Less than a month after winning his 13th World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) ring, Ari Engel won a 14th ring at WSOPC Graton to tie Josh Reichard in second place on the all-time Circuit ring list.
Engel’s latest ring was earned in Event #10: $400 H.O.R.S.E. for $6,647 at the northern California stop. Engel wrote on social media that it was a small field of 60 entries and “I was 2 of them.”
Just weeks ago, Engel won a 13th ring in an online event as part of the WSOP Michigan Circuit Super Series to tie Daniel Lowery (who posed Engel’s latest winner’s photo) in third on the all-time list. With his latest victory, Engel now sits only behind Maurice Hawkins (15 rings) on the all-time ring list and tied with Reichard, who won his 14th ring in April by taking down the WSOPC Grand Victoria Main Event for $253,073.
Reichard was momentarily tied with Hawkins before the all-time ring leader won a 15th ring in May in a WSOPC Cherokee high roller.
Engel is also a two time WSOP bracelet winner who took down 2019’s Event #48: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em for $427,399 and 2021’s Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $317,076.
The WSOPC Gration stop kicked off on Aug. 10 and runs through Aug. 21 with several events left on the schedule, including the $1,700 buy-in Main Event kicking off on Aug. 18.
Ari Engel’s WSOP Circuit Ring Victories
DATE
EVENT
BUY-IN
PRIZE (IN USD)
August 2023
WSOPC Graton Event #10: H.O.R.S.E.
$400
$6,647
July 2023
WSOPC MI Event #12 – $20,000 NLH 6-Max
$215
$8,926
March 2023
WSOPC PA Super Series Event #18 – $50,000 NLH Main Event 8-Max
$525
$22,546
February 2022
WSOPC NV/NJ $50,000 GTD PLO BIG $500 6-Max 3x Re-entry
$500
$14,412
February 2021
WSOPC Planet Hollywood Event #3: $50,000 GTD PLO BIG $500 6-Max
$500
$16,350
March 2018
WSOPC The Bike Event #5: $365 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
$365
$9,730
March 2016
WSOPC NJ Event #7: $580 No-Limit Hold’em
$580
$17,221
October 2014
WSOPC Hammond Event #6: $580 H.O.R.S.E.
$580
$17,921
August 2013
WSOPC Foxwoods
$580
$29,634
February 2013
WSOPC Palm Beach Event #7: No-Limit Hold’em
$580
$26,501
October 2012
WSOPC Hammond Event #8: No-Limit Hold’em
$1,125
$55,503
May 2012
WSOPC Philadelphia Event #6: Mixed Pot Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha
$345
$8,292
April 2009
WSOPC Las Vegas Event #16: $1,060 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em
$1,060
$22,353
March 2007
WSOPC Atlantic City Event #3: $300 No-Limit Hold’em
$300
$63,018
*Lead photo courtesy WSOP
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William Kopp Wins Third Circuit Ring in WSOP Cherokee Main Event ($376,154)
Earlier this year, the WSOP App announced their inaugural “Thrill Team,” which was made up of seven poker superstars who have won several millions dollars, gold bracelets and circuit rings in the live poker world, and are now going all-in to win virtual bracelets, rings, and trophies on the free-to-play app.
Samantha Abernathy was one of seven members alongside Patrik Antonius, Espen Jorstad, Vanessa Selbst, Adam Hendrix, Landon Tice, and Ethan “Rampage” Yau.
Abernathy, who is currently based in Andorra, a small country in the Pyrenees mountains in between Spain and France, recently chatted with PokerNews about her experience with the app thus far.
“I’m frequently traveling, trying to see as much of Europe as possible and embrace the differences in life over here,” she told PokerNews. “These days, I’m mainly playing live and online multi-table tournaments (MTTs). Most recently, I participated in the European Poker Tour in Prague, Paris and London, as well as WSOP Europe, and – of course – the WSOP in Vegas.”
World Series of Poker (WSOP) Social App Review & 1 Million Free Chips Bonus
Making a Run in the Ladies Event
Samantha Abernathy in WSOP action.
It was while in Vegas that Abernathy made a deep run in Event #67: $1,000 Ladies Championship, ultimately finishing 31st out of 1,295 entries for $5,385.
