Hellmuth Denied on Doorstep Again

It was a story of oh so close, yet oh so far again for Phil Hellmuth at the 2011 WSOP as he fell one spot short of his 12th bracelet with another runner-up finish yesterday.

Also of note: Noted pro and rising female star Vanessa Selbst currently leads Event #35, the first-ever PL Omaha Six-Max Event.

Hellmuth Denied Again, This Time in Stud 8 Championship

The start of the final table in the $10,000 Stud 8 or Better Championship saw Eric Rodawig leading and Phil Hellmuth chasing his 12th bracelet.

Hellmuth started about the middle of the pack and quickly fell to one of the short stacks.

In true Hellmuthian style, he managed to play his short stack masterfully through the final table but he was unable to build on it.

As a result, he started heads-up play with Rodawig facing a nearly 6:1 chip deficit and, try as he might, Hellmuth just couldn't gain any real traction.

After being ground down to under 400k, he decided to go to war with a J-10-9 - about one of the worst starting hands in Stud 8.

Rodawig started with A-8-3 with and picked up two pair through sixth street.

Hellmuth picked up a gutshot draw on sixth street when he caught a seven, but the river brought him a kingand Hellmuth had to settle for his second 2nd-place finish in 10 days.

(He also finished second in Event 16, the $10k 2-7 Lowball Championship.)

Eric Rodawig wins the bracelet and $442,183.

Kirk Caldwell Wins Fast Paced $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Event

The final table of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem Event started with Ben White and Kirk Caldwell leading the field with 2.46 million each.

In just an hour's time, the final table was cut down to four players.

Eventually, it was White and Caldwell battling for the bracelet but now Caldwell held more than a 2:1 chip lead.

Just like the early levels of the final table, heads-up ended quickly.

The final hand saw Caldwell put White all-in with pocket eights and White decided to flip for his life with Ac-Qs.

The flop and turn missed both, but an eight on the river sealed the title for Calwell.

Kirk Caldwell wins $668,292 to go with his first career bracelet.

Vanessa Selbst Leads $5,000 Pot-Limit Six-Max Event

The $5,000 PL Omaha Six-Max Event was the first ever event of its kind at the WSOP.

This new event drew a field of 507 players including PLO experts Phil Galfond, Annette Obrestad, Tom Dwan and T.J. Cloutier.

By the end of the day, Vanessa Selbst was leading the field with 110 players left. She looks to win her second career bracelet and second in this game.

Erick Lindgren is currently in 2nd place and also looking for his 2nd career bracelet.

Latest $1k Event Down to 27

Day 2 of Sunday's $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event started with everyone already having cashed so their focus was the final table.

The field shrunk from 323 players to just 27 by the end of the day.

Mike Souza will be the current chip leader when players return on Tuesday to play to the bracelet.

For more coverage from the WSOP, check our WSOP blogs from PokerJunkie blogger compncards.