The 2024 World Series of Poker has completed a month of games at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with two-thirds of the coveted gold bracelets now claimed. Here are the latest winners which includes Frank Spitale at the Millionaire Maker, Dario Sammartino who broke the 12 year drought, and Elie Nakache at the 10K PLO Championship.

2024 WSOP Latest Winners

Franco Spitale Wins First Bracelet and Seven Figures at Millionaire Maker

Event #54 of the WWSOP is called Millionaire Maker because at the end of it all, the crowned champion will be walking away a millionaire. With a record-breaking field of 10,939 entrants paying up the $1500 buy in, the event managed to build a prize pool of $14,603,565 with a top prize of $1,250,125 and a WSOP bracelet awarded to the champion.

By Day 2, the huge field was cut to 2,381 players. Going into Day 3, the field was drastically reduced to 315 players, and Day 4 played down to the final table with only the top 6 advancing to the Day 5 / Final Day. Franco Spitale of Argentina started as the chip leader and hours later, claimed his first WSOP title, gold bracelet, and a career high seven digit payout. In a post-game interview with WSOP, Spitale shared,

“It’s still, it’s hard for me to believe it. You know, it’s too much. Really? I dreamed about this all my life. I promised my little girl, I have a daughter called Emma that the next trophy would be for her, so this trophy is for her.”

Final Table Rundown

Charles Kersey was the first to go out when he pushed his short stack all-in with AJ, losing to the pocket Tens of Stephen Dauphinais. Harvey Jackson was the next casualty who was also eliminated by Dauphinais at 5th place. Paul Saso then got eliminated at 4th place by Justin Carey. Shortly after, Spitale knocked out Dauphinais in 3rd place.

Carey had a slight chip lead entering the heads-up showdown but Spitale was quick to gain momentum to shift things in his favor as he slowly chipped away at the stack of Carey. The final hand saw Carey’s pocket twos go up against the A-10 of Spitale. Carey took the lead on the flop when he hit a set while Spitale hit his 10. Carey was poised to double-up but a sick runner runner aces gave Spitale a full house to knock out Carey in 2nd place. Despite missing the gold, double circuit ring winner Carey went home also a millionaire with a career high $1,001,170 payout.

Asia – Pacific players who made a deep run in this event included Sean Ragozzini in 12th place. This was Ragozzini’s seventh series cash and third consecutive five-figure payout. Other placers were Jun Hao Wu of Singapore at 31st, India’s Ankit Ahuja at 50th, and Chong Yu of China at 66th.

Patrick Moulder Wins First WSOP Bracelet In Event #56: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball 

The 2024 WSOP Event #56: $2500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball event requires a mastery of three different limit poker variants—2-7 Triple Draw, A-5 Triple Draw and Badugi. The poker pros who enter into these events are usually some of the more experienced and veteran players of the game. 

The event attracted a total of 371 entrants creating a total prize pool of $825,475 with the top 56 players paid. After three days of play, Patrick Moulder emerged as the winner to receive the top prize of $177,045 and his first ever WSOP gold bracelet.

Moulder had only been playing in WSOP events since 2022 and had made a solid impression in mixed games this year with a ninth-place finish in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship and an eighth-place finish in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. He can now breathe a sigh of relief as he was able to finally win a WSOP Champion in the $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball. In a post interview with Pokernews, the new champ shared, 

“It means so much to me. My goal coming into the summer was to make one final table. I got to one early in the summer and got knocked out right away. It was nice to have a long Day 3 and get across the finish line”.

Some of the big names who entered the event included multiple WSOP bracelet holders like Barry Greenstein, Brian Yoon, Josh Arieh, Chad Eveslage, Shaun Deeb, David “Bakes” Baker, and Naoya Kihara.

Final Day Action

The tournament played over 3 days, and of the 371 that battled it out, only 15 remained by Day 3 led by Moulder. Among those that missed the final lineup but reached ITM were Asian bracelet holders Renji Mao and Motoyoshi Okamura. Running the deepest was Hong Kong’s Yik Yin Chiu in 20th place.