“The WSOP is always a thrilling time, and this year was an enriching experience as always. One highlight that stands out was my deep run in the ladies event. I witnessed tons of newer players sharing the passion for the game, which made it such an amazing environment to play in. While I didn’t cash the Main Event this year, I am always grateful for the opportunity to participate and eagerly look forward to the thrill of next year.”
“Since the WSOP app’s launch 10 years ago, it has been downloaded millions of times and has helped introduce poker to so many players.”
While at the Horseshoe and Paris, Abernathy was able to represent the WSOP Thrill Team alongside her teammates.
“I feel an immense sense of responsibility as an inaugural Thrill Team member – the game of poker has done so much for me and I’m excited to use my platform to bring awareness to the free WSOP mobile app so that the thrill of live poker can reach even more people,” said Abernathy.
She continued: “Since the WSOP app’s launch 10 years ago, it has been downloaded millions of times and has helped introduce poker to so many players. In fact, my Thrill Teammate Ethan Yau and I both started playing poker through the WSOP app. The WSOP believes poker is a game for everyone, and it offered a supportive space for me when I began my journey. It was a real full circle moment to be asked to be an ambassador for the app that gave me my start in the game.”
Meet The WSOP App Thrill Team
VIP Event During WSOP
Not only did she represent the WSOP Thrill Team on the felt, but she also took part in a special VIP event for players on the app.
As she told it: “To celebrate the WSOP Main Event final table, the official WSOP free-to-play app flew VIP players to Vegas to compete in a private poker tournament. Before the tournament kicked off, I was able to meet the users and hosted a Q&A. It was awesome to meet players who, like me, have perfected their poker skills through the WSOP app – as I mentioned, I began playing poker through the WSOP app. The WSOP has enabled these players to experience the excitement of poker by testing their skills on the free-to-play app, but with this event, WSOP went one step further and brought them together to recreate that feeling in real life.”
Samantha Abernathy
For those interested in playing with Abernathy, they can do so at the online tables and in the new feature called “WSOP Teams” where you can create your own poker team, add other players, and play poker together.
So, what’s next for Abernathy?
“I will definitely be going to EPT Barcelona, it’s one of my favorite stops. I’ll likely go to Cyprus, and I might try to make it over to the Bahamas for the new WSOP series this winter!”
You can follow Abernathy on her Instagram @samabernathyy.
For the second year in a row, I took some vacation time during the summer and missed out on part of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. In 2022, I stepped away to be a contestant on Season 9 of Survival Challenge – which I wrote about in-depth here – and this summer I returned, albeit as a volunteer to help hold the game for a whole new crop of players.
While there for a week, some of the other volunteers wanted to hold a home game, and being well aware of my position in poker, along with my 2013 WSOP gold bracelet win, they were keen for me to play.
The stakes may have been low – we played $0.25/$0.50 no-limit hold’em and most everyone bought in for $20 – but it was one of my favorite poker-playing experiences of the year. Among those who played were a pair of young fellas playing for their first time in Bentley and Jude; Survival Challenge alum Bryce Fosdick; the May family (Michelle, Tim and their son Luke), and my SC Season 9 fellow contestant Michael Allbright.
Here are a few standout moments and hands from that game.
Why Did I Miss the 2022 WSOP Main Event? – Survival Challenge Season 9
The O’Neill Bluff
The Survival Challenge Poker Game
One of the players to take a seat in the game was Chris O’Neill, who played Season 8 of Survival Challenge the summer before me. I’d learned earlier in the day that Chris had a little poker experience and was a fan of GGPoker AmbassadorKevin Martin.
In one hand, I put in a raise to $1.25 after looking down at the 4♥4♣ and Jason Flick, who helps run the challenges at Survival Challenge, raised all in for around $3. Another player called and then Chris opted for a small three-bet to $5 from the big blind. I just called, as did the other player, and there were three active players for the side pot while Jason had an opportunity to quadruple up in the main pot.
The flop fell 3x3x5x and I was feeling pretty good, especially after Chris checked. I bet $3, the other player folded, and then Chris sprung to life with an all-in check-raise to around $10. It wasn’t that much more to me and I was getting decent pot odds, but I couldn’t fathom that I was ahead.
What would he check-jam with that I beat? Maybe a straight draw, but they again I held two of the fours in my hand, so the chances of that were less likely. He could easily have either a three or five in his hand, such as an ace-three or ace-five, as well as any sort of overpair. I contemplated making the call hoping to either hit a four or hit runner-runner (there were a lot of turn cards that would allow me to pick up some equity), but ultimately, I decided to save the money as I just didn’t think there was any way I was ahead.
