Three full days of intense play weren’t enough to crown a winner from a field of 189 entrants in the $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship. The final two players had to return for an unscheduled Day 4, featuring mixed game specialist Calvin Anderson versus the relatively unknown Ishibashi Dai. Anderson’s double chip lead and extensive experience ultimately prevailed, earning his fifth career WSOP bracelet and a $413,446 prize.
In this year’s series, Anderson was already on the brink of victory twice. Still, the bracelet eluded him, finishing third in the Omaha 8 Championship and second in the Big O Championship after losing heads-up to John Fauver.
It was a different story this time around. On Day 3, with 22 players left, Anderson started strong and entered the final table as a big chip leader. A lead he maintained throughout the finale, including the “overtime” against Ishibashi.
This victory marks Anderson’s third-biggest career cash, following his monumental win at the WPT Prime World Championship last December for $1,388,280. With this latest triumph, Anderson has now crossed the $6 million mark in live tournament winnings.
Calvin Anderson 5 WSOP Bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize |
| 2014 | $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better | $190,538 |
| 2018 | $10,000 Razz Championship | $309,20 |
| 2023 | $1,000 Online PLO 6-Max | $49,782 |
| 2023 | $5,300 Online NLH Super High Roller 6-Max | $141,400 |
| 2024 | $10,000 Eight Game Mix (6-Handed) | $413,446 |
For Ishibashi, finishing as the runner-up in the Eight Game Championship with a $271,351 prize is his best career result. His first recorded live tournament cash was at a PokerStars Live event in Manila less than a year ago, where he finished 51st for $178. His first-ever cash at the WSOP was also modest – $1,319 for a 2082nd place finish in the $1,000 Mystery Millions, but it opened the floodgates for more success.
Ishibashi had a deep run in the $2,500 Omaha 8 / Stud 8 mixed event, finishing 13th for $10,208, and secured a third-place finish at the Wynn Summer Classic $10,500 Progressive Bounty, earning career-best $83,664 plus bounties before his notable runner-up finish in this event.
Event #88: $10,000 Eight Game Mix (6-Handed) Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 |  Calvin Anderson | United States | $413,446 |
| 2 |  Ishibashi Dai | Japan | $271,351 |
| 3 | Ali Eslami | United States | $182,938 |
| 4 |  Mike Watson | Canada | $126,780 |
| 5 | Paul Gunness | United States | $90,389 |
| 6 | Tom Koral | United States | $66,353 |
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Event #88: $10,000 Eight Game Mix (6-Handed) Final Table Recap
Twenty-two players survived Day 2 of the $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship, an event that naturally drew a stellar field. At the start of Day 3, WSOP bracelet winners Adam Friedman, Tom Koral, and Gus Hansen led the pack, but not all managed to make it to the final table. Friedman was eliminated in 11th place by Ishibashi Dai, delaying his quest for a sixth WSOP bracelet. Hansen’s return to the WSOP scene concluded with an eighth-place finish, falling to Calvin Anderson in the Razz round.
Anderson began the final table with a significant chip advantage, holding 45 big bets compared to second-place Ishibashi’s 21 big bets. The other players each had 15 big bets or less. Anderson continued to build on his lead by eliminating Andres Korn in seventh place during the Pot-Limit Omaha round. Korn moved all-in with A♥K♦J♦2♥, and Anderson called with 9♣8♣6♣5♦. The flop of Q♣7♣10♦ gave both players draws, but Anderson paired a five on the turn, which held to knock Korn out.
Koral, the shortest stack at the final table, was the next to be eliminated. He put his last bet in the Limit Hold’em round, and Mike Watson and Ishibashi joined the pot. Both players checked down to the river, where Ishibashi hit a set of sevens. Koral’s ace-jack for top pair was no match, and he exited in sixth place.
It seemed that Ali Eslami might be the next shorty to go, but it was Paul Gunness who was slowly losing his chips paying for blinds and bring-ins. In the Seven Card Stud round, Gunness was all-in with (A♥Q♥)8♣5♠K♣7♥ against Anderson’s (J♥4♥)6♦9♣A♣3♦. Despite pairing his queen on seventh street, it wasn’t good enough as Anderson paired his ace to eliminate Gunness in fifth place.
Soon after, Watson found himself in trouble. In an Omaha 8 round, three players saw a flop of J♦7♥6♥. Watson put in his last bet with a pair of sevens and a draw, but Eslami and Ishibashi continued betting. Predictably, Eslami took the low and Ishibashi, the high, splitting the pot and sending Watson out in fourth place. “Sir Watts” recently won his first WSOP bracelet in the $1,000 NL Hold’em 6-Max Online Championship event, completing poker’s Triple Crown by winning a WSOP Bracelet, a WPT Championship, and two EPT titles – a feat only nine other players have achieved.
Ali Eslami, who had been short-stacked throughout the final table, managed to squeeze himself into a third-place finish. In his final hand, Anderson bet with showing J♠A♠3♣, and Eslami called three times with Q♥6♠4♦, putting himself at risk. Eslami was ahead with Q♠J♥ in the hole for a pair of queens, while Anderson had K♦J♣ for a pair of jacks. However, the seventh card improved Anderson to two pairs, knocking Eslami out.
The heads-up battle between Calvin Anderson and Ishibashi Dai was to decide whether Anderson would secure his fifth WSOP bracelet or Ishibashi his first. After fifteen minutes of play, the heads-up was paused and scheduled to continue the next day for an unofficial Day 4. Anderson ended the night with 7,545,000 in chips, while Ishibashi bagged 3,905,000.
After a good night’s sleep, the players returned at 2 pm local time to finish the deal. Ishibashi had a promising start, winning a couple of hands, but Anderson quickly took control and never looked back. His lead grew to over 4:1, and although it stayed at this for a few rounds, Ishibashi could never really gain momentum.
In the final hand of Pot-Limit Omaha, Ishibashi opened the pot and Anderson three-bet. Ishibashi bet pot on the 8♥5♠J♦ flop, and Anderson put him all-in. Neither player connected with the board as Ishibashi showed 9♠7♦4♦2♠, and Anderson tabled A♣K♦Q♠9♣, being ahead with ace-high. It was still very much a coin flip, however, the board paired twice with 8♣ and 5♦ on the turn and river, eliminating Ishibashi in second place. Calvin Anderson lifted his fifth career WSOP bracelet!
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* Images and hands courtesy of WSOP and PokerNews.
