The 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is down to the final few tables from the 7,221-entrant field, and one player who is no longer in contention for the $8,150,000 first-place prize is SnapShove Founder Max Silver.

The third-largest WSOP Main Event of history saw 85 players return on Day 6 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Germany’s Robin Hegele was the chip leader with 9,990,000 in chips, while Silver sat third overall with 8,665,000 in chips. Players were guaranteed $72,514, but eyes were on surviving the day and being part of the 27 players advancing to Day 7 where a $263,532 payout would be assured.

Silver had won his first WSOP bracelet just a few weeks earlier in Event #53: $3,000 Limit Hold’em 6-Handed, and he was in prime position to best his 33rd-place finish in the 2016 WSOP Main Event. His day began by doubling Gregory Goldberg to slip to 6,290,000 in chips, before he pushed back up the leaderboard in a pot against Michael Zelman.

In a hand with Michael Sklenicka, Silver took a big hit for almost half of his chip stack when his triple-barreled bluff was picked off by Sklenicka. Down to 4,250,000 in chips, he would then double Frenchman Alexandre Reard when all the money went in on the river of an ace-high board with Silver’s ace-queen suited bested by Reard’s ace-king.

Now with just 11 big blinds, the final blow happened a few hands later. Scott Blumstein opened in middle position and Scott Stewart called from the button. Silver moved all-in from the big blind with pocket sevens, and after Bumstein folded, Stewart called with pocket jacks. Unfortunately for the founder of SnapShove, the board bricked out, and Silver was eliminated in 45th place for $176,399 in prize money.

Over a remarkable 13-month stretch, Silver recorded 15 WSOP cashes, captured his first WSOP bracelet, placed 33rd out of 6,737 entries in the 2016 WSOP Main Event, and followed it up with a 45th-place finish out of 7,221 entries in the 2017 WSOP Main Event. Beyond the WSOP, he finished 4th in the EPT Malta €25k No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for €164,030 and won the €2,150 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo Six Max at the Monte Carlo PokerStars Championship for €43,000. A true breakout year for the founder of SnapShove.

The 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) crowned it’s newest champion as SnapShove Founder Max Silver won his first WSOP bracelet in Event #53: $3,000 Limit Hold’em 6-Handed.

Silver topped the 256-entrant field to capture the $172,645 first-place prize and prestigious WSOP gold bracelet. Silver has accomplished many big wins and large scores in his career, but winning his first WSOP bracelet is by far the most significant poker accomplishment in his short career.

Entering the final day of play on June 29, Silver held a commanding chip lead with over 25% of the chips in play. He eliminated David Olson in seventh when his ace-king improved to top pair to put the final six players at the official WSOP final table. Following the elimination of Georgios Kapalas in sixth, Silver eliminated Lena Wang in fifth when his ace-ten rivered a pair against Wang’s eight-five.

Danny Qutami was eliminated in fourth place, and Mickey Craft fell in third place, as Silver entered heads-up play with a better than three-to-one advantage over Guowei Zhang. On the 30th hand of heads-up play, Zhang was all-in on the turn with second pair, while Silver had two overcards holding king-ten. With six outs in the deck for Silver to taste victory, the dealer revealed a king on the river and Zhang was eliminated in second place.

2017 WSOP Event #53: $3,000 Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Final Table Results

According to an interview with PokerNews, Silver said, “I can’t really describe it. It’s always been a dream for me to win a bracelet.” Silver immediately called his pregnant wife to share the news of his first WSOP bracelet win. “She was so happy. She’s currently six months pregnant, so she was crying – extra emotions!”

Silver becomes the fifth Irish poker player to win a WSOP bracelet. He joins Donnacha O’Dea (1998), Noel Furlong (1999), Ciaran O’Leary (2007), and Marty Smyth (2008).

The founder of SnapShove wore a long-sleeve black shirt featuring the company logo throughout the tournament – including in his winner’s photo. While SnapShove is designed specifically for No-Limit Hold’em, the added brand exposure, paired with Silver’s credibility as a newly crowned WSOP bracelet winner, creates meaningful momentum for SnapShove as an industry leader in poker apps and training tools.

The 2016 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is onto Day 7 with 27 players remaining from the 6,737-entrant field. One player not among the final push towards the November Nine is SnapShove Founder Max Silver who was eliminated late on Day 6 in 33rd place for $216,211 in prize money.

This was Silver’s fifth-largest career score following his 2015 ARIA $25k No-Limit Hold’em High Roller win for $432,960, his 2014 WSOP $10k No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed third-place finish for $273,646, his 2016 EPT Monte Carlo €25k No-Limit Hold’em High Roller seventh-place finish for €202,050, and his 2013 EPT Prague €5k Main Event sixth-place finish for €160,200.

This was Silver’s tenth cash of the 2016 WSOP, taking his career WSOP tally to 22 – with three of those occurring in Cannes, France at WSOP Europe, in 2011 and 2012. Silver’s hopes for his tenth cash of the series were much grander than the $216,211 he earned as $8,005,310 was awaiting the player who would rise to the top and be crowned the 2016 WSOP Main Event champion.

Deep on Day 6, Silver found himself at the feature table and was dealt pocket nines. He raised under the gun to 380,000 (with blinds at 80,000/160,000). Daniel Colman was in the hijack and moved all-in for 2,965,000 with pocket tens. Action folded back to Silver, and he chatted back-and-forth with Colman before making the call. Silver flopped a gutshot, but was unable to improve and dropped down to 905,000 in chips.

Silver’s final hand came when he was all-in on an eight-high board with queen-eight against the king-jack suited of John Cynn. Cynn would hit runner-runner hearts to eliminate Colman in 33rd place for $216,211 in prize money.

Although his 33rd-place finish was not the ideal way for Silver’s 2016 WSOP to end, it was still a remarkable series. He cashed ten times for $355,858 in WSOP earnings and sees his career earnings to just shy of $3,000,000, according to The Hendon Mob.

Editor’s Note: The complete WSOP library is available on PokerGO.com and you can watch both of these hands in Episode 10 of the WSOP 2016 Main Event right here.