Well, I was wrong as Chris tabled Kx8x for a stone-cold bluff! What’s more, he was actually ahead of Jason, who had been all in preflop with Qx9x. Fortunately for Jason, a queen spiked on the river and he won the main pot, while Chris still made a bit by claiming the side pot.
Had I found a call, I would’ve won a sizeable side pot and felted Chris, but instead he left me shaking my head with no recourse but to tip my cap to him. He’s got some skills.
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Szechowycz Cracks My Aces
The Survival Challenge Poker Game
Ian Szechowycz was the host of the home game, and he’s actually a bit of a poker aficionado, even playing in casinos in Iowa and Illinois. It became clear early on that aside from me, he was the most experienced player at the table. In fact, I was so impressed that I told Ian he needs to make his way to Vegas to try his hand at the WSOP as he’s got the talent to compete.
Ian made it clear from the get-go that he was keen to beat me in a big pot, and he ultimately got his wish, though he had to get lucky to do so!
It happened when I looked down at pocket aces and put in a raise to $1.50. There were some callers, including Ian, before Luke May reraised to $4. I then made it $8 to go and Ian put in a call. Luke did the same and it was three-way action to the flop, which I don’t recall offhand. I do know that action checked to me and I continued for $6, which only Ian called.
The turn wasn’t too scary and Ian checked. I decided to put him to the test by moving all in and he thought long and hard about what to do. Apparently, I had the best hand, but there were several draws on the board. He decided to call off his last $12 or so with an open-ended straight draw, and much to my dismay, he hit it on the river!
Ian got his wish by cracking my aces and beating me in a big pot, but rest assured I’ll never let him forget he had to get lucky to do it!
It was an up-and-down experience, but in the end, I was able to show off my poker chops by nearly tripling my buy-in. More importantly, plans are already in the works for another game next summer, so it seems a new annual home game tradition was born!
The latest Charity Series of Poker (CSOP) events are almost upon us as the “Cards for Curling” fundraiser will take place in Las Vegas this month before the “Viva St. Jude” and “All In For Ability” events in September.
The “Cards for Curling” event, which will raise money for CurlVegas in their quest to bring the Olympic sport to Las Vegas, will take place on Aug. 26 at The Stirling Club in Las Vegas and will feature a $5,000 grand prize and other prizes for the final tablists.
After that, the “Viva St. Jude” event, which raises money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will take place on Sept. 9 at 8:15 p.m. at Rose Rooftop at Resorts World and will offer the winner a $10,000 seat into the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Poker and dinner cost $400, while poker only is $200 with $100 add-ons available.
The “All In For Ability” event, which is in support of The Ability Center of Southern Nevada, the only special needs gym in the southern part of the state, will take place on Sept. 16 at The Stirling Club and will also feature a grand prize of $5,000 cash, in addition to other final table and silent auction prizes available for participants.
In addition to turbo no-limit hold’em poker tournaments, the CSOP events will treat players to hors d’oeuvres and cocktail hours before silent auctions and 50/50 cash drawings and raffles.
Tickets for the “Cards for Curling” and “All In For Ability” tournaments, auctions and cocktail hours can be purchased for $300, while tickets to attend the silent auctions and cocktails hour without playing in the tournaments run for $100.
The “Cards for Curling” event will kick off with a buffet dinner at 4:30 p.m. before the tournament gets underway at 5:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the “All In For Ability” event will kick off with the silent auction and cocktail hour at 5:30 p.m. before the tournament gets underway at 7 p.m.
In all three events, players will begin with a starting stack of 10,000 chips and can receive an additional 20,000 chips per add-on.
To donate or bid on auction items at the events, visit charityseriesofpoker.org/cv51, www.charityseriesofpoker.org/sj52 or charityseriesofpoker.org/tac53.
Curling Center Coming to Las Vegas
The “Cards for Curling” event couldn’t be taking place at a better time as it was just announced that a new full-time curling center is coming to Las Vegas.
FOX 5 reported on Aug. 9 that CurlVegas will be opening the full-time curling center next year at 3525 E. Post Rd. near Sunset Park. The park is expected to open in the first quarter of 2024.
