In the early hours on Saturday last week, Dan Cates won his first WSOP gold bracelet. The poker pro, who is also known as “Jungleman,” won Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship that was played at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jungleman Takes Home First WSOP Bracelet
The event wasn’t particularly crowded as it attracted 63 entries. However, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship gathered elite players and all of them competed for the grand prize and the bracelet. The entries accumulated a $3,016,125 prize pool and each of the top 10 players received a piece. Besides the WSOP bracelet, Cates collected a hefty $954,020 prize for taking first place. Additionally, as the winner of the tournament, the poker pro’s name will be engraved into the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy.
Since 2015, Cates has participated in three WSOP tournaments. Back then, while participating in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em he collected a $15,000 prize for ranking 775th. More recently, he ranked 6th at the $50,000 Poker Players Championship in 2019. That tournament brought him some $168,305. Counting the last win, by now, Jungleman has accumulated $1,137,325 from WSOP tournaments.
Top 5 Players from Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
| Rank | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Dan Cates | $954,020 |
| 2 | Ryan Leng | $589,628 |
| 3 | Paul Volpe | $404,243 |
| 4 | Eli Elezra | $286,983 |
| 5 | Chris Brewer | $211,235 |
Five players made it to the final table. Chris Brewer was the first participant to hit the rail by taking 5th place, followed by Eli Elezra that ranked 4th. Brewer’s prize was some $211,235, while Elezra took home $286,983. Although Elezra was planning on winning his fourth WSOP bracelet he was eliminated by Paul Volpe. Volpe was the player that took home a $404,243 prize for ranking 3rd.
Heads-up Play: Leng vs Cates
In the end, the heads-up battle was between Cates and Ryan Leng. Before that tournament, Leng has had 113 cashes. That number breaks down to 58 WSOP cashes and 55 Circuit cashes. According to WSOP, he has nearly $3 million in earnings. Moreover, Leng has previously won 3 WSOP bracelets and 4 rings. However, in Event #60, Jungleman gained the upper hand and won, leaving 2nd place to Leng who took home $589,628.
“I said I was gonna win, so I won.”
Dan “Jungleman” Cates
After the event, Cates said in an interview for the WSOP that he will now have “more money to help the world and to continue a career outside of poker.” He outlined that he will concentrate on charity, healthy living by going hiking and regular exercise but he will also play poker. The poker pro did not rule out participating in the WSOP Main Event as well.
Over Twitter, Cates thanked all of his fans and friends that helped him by donating “their mystic energy.” He said that this energy played a key role in helping him win.