Day 3 action got off to a quick start with several players less than five big bets. Alan Myerson was first to fall in 15th place followed out by Shawn Buchanan and Michael Boik, both of whom fell to Deeb in a double knock out. Others who made their exit before the final table included Russell Clayton, Stephan Nussrallah, Oscar Johansson, Amir Nematinia, and Day 1 chip leader Ryan Ko.

Seven players made the final table with Moulder maintaining the chip lead however stacks were fairly close with several players right on his heels. Anthony Hu became the first final table casualty after his stack was destroyed by Ian Chan in a hand of 2-7 triple draw. 

This gave Chan the lead but it was brief with Moulder knocking out Deeb in 6th place to reclaim it. Soon after, Matthew Smith was eliminated in 5th place by Yuebin Guo on a game of A-5 Triple Draw. Eveslage had a roller-coaster ride in the final table, going up and down with his stack size. He was the last WSOP bracelet winner hoping to earn another one, but his ride was eventually stopped by Moulder in a four-bet A-5 Triple Draw hand. Guo’s stack swung  and finally busted in 3rd place for $76,547.

At heads up, Chan had a modest lead over Moulder but again it was brief. Moulder took down several pots to jump back ahead then never looked back. Leading up to the win Chan’s woes continued, which included a failed bluff to be severely short-stacked. The final hand saw Moulder defeat Chan at A-5 Triple Draw with 6 low over 7 low. Chan had to settle for $115,073 while Moulder took home the coveted gold. 

Frank Funaro Rides The Swings to Capture Second WSOP Bracelet

The 2024 WSOP Event #57: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em attracted 486 entries from all over the globe, totaling up to a prize pool of a whopping $4,519,800.

This No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout event was designed to be aggressive and action-packed with the starting stack at 60,000 chips, levels only lasting 20 minutes and each player earning a $3,000 for each time they eliminate another player. So, if you take out 4 scalps, you’ve earned your buy-in back plus some change. But, of course, all these pros aren’t playing to just get back their buy-in. They’re all playing for a grand prize of $612,997 and the very coveted WSOP gold bracelet.

There were a lot of world-renowned poker superstars in the field – multiple WSOP bracelet winners, seasoned pros, and rising stars. There was no bigger name than Hall of Famer  Phil Hellmuth, who won his record 17th WSOP bracelet last year in this same event, and was determined to defend the title and make a repeat. Other big names included Erik Seidel, David Benyamine, Josh Arieh, Robert Mizrachi, Chino Reem, Nacho Barbero, Joao Vieira, and Mike Matusow. Among the women poker pros, there were the likes of Jennifer Harman, Maria Ho, Jessica Teusl, and Kitty Kuo to name a few. 

As was expected, the action on Day 1 was fast-paced and frantic. The bubble final burst well into the 7th hour. Steve Buell caught pocket aces, which held to simultaneously eliminate Carl Norris and Juha Helppi in one hand adding a double-bounty payday.

The entire Day 1 played for nearly 12 hours until 9 players remained to form the final table for Day 2. Hellmuth failed to defend and was eliminated at 15th place. Other notable players who cashed but failed to make the final day were Ian Matakis (11th) Swedish pro Martin Jacobson (19th), Kristen Foxen (47th) and series multi-winner Scott Seiver (61st).

When the final table resumed for Day 2, Aliaksei Boika of Belarus was the chip leader with 5,360,000 (34BB) followed by Oliver Weis of Germany with 4,500,000 (28BB). The first casualty was Aaron Johnson (MN), who took home $45,195 plus bounty rewards for his 9th place finish. Short-stacked Ludovic Geilich of the United Kingdom soon followed at 8th place for $58,616. Two-time Main Event finalist Antoine Saout of France was unfortunate to run into aces twice to end his run at 7th for a payout of $77,460. Buell ended his run at 6th place and took home $104,261 after he lost with tens against the Big Slick of Oliver Weis. Boika was one card away from doubling up when Michael Rocco spiked a straight flush on the river to send Boika home at fifth place and a payout of $142,892.

