A dramatic ending brought the World Series of Poker Online Series Event #27, the $1,000 PLO Championship to a conclusion in the early hours as David Goldberg claimed his first WSOP bracelet and the top prize of $86,440. In what was a fast-paced conclusion to the event, Goldberg triumphed heads-up against Todd Sladek in stunning fashion to grab the gold bracelet.

The eight-handed final table began with Joseph Sanders holding the chip lead. With all eight players looking to win their first WSOP bracelet, Blaze Gaspari was the first to lose that hope. The short-stacked Gaspari moved all-in pre-flop with [Kc][Ks][4c][2c] and was called in two places to a flop of [Tc][8s][5h]. All three players checked the [3s], but on the [As] river, Golbderg bet to go to showdown against Gaspari with [Kd][Qs][Ts][9d]. His rivered flush was good enough to consign Gaspari to an eighth-place finish for $7,561.

After a protracted period of play, the blinds shallowed to the point where risks had to be taken and Andre Nyffeler paid the price. Nyffeler busted in seventh place for $10,130 when he saw a flop with [Kh][Kd][Jd][Td] and Golbderg came along with [As][Js][Th][3h]. The flop of [Ks][Ts][7s] saw Nyffeler move all in, but he got the bad news that his top set on the flop was behind the nut flush of Golbderg and after the [6h] turn and [5s] river, his hopes were ended.

Suddenly, the eliminations were flowing as players fell like skittles, with Chan Woo Kim crashing out in sixth place for $13,544. Kim opened to 210,000 at blinds of 30,000/60,000 and Michael Holtz made the call to a flop of [Kc][7s][4d]. Holtz led out and Kim called the remainder of his chips to show [As][9s][9c][3d]. Holtz held [Ks][Tc][Th][3c] for two pair that improved to a set through the [Td] turn and [5s] river.

It was the turn of ‘auntweesh’ to bust in fifth place for a result worth $18,315. After opening pre-flop, ‘auntweesh’ was faced with a call for their tournament life as Todd Sladek set them all-in. That call was made and while ‘auntweesh’ held [As][Td][8h][7d], Sladek had [Ad][Kh][Qd][Qc]. The board of [Kd][7s][4c][Ks][Kc] gave Sladek quad kings with an ace kicker, a sledgehammer of a hand that vaulted Sladek up the leaderboard and sent ‘auntweesh’ to the rail in dramatic fashion.

Chip leader at the start of the final table, Sanders was left with no chips at all just halfway through the action as he busted in fourth place for $25,620. Sanders three-bet all-in pre-flop over Sladek’s opening bet and was only called by the initial raiser. Sanders held [Ad][Kh][Qc][Jd], while Sladek had made the call with [Ks][Kd][6h][3h]. The flop of [7s][6d][4c] kept Sladek in front, and after the [8c] turn and [Th] river, play was three-handed with Sanders on the rail and Sladek looking likely to book a win.

With three players left, the battle was on to make the heads-up. Holtz was the unlucky player to miss out as he lost his stack to Goldberg. Holtz three-bet all-in pre-flop after the biggest bet came from Goldberg and his opponent made the call. Holtz’s [Kc][7d][6d][2c] needed help against the [Ad][Ah][Kh][9h] of Golbderg. Unfortunately for Holtz, he didn’t get it as the [5c][4s][2h][6c][5h] board led to his elimination. His result was worth $36,741, but Holtz failed to make was to be an even-handed heads-up battle for the bracelet.

With the chip stacks almost level, the bracelet was up for grabs and the lead was exchanged between both players before the climax of the tournament. Sladek had taken the lead during heads-up play but was just over 30,000 chips ahead of Golbderg when he called a pre-flop raise and saw a flop of [Tc][5c][3h]. A raising war saw both players commit their chips and it was Sladek who led with his [As][Kh][Th][5s] against the [9c][9d][7c][4s] of Golbderg.

The turn of [Js] was safe for Sladek, but the river of [9s] gave Golbderg the winning set and almost all of the chips. Just a couple of hands later, the spare change was mopped up by Golbderg, who won their first WSOP bracelet and the $86,440 top prize. Sladek had to settle for the $53,405 awarded for being the runner-up.

There were 221 players who took on the WSOP PLO Championship, with those players rebuying 177 times, creating a prize pool of $367,500. Just 54 players made the money, with stars such as Kristen Bicknell (45th for $1,945), Anthony Zinno (35th for $2,239), Alex Foxen (23rd for $2,606), John Riordan (22nd for $2,606), Justin Lapka (11th for $4,624) and Justin Geary (9th for $5,836) all making the money but missing the action at the final table.

WSOP Online Series Event #27 PLO Championship Final Table Results:

1. David ‘lox10’ Goldberg – $86,440
2. Todd ‘Chi.T.420’ Sladek- $53,405
3. Michael ‘BrockLesnar’ Holtz- $36,741
4. Joseph ‘brandnflowrs’ Sanders- $25,620
5. ‘auntweesh’- $18,315
6. Chan Woo ‘Rikishi’ Kim- $13,544
7. Andre ‘RiderStrong’ Nyffeler- $10,130
8. Blaze ‘skillz225’ Gaspari- $7,561