2020 WSOP Concludes As Connor Drinan Wins First Bracelet, $1.4M
That’s a wrap on the 2020 World Series of Poker as the final event of the series, Event #83 ($10,000 WSOP Super MILLION$) concluded with Connor Drinan eliminating his final six opponents to collect the $1,423,409 first-place prize and his first career gold bracelet.
As one of the elite tournament players in the game today, Drinan’s victory came at the end of a WSOP grind that lasted over two months. After his record-setting PokerStars SCOOP performance, Drinan returned to Las Vegas and battled in the entire first half of tournaments on WSOP.com. He then flew to Mexico to compete in the second half of the series on GGPoker. In total, Drinan racked up 20 results, including three final tables, and more than $147,000 prior to his gold bracelet run.
As a bonus, Drinan was one of the high-profile names that took Daniel Negreanu up on his $100,000 must-win bracelet bet. By winning, Drinan added another six-figure score to his total should Negreanu not find a way (or have the opportunity) to win a bracelet by the end of the year.
The first elimination of the final table took place on the very first hand. From the button, Christopher Kruk put in a raise with 
and was called by Kenneth Smaron in the big blind who was holding 
and sitting on a short stack. The flop came 
and Smaron checked his top pair over to Kruk who put in a small bet with his flush and gutshot straight draw. Smaron check-shoved for the rest of his stack and Kruk insta-called. The 
peeled off on the river, giving Kruk a flush and leaving Smaron drawing dead to the 
river. Smaron exited in ninth place for $110,389.
Roughly twenty minutes later, Sylvain Loosli put Russia’s Arsenii Malinov to the test for all his chips. When folded to in the small blind, Loosli raised enough to put Malinov all in with 
. Malinov made the call with 
and just needed to hold to secure a double up. The 
flop gave Loosli two pair and a stranglehold on the hand. When the 
hit the turn it was all over for Malinov who watched a meaningless 
hit the river. Malinov finished in eighth place for $152,113.
In a span of 20 minutes, Kruk went from the chip lead to the rail. As the stacks evened out, Drinan put in an early raise with 
. When it folded around to Kruk in the small blind, he moved all in for his final 20 big blinds with only to be snap-called by Drinan. Although dominated, Kruk found some life on the 
flop. The 
turn took away Kruk’s backdoor spades out and the 
ended his run in seventh place for $209,609.
With six left, Suraj Mishra found himself in great shape to retake the chip lead he started the day with. After Drinan opened with , Mishra shipped nearly 25 blind with 
. After taking some time, Drinan made the call. Mishra went from dominating to dominated after Drinan hit a set on the flop. The 
opened up some flush draw outs or Mishra but the 
river sent him home in sixth place, good for $288,836. The hand gave Drinan a considerable chip lead, which he never gave up.
When just over 10 big blinds left in his stack, Loosli moved all in from the small blind with 
and was called by Drinan in the big blind with the . The 
flop gave Loosli some additional outs but the 
turn and river was of no help. The former WSOP November Niner was forced to settle for sixth place and $398,010.
Drinan spent the better part of the next thirty minutes padding his chip lead before he got into an all-in confrontation with former #1 ranked Chris Oliver. Oliver put in a raise for the majority of his stack with 
only to be three-bet by Drinan holding . Oliver made the call, putting his tournament at risk. The 
flop gave both players a pair but Oliver failed to improve through the 
turn and the river. Oliver finished in fourth place for $548,450.
Viktor Ustimov was next in Drinan’s sights. After Ustimov put in a raise with 
, Drinan moved all in with the . Ustimov made the call and saw he was flipping for a shot to get back into the tournament. The left Ustimov looking for a lot of help, which didn’t appear on the turn, nor the river. Ustimov took third place and logged off with a $755,754 payday.
Drinan held an overwhelming chip lead headed into his heads-up battle with Daniyar Aubakirov, however Aubakirov kept it interesting. However, even though Aubakirov secured two double-ups at different points in the match, Drinan was not going to be denied.
Drinan found his way back to a better than 4:1 chip lead when Aubakirov moved his final fifteen big blinds all in with . When Drinan made the call with , Aubakirov was on the verge of his third double up. The 
flop gave both top pair, but Aubakirov’s kicker was in play. The turn was the but it was the river that gave Drinan the hand, the tournament and his first career gold bracelet. Aubakirov finished as the runner-up and walked away with a $1,041,414 score.
On the final tournament of the 2020 World Series of Poker, Connor Drinan locked up a $1,423,049 first-place prize, his first WSOP gold bracelet, and a $100,000 must-win bracelet side bet against Daniel Negreanu.
Final Table Payouts
- Connor Drinan – $1,423,049
- Daniyar Aubakirov – $1,041,414
- Viktor Ustimov – $755,754
- Chris Oliver – $548,450
- Sylvain Loosli – $398,010
- Suraj Mishra – $288,836
- Christopher Kruk – $209,609
- Arsenii Malinov – $152,113
- Kenneth Smaron – $110,389