A lot of back and forth double-ups between the remaining four players saw the players’ chip stacks move up and down. Eventually, Weis was denied his first ever gold after he got caught up in a three-way all-in with bracelet holders Rocco and Japan’s Shota Nakanishi.

Nakanishi proceeded to rail Rocco in 3rd place to face Frank Funaro, each one looking to add a second bracelet for their trophy case. Funaro was behind 3:1 in chips, but within eight fast hands he had overtaken then shut down Nakanishi. Funaro claimed the grand prize of $612,997 and his second WSOP bracelet while Nakanishi earned $408,658 for runner-up. In a post win interview, Funaro shared,

“I tried to embrace the madness and got really lucky. I was short, I rounded it up, and then I was short again. It was a swinging Super Turbo. The table was full of professionals; it wasn’t the easiest final table. But luck was on my side. There were a lot of tough spots, and they all went my way. And I thought I played relatively well, all things considered. I’m very grateful.”

Apart from Nakanishi’s runner-up finish, other Asian players who scored well in this event were Chinese poker pros Yang Wang (27th), Yingcong Chen (33rd), Yungsheng Sun (35th) and Guofeng Wang (59th). South Korean poker pros that also did well were Steven Yea (34th) and Jangkyu Lee (41st). WSOP bracelet winner Pete Chen of Taiwan managed to squeeze in the money at the last spot in 73rd.

Sean Jazayeri Claims First Bracelet in Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors

Sean Jazayeri conquered a field of 3,362 who were 65 years old and older to emerge victorious in Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em for a payday of $368,025 and his first WSOP bracelet. Jazayeri defeated Yucel Eminoglu in an electrifying heads-up duel that saw the Turkish player claim the $238,748 runner-up prize.

Jazayeri’s share of the $2,958,560 prize pool is his third cash of the 2024 WSOP which is also his largest-ever WSOP cash — and the second-biggest of his poker career. In a post-game interview with WSOP,

“I feel great, it’s always been on my bucket list. Hopefully I’ll win a bracelet in an open event, too, but man, this is a dream come true.”

The event played for 4 days with 10 60-minute levels played each day. The field thinned down to 975 players from 3,362 after Day 1. The bubble burst on day 2 with the top 505 players guaranteed a minimum payout of $2,001.  The day ended with 119 players remaining. Day 3 saw that field cut down to the last 11 players returning for a final day.

On the final day, Kevin Song was the only WSOP bracelet winner left in the field hoping to win his second WSOP bracelet, but he could only go as far as 8th place. Eminoglu started the day with a respectable chip lead and maintained his stack leading into the heads-up battle with Jazayeri. Jazayeri was able to chip away Eminoglu’s stack before finally winning an all-in duel with his A-10 dominating Eminoglu’s A-8.

Italian Paolo Boi Denies the Americans at $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em

The 2024 WSOP Event #60: $3,000 No Limit Hold’em brought in a total of 1,773 entries from all over the world to compete over 4 days with the top 266 players taking home a minimum payout of $6,020 and inch a step closer to win a coveted WSOP Bracelet and the champion’s lion share of $676,900 from a prize pool of $4,733,910.

Some of the recognizable poker pros who entered the event were the likes of WSOP bracelet winners Josh Arieh, Shaun Deeb, David “ODB” Baker, Georgios Sotiropoulos, Jessica Teusl and former WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold. Chris Hunichen and Frank Funaro were also in the mix after bagging recent championships a few days earlier.

Action at Day 1 thinned the field from 1,771 to 539 players entering into the next day. The bubble burst after nearly 9 hours of play on Day 2 and the day ending with 105 players going into Day 3.

Day 3 action brought back only 13 players into the final day with a short-stacked Chris Klodnicki as the only WSOP bracelet winner hoping to earn another. It took less than an hour before there was a final table of the last 10 standing. With Klodnicki eliminated at 12th, WSOP history was to be made with a new bracelet holder to be crowned. It took a little over 3 hours before the final table was cut down to 5 remaining players that included Americans Pedro Rodriguez, Juan Vecino, Brandon Mitchell, Justin Belforti and Italian Paolo Boi.