With a curling center on the way to Las Vegas, there’s no better time to raise money for the Olympic sport that could be the next big thing in Nevada.
Founded in 2014, the Las Vegas-based Charity Series of Poker provides an easy way for poker players and celebrities to give back to their communities and the world through poker.
The CSOP has raised millions of dollars and has been supported by well-known pros like Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and John Cynn.
In 2022, the CSOP held the 7th Annual “St. Jude Against All Odds” poker tournament to raise money for the children’s research hospital and award a $10,000 seat to the 2022 WSOP Main Event. Sponsors of the event included CSOP, Golf Venture, JB Public Relations, Johnson Brothers of Nevada, and SKC Group.
To learn more about the CSOP and the upcoming charity tournaments, visit the organization’s website at charityseriesofpoker.org or check them out on X (formerly Twitter) at @TheCSOP.
The McLaren Turbo Series is in full swing at PartyPoker, with a handful of the high-octane events having already crowned their worthy champions. The $109 buy-in $100,000 guaranteed Sunday Party is one such tournament, and it is “tutuia” who will forever be remembered for taking down this event.
The McLaren Turbo Series edition of the ever-popular Sunday Party attracted 1,104 entrants, which were more than enough to surpass the $100,000 guarantee on the prize pool, with $110,400 paid out.
Team PartyPoker’s Jaime “jamiestaples” Staples and his brother Matt “MatthewStaples” Staples were among the entrants, but neither managed to get going.
“OOKevOO” was going great guns until their tournament ended in a seventh-place finish worth $1,799 in total. “Pet3r Petrelli” joined the list of busted players when they fell in sixth for a $1,614 award.
Fifth place and $3,451, a significant jump from the previous payout, went to “LawyerDad68.” Their prize was much larger, thanks to taking home $1,489 worth of bounty before their deep run ended.
“WickedWinzero” busted in fourth for $4,154, meaning the surviving players were guaranteed a podium finish.
“jesisdead” crashed out in third for $5,232, leaving “tutuia” heads-up against “dududantas” in a battle for the lion’s share of the remaining prize pool. “dududantas” span off during the final home straight, and made do with an $8,135 payday, leaving “tutuia” to become the tournament’s champion, and receive $13,503.
McLaren Turbo Series #04 Sunday Party Final Table Results
Rank
Player
Bounties
Prize
Total Prize
1
tutuia
$6,966
$6,537
$13,503
2
dududantas
$1,609
$6,526
$8,135
3
jesisdead
$1,014
$4,218
$5,232
4
WickedWinzero
$1,297
$2,857
$4,154
5
LawyerDad68
$1,489
$1,962
$3,451
6
Pet3r Petrelli
$203
$1,411
$1,614
7
OOKevOO
$855
$994
$1,799
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“Knight1989” Claims Sunday Carnival Title
It was not only the Sunday Party that smashed its guarantee because the McLaren Turbo Series edition of the Sunday Carnival did the same. A field of 1,687 entrants created a $33,740 prize pool, and a total first place prize of $3,253 for a $22 buy-in.
With bounty payments included, nobody at the seven-handed final table took home less than $556. That sum went to “atlantispirit” who came unstuck in seventh and was the first casualty of the final table.
“Cha-Ka” and “T-777” were the next to find themselves on the sidelines, albeit with $686 and $681 to keep them company.
Then came the untimely demise of “LovFISHandCHIPS” in fourth, whose $1,814 payout means they can definitely afford more of their favorite dish! Some $1,007 of that sum stemmed from busting 20 opponents before they themselves crashed out.
Heads-up was set when “omegalulz” bowed out in third for $1,978. That heads-up battle pitted “varessi8888” against “Knight1989.” Both of the final playwrs locked in at least $1,898 for their efforts, leaving a four-figure final bounty to play for. “Knight1989” captured an additional $1,350 after they came out on top, meaning they took home $3,253 for their $22 investment, leaving the runner-up to bank $2,049.
McLaren Turbo Series #05 Sunday Carnival Final Table Results
Rank
Player
Bounties
Prize
Total Prize
1
Knight1989
$1,350
$1,903
$3,253
2
varessi8888
$151
$1,898
$2,049
3
omegalulz
$777
$1,201
$1,978
4
LovFISHandCHIPS
$1,007
$807
$1,814
5
T-777
$126
$555
$681
6
Cha-Ka
$288
$398
$686
7
atlantispirit
$279
$280
$556
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How To Play The The McLaren Grand Prix Turbo Series On PartyPoker
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Your first deposit will receive a 100% matched bonus up to $600. Plus, PartyPoker will award you up to $30 worth of free play in the form of tournament tickets.
