At the start of the decade, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi was considered one of the best poker pros without a win at the World Series of Poker. After winning his fifth WSOP bracelet late last night, it’s safe to say he’s no longer in that category.
Mizrachi outlasted 460 players and beat a tough final table to win the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo tournament for $142,801.
No other player has been as successful in terms of winning bracelets from 2010 to 2019 as The Grinder. Not Daniel Negreanu, not Phil Ivey and not even Phil Hellmuth. Mizrachi has also racked up over $7 million in poker earnings over that span.
It all started in 2010 when he finally won his first WSOP bracelet in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1.5 million and then went on to finish fifth in that year’s Main Event for a hefty $2.3-million payout.
Incredibly, Michael is not the only one in the Mizrachi family with poker talent. His brother Robert Mizrachi has four WSOP victories. Combined, the family has taken down nine WSOP bracelets.
Mizrachi Eyes All-Time Leaderboard
By claiming his fifth WSOP bracelet, Michael Mizrachi has moved into elite territory.
There are only 26 players in the history of the WSOP who have managed to accumulate five or more WSOP bracelets.
Some of the other famous poker players with five WSOP bracelets include Scotty Nguyen, John Juanda and Jason Mercier. Deceased poker legends Stu Unger and Gary “Bones” Berland also had five WSOP bracelets.
It’s getting impossible to ignore Mizrachi in his hunt for more bracelets. He has five WSOP bracelets since 2010 while Phil Ivey has only won two, as has Daniel Negreanu.
Of course, Phil Hellmuth sits far ahead of the all-time pack with 15 gold bracelets. Hellmuth has earned four WSOP bracelets since 2010 so he’s close behind Mizrachi and could catch him this summer.
Perhaps the most impressive stat of Mizrachi’s 10-year heater is that he’s won the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship three times.
The Poker Players Championship is considered one of the most elite poker tournaments in the world thanks to the $50,000 buy-in and the fact it utilizes 10 different games throughout play. It’s definitely not just No-Limit Hold’em, which is by far the most popular poker game.
Here’s an updated look at the all-time WSOP bracelet leaderboard (note: there are 11 players tied with five WSOP bracelets:
| Bracelets | Player |
|---|---|
| 15 | Phil Hellmuth |
| 10 | Doyle Brunson |
| 10 | Johnny Chan |
| 10 | Phil Ivey |
| 9 | Johnny Moss |
| 8 | Erik Seidel |
| 7 | Billy Baxter |
| 7 | Men Nguyen |
| 6 | T.J. Cloutier |
| 6 | Chris Ferguson |
| 6 | Layne Flack |
| 6 | Ted Forrest |
| 6 | Jay Heimowitz |
| 6 | Jeff Lisandro |
| 6 | Daniel Negreanu |
| 5 | Michael Mizrachi |
Decade of the Grinder
Prior to 2010, Michael Mizrachi was still considered one of the best poker players in the world but the lack of a WSOP bracelet was glaring.
Mizrachi, who hails from Florida, burst onto the poker scene in 2005 when he made back-to-back final tables on the World Poker Tour. He finished fifth in the Tunica World Poker Open and then outright won the L.A. Poker Classic that year for $1.8 million.
The Floridian remained a monster on the WPT and added another title at Borgata in 2006 for a $1.1-million payday.
Mizrachi’s consistent style at the poker table eventually earned him the nickname “Grinder” as he always managed to grind out a result in poker tournaments.
Despite his impressive results on the WPT, a WSOP bracelet had always eluded him. The closest he got was a third-place finish in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament at the 2009 WSOP.
That all changed in 2010 when he powered his way to first place in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship by beating Russian Vladimir Schemelev heads-up. He would go on to win that same tournament a record two more times over the next 10 years.
That very same year Mizrachi made the WSOP Main Event final table where he finished fifth for a $2.3-million payout.
After last night’s win, Mizrachi is now up to five WSOP bracelets in addition to two WPT titles with a staggering $17.1 million in lifetime live tournament earnings.