The first one to succumb was Belforti whose all-in play at the river was quickly called by Boi, who was sitting on a nut flush. The win boosted Boi into a commanding chip lead and proceeded to take down the rest. Boi ended Mitchell  at 4th then Vecino at 3rd. A short-stacked Rodriguez was able to double-up during heads-up play, but it wasn’t enough.

On their final hand, Rodriguez check-raised a flop of Jd Jh 3c, which Boi called. Rodriguez continued his bet on the turn of 6s. Boi thought about it and called. Rodriguez then jammed all his remaining chips on the Ks river. Boi went into the tank for about 30 seconds until he finally made the call.

Rodriguez turned over Qc9d bluff that fell to Boi’s pocket Tens. Rodriguez cashed in a decent $451,299 for second place while Boi took home $676,900 and his first WSOP bracelet as a champion of the event.

A lot of Asian players signed up for this event with 20 of them able to cash in. WSOP Bracelet winner Yuan Li of China was one of the notable names and placed 185th. Among those that reached the top 100 were India’s Kunal Patni (20), Huireng Ou (52), Guofeng Wang (84), Yan Li, Ruiko Mamiya (47),  Zong Chi He (97).

Dario Sammartino Finally Scores A Bracelet After 12 Years at WSOP

For many years, the list of greatest players without a bracelet has featured the name Dario Sammartino. The Italian pro has climbed to the top of the all-time money list in Italy with an impressive $16 million in lifetime earnings. After hunting down the gold for twelve years, the moment finally arrived. Sammartino shipped the 2024 WSOP Event #61: $2,500 Mixed Stud 8/Omaha 8. In a post-game interview with WSOP,

”Oh, I feel so good and finally, after 12 years, I am so happy.”

This marks Dario’s 100th WSOP cash, his 24th appearance at a WSOP final table and his third time getting heads up for a bracelet, and as they say – “third time’s the charm.”

Event Recap

The 2024 WSOP Event #61: $2,500 Mixed Stud 8/Omaha 8 saw a 507 turnout, which was bigger than last year’s 460. The prize pool grew to $1,128,075 with 77 of the top survivors guaranteed at least $5,000.

Some of the big poker names that stood out on the registration list included the likes of Poker Hall of Fame inductees Erik Seidel and Todd Brunson, multiple WSOP bracelet winners Shaun Deeb, Benny Glaser, Scotty Nguyen, Mike Matusow, David “Bakes” Baker, Scott Clements, Chad Eveslage, Robert Mizrachi, Jeff Madsen, Denis Strebkov and Mel Judah to name a few.

Bradley Smith, who was last year’s champion of this event was also there to defend his title. Last year’s runner-up Nghia Le was also present to target a better result this year as a new champion.

On Day 3 / Final Day, the field dwindled to 2 tables quickly with the short stacks unable to make improvements. The two-table action slowed down a bit, but eventually the final 9 was formed after nearly 5 hours into the day.

The chips in play were quite evenly distributed with Italian pro Sammartino as a slight chip leader. As it trimmed to the last five, Jon Kyte had a commanding stack with over half the chips in play. Federico Ottenio ended his run at 5th place and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Madsen fell at 4th place along with his dream of a 5th bracelet. The three-handed match saw Kyte holding 60% of the chips in play with Sammartino and WSOP bracelet winner David Williams roughly sitting on the same stack.

Sammartino eventually eliminated Williams at 3rd place and had a slight deficit versus Kyte entering their heads-up duel. Sammartino found momentum after he won an Omaha hand with a full house and never looked The final hand was a Stud game, which saw the pair Kings of the Nordic Champion Kyte lose out to the Sammartino’s straight.

Norwegian Kyte earned $148,462 for his runner-up finish while Sammartino took home his first WSOP bracelet and the grand prize of $222,703.