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The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Cherokee stop in North Carolina wrapped up this week and saw William Kopp taking down the $1,700 buy-in Main Event for a career-best $376,154 and his fourth piece of WSOP hardware.
Kopp, who defeated heads-up opponent Brian Jones to deny the Kentucky resident his first Circuit ring, had two Circuit rings heading into the Main Event that drew 1,623 runners for a prize pool of $2,458,845. Not only that, Kopp won his first bracelet earlier in the summer at the 2023 WSOP when he took down Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better for $259,549.
Kopp, the brother of 2022 WSOP Casino Employees event champion Katie Kopp, proved his no-limit Hold’em chops by navigating a final table that included Texans Lam Nguyen (4th – $133,953) and Jorge Arriola (5th – $103,007) and Circuit crusher Preston McEwen, who finished third for $175,713 to be denied his sixth Circuit ring.
McEwen had a fantastic series that saw him making three final tables, first finishing seventh in Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold’em for $19,128 before besting that with a sixth-place finish in Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – Monster Stack for $23,102.
Kopp, who now has $764,447 in Hendon Mob earnings, won his first Circuit ring in 2014 at WSOPC Foxwoods resort when he took down a $580 buy-in event for $40,836 and his second Circuit ring in 2018 at Harrah’s Cherokee when he won Event #6: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha for $26,261.
According to live updates, Kopp entered heads-up play with the chip lead and maintained it up to the final hand where Jones moved all in with jack-five and Kopp called with pocket nines. A runout without a jack secured the victory for Kopp as Jones earned a career-best $232,481.
Brian Jones
Mercer Wins Fourth Ring; Porbandarwala Wins Eighth Ring
Several players picked up their maiden Circuit rings during the WSOPC Cherokee stop, which consisted of over a dozen ring events across two weeks. Kelly Andrews kicked things off by winning Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – Big 30K Stack for $35,429 before Christopher Catone took down Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold’em for $118,932.
Other first-time ring winners include Artur Winstone (Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – $44,167), Alvin Wilson (Event #4: $400 Seniors Event – $50,979), Roy Parkhurst (Event #6: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed – $44,510) and Larry Slater (Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – $28,347).
One player who wasn’t after their first ring was Bradley Mercer, who had three rings before getting through a field of 371 runners in Event #5: $600 No-Limit Hold’em to win a fourth ring and $39,947. The North Carolinian went on to finish runner-up in Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – Monster Stack for $69,910 and also finished 23rd in the Main Event for $14,492.
Bradley Mercer
Mercer wasn’t the only player to add to his ring collection. Soheb Porbandarwala closed out the Cherokee stop by taking down Event #19: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack Closer for $27,593 and his eighth Circuit ring.
Other ring winners at WSOPC Choctaw include James Naifeh (Event #14: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – $32,822), Richard Scott (Event #15: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – $35,048) and Robert Gregory (Event #16: $250 Seniors Event – $34,047).
The WSOP Circuit team is also at Graton Resort & Casino in northern California this month and will head to Hard Rock Hotel and Casino TulsaAug. 16-27 for a stop that will include a $1,700 buy-in Main Event.
A full list of ring winners at WSOPC Cherokee is available in the table below.
WSOPC Cherokee Ring Winners
EVENT
ENTRANTS
PRIZE POOL
WINNER
HOMETOWN
PRIZE (IN USD)
WSOPC Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – Big 30K Stack
The Lodge Card Club near Austin hosted a record-breaking $400 buy-in Mega Monster tournament that attracted 5,750 entries, which is almost unheard of outside the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
But that isn’t the only place in Texas for tournament poker doing big things. Over at Texas Card House, the popular card room will break Dallas records during its upcoming series in which $3 million is guaranteed.
The series, which begins Aug. 15, features multiple seven-figure guarantee events, highlighted by the $1,000 buy-in Title Event starting Aug. 30, featuring at least $1.5 million in the pot. Texas Card House Dallas will be live-streaming final tables throughout the series on its YouTube channel.
Learn more about poker in Texas here!
