- WSOP live tournament action over the weekend.
Event #26: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em
A first time bracelet was awarded as Andrew Rennhack won through the 1,504 entries in Event #26 to take the title in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event.
Michael Katz picked up second place and over $250k as the tournament ended with a race—K-T of spades all in against Rennhack’s 6-6.
Rennhack took over $400k home to Seattle—and the satisfaction of having done it after entering the heads up phase with a 5 to 2 chip disadvantage.
Event #27: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
{il:news/hang-bracelet.jpg::medium-right}And another first time bracelet went to Tommy Hang, who managed to show down the best hand at all the critical moments of the final table.
Joe Villella looked like he had the momentum as play got going on the final table: He put an end to David “ODB” Baker’s chances of a second bracelet, and three kings enabled him to bust Chris George. But Jim Collopy returned the compliment—and busted Villella in the next round.
Collopy went on to get heads up for the bracelet with Hang, but Hang’s chip lead couldn’t be broached. A short session ended when Hang rivered a gutshot straight to beat Collopy’s pocket kings. $230k went to Hang, $142k to Collopy.
Event #28: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em
{il:news/bilokur-bracelet.jpg::medium-right}The theme continued for the next event, as Alex Bilokur won his first bracelet.
Bilokur won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) High Roller in 2012 for $1.1m, so his $398k pay day in the $10k Pot Limit Hold’em event was far from his biggest. But the first bracelet is always special.
Barney Boatman, Chino Rheem and Todd Brunson were all at the final table. Dan Shak and Eric Seidel got close, finishing in 10th and 11th place, while John Juanda was not far behind in 15th.
If fighting through a field of that quality wasn’t enough of an achievement, Bilokur entered the heads up phase with a nine-to-one chip deficit. It took over a hundred hands and around three hours to turn it all around and claim the bracelet in a remarkable display of tournament heads up play.
Event #29: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em
{il:news/milan-bracelet.jpg::medium-right} Four in a row for the weekend, as Pierre Milan won his first bracelet, beating Justin Oliver—who was hoping to break the streak by winning his second.
Justin Oliver enjoyed a final table rush that unfortunately collapsed when the match got to heads up. He had bust Sam Cohen, Jamie Armstrong and Thad McNulty on the way, and was even in chips when it got down the last two.
Oliver must have been shattered when the tournament was over just three hands later after a huge pot on hand two with both players flopping a pair of kings—but Milan had paired his kicker, and Oliver’s chip stack virtually disappeared.
Milan also took the biggest pay day of the weekend, winning over $536k. The French player’s total live tournament earnings prior to this event were slightly above $100k, resulting in enthusiastic celebrations when the final hand was dealt.
“I can’t expect a better match,” said Milan after his victory.
“I wasn’t intimidated by any of the players, we’re all the same—the cards decide who wins. It’s amazing to win a bracelet—it’s indescribable.”
Event #30: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or Better
{il:news/anderson-bracelet.jpg::medium-right}Event #30 made it five in a row for first time bracelet winners: Calvin “Cal42688” Anderson, an internet poker refugee now playing from Mexico, picked up the victory.
Anderson has over $5m in online tournament cashes, but is no stranger to the WSOP: He has already managed an 8th place finish in this year’s Event #22 $10k H.O.R.S.E.
Ted Forrest bubbled the final table to go out in ninth, shortly followed by Jimmy “Gobbooy” Fricke in seventh.
The heads up battle turned out to be between Anderson and Joe Tehan, a professional player with 36 WSOP cashes, but no bracelet to his name.
The heads up match lasted less than an hour before the new champion was crowned. Tehan’s disappointment at coming so close could not offset Anderson’s joy at being the one to make the dream achievement.
Events still running
Event #31: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em
Today’s play will see the bracelet awarded for Event #31 as only 15 players remain of the 1,631 starters. The prize pool has swollen to over $2.2m; first place will pay over $400k.
Matt Stout leads the way as the only player with over a million chips. Russian player Aleksandr Gofman is currently in second with 951k chips.
Event #32: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed
The $10k buy in six handed Hold’em event has a slightly higher prize pool than event #31 at $2.4m, but the six max structure means that the winner will receive over $670k.
Main Event winner Joe Cada, November Niner Jeremy Ausmus, JC Tran, Layne Flack and Eric Lindgren are all still in the hunt as the field is down to 13 from the original 264 entries.
British player Max Silver has the chiplead going into the final day, followed closely by Hiren Patel.
Event #33: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
The Sunday $1k event drew a few more entries than the $1.5k No Limit Hold’em event that started the day before—1,688 versus 1,631.
Erica Lindgren sits in around 50th place of the remaining 119 players, which gives the family an extra shot at a bracelet should husband Eric fail to get there in Event #32.
Several big names remain in the field, including Eric Seidel and David Williams, runner up to Greg Raymer in the 2004 WSOP Main Event.
Event #34: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
Daniel Negreanu, Bryn Kenney, Brian Hastings, Marcel Luske, Phil Laak and Robert Mizrachi all have top twenty chip stacks with 60 remaining in the event.
Negreanu still needs to fight his way to a bracelet to win the prop bet that either he or Phil Ivey will win a bracelet this year. Daniel has got closest with a second place finish in Event #13. Ivey’s best finish so far has been 22nd place in Event #12.