Among the Asia Pacific contingent, tree-time WSOP bracelet winner Anson Tsang of Hong Kong managed to cash in at 39th while Japanese poker pro Dai Ishibashi was the top finishing Asian at 13th place. Australian WSOP bracelet winners Gary Benson and Joe Hachem finished in the money at 66th and 37th respectively.

Hector Berry Wins Inaugural PokerNews Deepstack Championship

After four days of action in the inaugural $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship, it was British player Hector Berry who came out on top to take home $282,876 and a WSOP bracelet.

Berry came into the final day as the second-shortest stack, but still held 40 big blinds thanks to the deepstack format, and eventually topped a 5,110-player field to defeat Canada’s Luke Varrasso heads-up. Varraso earned $188,644 for his runner-up finish.

Recapping his victory, Berry was ahead in chips entering the final heads-up versus Luke Varrasso. Berry methodically chipped away at Varrasso’s stack to put the pressure on, and while Varrasso had his moments, there was a feeling that the championship would be decided in one big showdown instead of a marathon fight of winning smaller pots.

The eventual showdown saw Varrasso shoving all-in with 10-9 offsuit and called by Berry’s A-9 offsuit. An Ace on the flop gave Berry the lead, but the turn gave Varrasso some outs with an open ended straight draw. However, the river threw a brick and Varrasso was eliminated as Berry was crowned champion.

Some of the Asian players who were able to make significant cashes in this event included Kuan-Yu Lin of China at 31st; Japanese poker pro Kotara Arakawa at 32nd; Huifang Zhang of China at 65th; and South Korea’s Se Yoon Lim at 72nd. Some other players making it in the top 100 include Vietnam’s Phuong Ngoc Nguyen (92), China’s Lei Yu (95) and Japan’s Toshihiko Akizuki (97).

David Funkhouser Wins First Bracelet at NL 2-7 Lowball Draw

453 players signed up for the 2024 WSOP Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw to generate a prize pool of $604,755. The top 68 players of the event would be guaranteed a minimum payout of $3,040 while the big winner would take home the lion’s share grand prize of $123,314 and a WSOP bracelet.

David “ODB” Baker was in search of a 4th WSOP Bracelet, but fell short at 7th place as he was the first casualty on the final table before play ended in Day 2. The final 6 players to advance to day 3 included chip leader Michel Leibgorin of France who had a commanding lead.

Taiwan’s Tzu Peng Wang started the day in the middle of the pack, but was the fist casualty of the day to be eliminated at 6th place. It took another 2 hours until Ali Eslami’s leading stack went crumbling after he doubled up Funkhouser and lost the rest to Charles Tucker to get eliminated at 5th place. WSOP bracelet winner Owals Ahmed was the only bracelet winner left, looking to repeat, but his journey only took him as far as 4th place. Tucker played a great final table, but had to settle for a 3rd place finish after being knocked out by Funkhouser.

Funkhouser had a slight chip lead over Leibgorin entering the heads-up battle, and the battle was lightning-fast as both went all-in. Funkhouser had the better hand and was crowned champion and earned $123,314 along with his first WSOP Bracelet. Funkhouser already came close to a bracelet earlier this series when he made the final table of the $1,500 Double Board Bomb Pot Mix, ultimately finishing in fourth place in that event. Finally, in this event, he was able to take it all the way to the top. In a post-game interview with WSOP, the newly crowned champ said,

“It means a lot. I’ve come close this year and close for many years. Played dozens, if not hundreds of these. They’re hard to win. We had a tough final table and Michel is a fantastically tough opponent. They all gave me tough spots the whole way. It’s great to win and it ain’t easy.”

Some of the Asian players who did well in this event included Dicky Tsang of Hong Kong who finished at 26th and Song Wang and Zhun Wang of China who finished at 59th and 62nd respectively.

Christopher Moen Wins First Bracelet at NLH Deepstack

With a massive field of 5,263 entries, it wasn’t easy for Christopher Moen, but he managed to grind it out over the course of two days and was crowned a WSOP champion for his efforts. To do so, Moen defeated Thomas Kuess of Austria in a quick heads-up battle to take down Event 64: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack. In fact, the heads-up showdown only lasted ten hands before Moen emerged as the winner. Moen won a $289,323 prize and, of course, a WSOP bracelet, the first of his poker career, while Kuess collected $192,809 for his runner-up finish.