A Monster Poker Event in Texas
The Lodge, a poker club co-owned by Doug Polk, Andrew Neeme, and Brad Owen, on Monday, wrapped up a truly monster Mega Monster tournament that obliterated its $1 million guaranteed prize pool. Action began on Aug. 3 with the first of 24 Day 1 starting flights. Day 2 took place on Sunday in Round Rock, Texas with the final table the following day.
On Monday, the final table ran and three players turned a $400 into a six-figure payday, with first place — Mexico’s Mauro Avila — receiving $286,578. Players were eligible to register for as many starting flights as they so desired. One player fired 29 bullets, which didn’t exactly sit well with Norman Chad, perhaps the strongest proponent for eliminating rebuys in tournament poker. The long-time WSOP announcer, as per usual, made a sarcastic comment on social media in response.
Chad has repeatedly begged and pleaded for tournament operators to can unlimited rebuy tournaments but to no avail. Whether you agree with him or not, you can’t question his determination.
The Lodge’s Mega Monster generated a prize pool of $1,943,500, which means the house raked in over $350,000 (minus overhead costs) on a low buy-in tournament.
The Lodge Mega Monster Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Mauro Avila
$286,578
2
Juju
$196,474
3
Joshua Nuncio
$134,321
4
Joseph Roh
$88,713
5
Daniel Davila
$69,444
6
Steve
$54,134
7
TM
$42,293
8
Spider
$33,834
Texas Card House and The Lodge aren’t the only Texas poker rooms having success when it comes to tournament poker. Champions Club Houston and Prime Social (Houston) are among the poker clubs crushing it on the Lone Star State tournament scene.
When registration closed for the WSOP £3,300 Super Circuit London at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane there had been four Day 1 flights. Over the course of those four days, 910 players had entered the event.
Despite the impressive turnout, management had to dip into the rake in order to top up the prize pool to the £3,000,000 guarantee.
Of that £3 million, £480,000 was earmarked for first place. This went home with Tobias Schwecht, but only after a long David and Goliath heads-up duel against Kannapong Thanarattrakul.
Final Table Action
When the Day 4 live stream started on August 13, the field was down to eleven players. Thanarattrakul led the field with a substantial chip lead.
By the time the final table bubble broke, Thanarattrakul had 13,910,000 in chips — a little over one quarter of the chips in play and nearly double Pavel Plesuv‘s 7,070,000 in second place.
Thanarattrakul had $2.5 million in live tournament cashes before this event, including a main event title from the 2019 APT Tokyo and a $577,775 cash for first in a 2022 EPT Prague High Roller event. He managed to maintain his chip lead through most of the day. It felt like the rest of the table was playing for second, especially after seasoned pro, Toby Lewis, hit the rail in 9th (£30,000).
Lewis was knocked out by Catalin Pop, but this was the only head taken by anyone other than Schweckt and Thanarattrakul.
Thanarattrakul continued to build his stack, knocking out David Miscikowski (8th – £36,000) and Pop (7th – £45,000).
Then it was Schwecht’s turn, knocking out three of their remaining four opponents and pushing the event into its final stage.
Heads Up Play
Schwecht’s run of wins still only gave him 14,975,000 in chips as he went heads up against Thanarattrakul’s 39,750,000.
Thanarattrakul’s day-long heater and eight-to-three chip lead seemed insurmountable as the pair faced off. Both players had recent deep runs at the JW Marriot, which hosted the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series London last month. So neither was going into their showdown blind.
Heads up play lasted around an hour.
Half an hour in, Schwecht had evened up the chip stacks. An hour in, Thanarattrakul slipped up, overplaying a pair of overcards against Schwecht’s jacks and failing to get a bluff through. A few hands later, the chip leader of seven hours was down to 7,900,000 while the blinds were at 300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 big blind ante.
At this point, Thanarattrakul picked J♠J♣ in the small blind, raised to 1,500,000, and called the all-in Schwecht sent back his way.
Schwecht turned over the K♥5♥ and watched as a board of K♣7♥Q♦K♦10♣ send Thanarattrakul to the rail for £305,000.
Schwecht won £480,000 and a gold WSOP Super Circuit ring for the first-place finish.
