2022 WSOP Player of the Week 5: Jessica Teusl Wins First Bracelet at First WSOP

Austria's Jessica Teusl won her first World Series of Poker bracelet earlier this week in Event #61: Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship to win $166,975 and to make her the latest PokerNews WSOP Player of the Week.

Here's a look at Teusl's performance so far at her first domestic WSOP, which has consisted of five cashes and two final table appearances for a total of $299,432 in earnings.

Stellar WSOP Debut

Teusl, who had her first tournament cash in 2017 and who now has $499,567 in Hendon Mob-reported earnings, began the series with a cash in Event #16: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em, ultimately finding a 165th-place finish worth $4,823.

“I was very deep in that and I had a really good stack," Teusl told PokerNews in an interview on Friday.

With her boyfriend, fellow Austrian Stefan Lehner, still alive in the event, Teusl decided to enter Event #21: $1,500 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold'em.

Both players built up stacks in their respective events and Lehner ended up winning his first bracelet and $558,616 in the $3,000 event. Teusl went on a run of her own, meanwhile, finishing 8th in the Monster Stack for $120,455 — more than four times her previous biggest score of $29,365 from a 2020 Casinos Austria Poker Tour event.

“It was amazing," said Teusl. "He was heads-up … and I was playing the Monster Stack! And that was my first deep run.”

But that was just the start for Teusl. Earlier this week, Teusl found herself at the final table of the Ladies Championship against the likes of Cherish Andrews, Christina Gollins and Linh Nguyen.

“I had some bad beats at the beginning and I was really short all the days," she said. "And also at the end I was really short, and it was a rollercoaster for me. When you’re on the final table and you have a little stack, then you realize, OK, you really have the chance for this bracelet.”

Teusl ran up her stack and eventually got heads-up against Julie Le with a big chip lead, which she used to take down the tournament for her maiden bracelet and a new career-best score of $166,975.

“I started my run and I had a good stack, and also the luck was on my side," said Teusl. "And I’m happy that I won a bracelet!”

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Making Day 2 of Her First Main Event

After winning her first bracelet, Teusl took a shot in poker's most prestigious tournament and played Day 1d of the $10,000 Main Event. Teusl battled through the day's field of 4,481 players and found a bag with a stack of 43,100, less than the starting stack of 60,000.

“It was my first Main Event and I was very excited for the tournament," Teusl said. “I lost (with) aces three times on the first day. Then I was down to 8,000 but made a comeback to 43,000. I was happy to survive the day.”

Teusl couldn't get much going when she returned for Day 2d and ended up busting halfway through Level 7. Lehner was still alive on Day 2 with a healthy stack of 161,000.

"It’s the best tournament of the year, it’s got the best structure … but to be honest, it’s a tournament like every other tournament," she said. "You need the luck, you need a run, you need the spots. And when they are not coming or not working, then you will bust the tournament.”

Teusl told PokerNews she isn't sure how many more events she will play this summer before returning to Europe. Regardless, Teusl's first trip to Las Vegas has been an impressive one that earned her a bracelet and $299,432.

Jessica Teusl's 2022 WSOP Results So Far

Honorable Mentions

Eli Elezra: Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra secured his fifth bracelet on July 2 in Event #63: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, defeating Chino Rheem to win the top prize of $611,362. Elezra, who has earned all five of his bracelets in mixed game events, dedicated the victory to his late father, Michel, who passed away earlier this summer.

David Jackson: David Jackson won his second bracelet and $598,173 earlier this week when he took down Event #65: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em to deny Phil Hellmuth his 17th bracelet. Jackson, who earlier in the series finished 11th in Event #51: $400 Colossus for $32,130, won his first bracelet less than a year ago in Event #25: $777 LUCKY SEVENS as part of the 2021 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events.