The first day saw 5,263 entrants to play 22 30-minute levels. 790 players would be rewarded a piece of the $2,688,210 prize pool with a guaranteed minimum payout of $1,200. The bubble burst at level 18 with about hundreds to follow right after. At the end of the night, 283 remained to fight it out again for a final Day 2.

It took about 9 hours before a final table of 10 players was formed. John Ricksen entered as the chip leader but his stack crumbled to small stack shoves and he only went as far as 5th place. Final table action played on for another 2 hours concluding with Moen crowned champion.

“That was impressive, wasn’t it? I mean, I really hit that string of cards, and then I really took off. And, of course, I had to get lucky. I wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t spiked one with pocket tens against queens earlier in the day. It’s just how it is.”

This combo of luck and skill is what it takes to be a champion, and that is exactly what happened here tonight as he took home his biggest score to date. Moen says he plays poker a lot but still has a full-time job back in South Dakota driving a charter bus.

Asian players who did well in this tournament to be in the top 100 included India’s Kartik Ved, finishing at 48th. China’s Feng Qian ended at 56th. Hung-Wei Shiue of Taiwan dropped out at 80th while Soo Hyun Chang  of South Korea exited at 89th.

Mark Checkwicz Takes Down Inaugural 5K Seniors High Roller NLH

680 seniors aged 50 and older signed up for the inaugural Event #65: Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold’em. The three-day freezeout tournament generated a prize pool of $3,128,000 with the top 102 players guaranteed a minimum payout of $10,000. Day 1 played 15 40-minute levels with the field thinned down to 161. On Day 2, the players fought through 10 60-minute levels with only 10 players to return to Day 3.

On the third day and a total 27 hours of play, Mark Checkwicz outlasted everyone to win his first WSOP gold bracelet in and the first place prize of $573,876. In a post-game interview, Checkwicz shared,

“Listen, I’m gonna tell you exactly what it means. I promised my wife, she’s a school teacher, she’s been a school teacher for twenty-four and a half years, she’s got nine more years to work. I promised her if I won this tournament, I would buy her a year more of retirement. She now has eight years more to work! It’s awesome.”

Within an hour the shortest stacked Judith Bielan was eliminated at 10th place and the final table was formed. Final table action played for nearly 10 hours with the ultimate showdown between Checkwicz and Arie Kliper of Israel going back and forth for 3 hours.

The final hand saw both players put their chips all-in on the turn with a board of and a turn . Kliper showed with a mid-pair and a flush draw while Checkwicz revealed to show a flopped straight. The river improved Kliper to two-pair, but it wasn’t enough as he was eliminated at 2nd place for a payout of $382,581. Meanwhile, Chechwicz earned a champion’s payout of $573,876 and a WSOP gold bracelet.

Elie Nakache Bags Wins First Gold At 10K PLO Championship

Usually at the final days of the World Series of Poker, the names biggest stars dominate the bracelet race. However, in the case of The $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, the last 5 players who came back on the final day had never tasted success on the grand stage of poker. Whatever placed they finished, it would be the biggest cash-out of their careers, and of course, whoever topped them all would have a WSOP bracelet to match.

There were a total of 726 entries that created a $6,751,800 pot. Of the 726 hopefuls, only 122 players would be guaranteed a minimum payout of $20,099.

10 60-minute levels were played on Day 1 with the field reduced to 245 players. USA’s James Chen, who won his first WSOP bracelet earlier this series at Event #4: $1500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, was the chip leader at the end of Day 1 but fell in Day 2 at 52nd place.

The shorter stacks had a hard time recovering on Day 3 and eliminations were becoming a trend in the first levels of the day. At the end of another 10 levels, the field was drastically reduced to 5 players to fight for it all on the 4th and final day.

