‘how important is it for you to be playing for this bracelet?’ and I was, ‘I’m focused on the $10 million today.’ Today it really is, and was about the bracelet.”
 
After defeating Daniels and Bujtas on Day 1 of Event #6, Smith faced off with fellow high roller regular Foxen on the money bubble, and after taking down Foxen, Smith would match up against Jaffe in the quarterfinals. Another victory went Smith’s way to see him advance to the semifinals on Sunday, June 5, which would be streamed on PokerGO.com. Smith would be matched up with Sammartino who finished in third-place just a few days earlier in Event #2: $100,000 High Roller Bounty. Smith had the early advantage against Sammartino, and although the Italian managed a few doubles, he would inevitably fall when his ace-six was outdrawn by the ace-four of Smith.

As Smith advanced to the finals, he would be sitting across from Vogelsang whose biggest win was at the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl for $6 million. Once the match was underway, Vogelsang grabbed the early advantage as he surged out to a two-to-one lead where it stayed for over an hour of play before Smith took his first major lead in the match when he made two pair. Vogelsang doubled back into the lead after picking off Smith with a flush and applied continued pressure until it was Smith’s turn to double when his pocket sixes held against Vogelsang’s ace-five. Shortly after, Smith would push with ace-four and Vogelsang called all-in with a superior ace. But when a four landed on the flop and no additional help arrived for Vogelsang, he was eliminated in second place, and Smith was the newest WSOP bracelet winner.

WSOP 2022 Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up Championship Results