Another batch of champions crowned at the 2024 World Series of Poker taking place at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. While Asian have gone deep such as Kunal Patni and Yik Yin Chiu, the gold bracelets were elusive. Here are the latest winners.
2024 WSOP Latest Winners
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.
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).
Day 4 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 
, which Boi called. Rodriguez continued his bet on the turn of 
. Boi thought about it and called. Rodriguez then jammed all his remaining chips on the 
river. Boi went into the tank for about 30 seconds until he finally made the call.
Rodriguez turned over 
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.
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 WSOP, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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