Joshua Adkins was a commanding chip leader with 169 blinds and far away at second was Elie Nakache with 59 blinds. The shortest stacked Oshri Lahmani had to contend with 4 callers when he pushed all-in and got eliminated at 5th place. Within the next hour Manh Nguyen and Jonathan Bowers bowed out at 4th and 3rd place respectively.

Adkins had a 3:1 chip advantage over Nakache entering heads-up battle. However, Nakache turned on the aggression  to perfect timing as he overtook Adkins in less than an hour of heads-up play. Nakache went on to extend his lead with Adkins scoring just one significant pot to keep him alive. Eventually, Nakache’s nut straight  knocked out Adkins, who called an all-in thinking his top pair would be enough. Adkins won $880,621 for his runner-up finish and was the first time he had ever cashed in a WSOP event.

Nakache took home a life-changing $1,320,945 and his first WSOP bracelet as the $10,000 PLO Champion. Prior to this win, Nakache’s biggest cash was only $15,000 for a 1302nd place finish in the 2023 Main Event.

“I think he had the image of me that I wasn’t an aggressive player. I think that was useful. But in heads-up, it’s not the same. We have to play. So I played, and it worked. The key is just a lot of aggression, and that’s how I play heads up.”

Some of the Asian players who did well in the event included Kabeelan Rajamurthy of Malaysia (12th). Xixiang Luo, who had won the 2024 WSOP Event #41: $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO Double Board Bomb Pot, sought for his second bracelet but only managed a 58h place finish. Other WSOP bracelet holders from Asia who failed to add more jewelry but made it in the money were  Tong Li of China (75th), Danny Tang of Hong Kong (77th), Ka Kwan Lau of Hong Kong (104th) and Naoya Kihara (121st). Other notable cashes were India’s Kunal Punjwani (89th) and Thailand’s Pakinai Lisawad (112th).

Ben Collins Wins First WSOP Bracelet at Salute to Warriors NLH

The 2024 WSOP Salute to Warriors is a special event as part of the players’ buy-ins will help raise funds for veterans of the US Military. There were 4,517 entrants who created a prize pool of $1,851,970 and raised over $200,000 for the cause.

Players played 40-minute levels of No-Limit Hold’em with Day 1 action going up to 17 levels or down to 15 percent of the filed, whichever is later.  At the end of the long day, 678 players were left standing, everyone making the money and guaranteed a minimum payout of $1,001.

Day 2 action was intense and grueling with all the players trying to climb up the payout ladder. At the end of the night, only 17 players remained to return for more poker action on Day 3, which would play until a winner was crowned.

Paul Serrate had the biggest stack entering Day 3 worth 46 big blinds while Tolga Gesli followed at second with 40 big blinds. There were two tables to host the 17 players to start the day, but eliminations came quickly as four players crashed within the first hour and a final table of 10 was formed within the second hour.

While the Salute to Warriors event was American patriotic in theme, the final table was a global congregation with 5 other countries represented apart from the United States. Three players were eliminated in the first hour with 3 more to fall in the next hour including birthday boy Ben Snodgrass who got crushed by another birthday celebrant Tolga Gesli.  Nearly 2 hours after, Gesli would be eliminated in 3rd place to leave a final heads-up showdown between Ben Collins of the United Kingdom versus Stavros Petychakis of Greece.

The chip stacks of Petychakis and Collins weren’t too far apart and both stacks were healthy enough for competitive play without any desperation all-ins. At one point, Collins was extremely short stacked but managed to claw his way back into contention and even take the lead. Eventually, after a two-hour battle, Collins would eliminate Petychakis to win his first WSOP bracelet and a champion’s payout of $207,486. Petychakis would earn $138,423 as a runner-up. In a post-game interview, the champ shared,

“It’s just surreal still… like, all along the way you think about holding the bracelet, you get the support from everyone which then keeps you going as you get further… to actually do it, is just ridiculous.”

Some of the Asians who performed well in this event were: Katsuhiro Mori of Japan (20th), Keshu Peng of Hong Kong (22nd) and Zinan Xu of China (61st).

*Article by JJ Duque

Full Article

About The Author