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WSOP £3,300 Super Circuit London Final Table Results
It was a moment that usually only happens in dreams. Viorel Gavrila was heads-up for a title at the final table of the €888 888poker LIVE Bucharest Main Event and looked down at two black aces as his opponent, Admir Qinami, moved all in. That magical scenario made Gavrila a champion and kept the 888poker LIVE trophy at home in his native Romania.
Gavrila prevailed over a field of 191 total entries to win the coveted trophy and collect €30,000, the largest tournament cash of his poker career, after beating Qinami with poker’s ultimate cooler, aces over kings.
Gavrila has a live tournament resume that dates back to 2015 and more than $200,000 in earnings but had never won a major tournament like this one. He won an event here in the Poker Room Bucharest for €19,238 last month and also finished third in a high roller at the 2019 888poker LIVE Bucharest festival. The top prize from this event will push his career earnings past $250,000.
Qinami was denied the victory in a cruel fashion, but he wrote quite a story for himself over the last five days nonetheless. The Albania native had no live tournament cashes before this event. He earned his way to Bucharest through a freeroll on 888poker and turned that into €19,500. Though the ending may have been bittersweet, he still proved the axiom that anyone can win in this game on any given day.
Final Table results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Viorel Gavrila
Romania
€30,000
2
Admir Qinami
Albania
€19,500
3
Marius Gicovanu
Romania
€14,500
4
Andrii Zaika
Ukraine
€11,500
5
Razvan Belea
Romania
€9,200
6
Gheorghe Velcea
Romania
€6,900
7
Konstantinos Vatseris
Greece
€5,300
8
Maksims Gorbacs
Latvia
€4,000
9
Alexandru Marcu
Romania
€3,500
Final Table action
The final table began shortly past 3 p.m. local time as action went quickly. After doubling up early, Alexandru Marcu got his chips in again with jack-nine but couldn’t beat Gavrila’s ace-ten, sending the Day 1b chip leader out in ninth place. Maksims Gorbacs, coming off a deep run in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas last month, was eliminated in eighth place when he shoved with ten-nine and Marius Gicovanu called with a dominating queen-ten.
Gavrila, who began the final table in second chip position behind Qinami, rivered the nut flush and got paid by Andrii Zaika, then spiked an ace on the turn to crack Konstantinos Vatseris’ queens to bust him in seventh place. Gavrila then woke up with kings in the big blind after Gheorghe Velcea moved all in from the small blind with ace-queen, flopping top set to leave Velcea drawing dead by the turn and heading off to collect his sixth-place payout.
Razvan Belea, who became a poker hero in his native country when he became the first Romanian to capture an EPT title in Paris in February, moved all in for 605,000 with king-jack but ran into Qinami’s jacks. Belea couldn’t improve and the 2021 champion of this event had to settle for fifth place this time.
Qinami still led at the start of four-handed play, but Gavrila began to catch up when he called a blind-versus-blind shove for 810,000 from Zaika with king-jack and spiked a jack on the flop to beat ace-eight, eliminating the Ukranian in fourth place.
But for all the hands that Gavrila won at the final table, it was the hands he made incredible laydowns that helped him to the victory. He first folded queens on the river early at the final table when Gicovanu bet 750,000 with trip sixes. He later rivered a full house, kings over aces, but Qinami had aces over kings and Gavrila was able to get away from the cooler.
After a lengthy three-handed battle that lasted more than an hour, Gicovanu four-bet shoved for 2,340,000 with nines but Gavrila snapped him off with jacks. Gavrila led Qinami 10,070,000 to 6,740,000 at the start of heads-up and had a chance to end the tournament early on.
Admir Qinami
Qinami shoved the turn for 4,600,000 with a flush draw and overcards as Gavrila, with two pair, used up all his time bank cards before deciding to fold. Gavrila reopened a sizeable lead when he flopped two pair. Qinami had a pair and flush draw but missed the river and had to fold to a bet of 3,200,000.
Then came the final hand that had the entire poker room buzzing. Gavrila opened on the button to 250,000 before Qinami three-bet to 725,000. Gavrila made it 1,500,000 and Qinami moved in his last 6,135,000. Gavrila instantly shot out of his seat and called as Qinami stood helplessly by the table watching the board seal his fate.
Gavrila got to accept the trophy and pose for the winner’s photo beside the best hand in poker, two aces. Qinami might have been writing a script worthy of a movie, but it was Gavrila who had the Hollywood ending here in Bucharest.
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