WSOP: Ben Keeline Wins Colossus II, Berg Takes Down Dealers Choice
It took six days to do it but the 2016 World Series of Poker crowned a Colossus II winner Tuesday night and the story is almost too good to be true. Ben Keeline, who was down to just 500 chips on his second and final bullet at one point on Day 1, came all the way back to overcome the second largest live tournament in poker history to win a cool $1,000,000.
Keeline’s win was one of two bracelets handed out on Tuesday while one of the most highly anticipated tournaments of each year, the $10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em Championship, got underway with 153 runners.
Event #2: Ben Keeline Goes From Uber Driver to Million Dollar Winner
It might be hard to believe, but just a few months ago Ben Keeline had put his poker career on hold and was driving for Uber to make ends meet. Tuesday night in Las Vegas Keeline, who had previously won a WSOP Circuit event, beat Jiri Horak in dramatic fashion to win Colossus II and the $1,000,000 first place prize money.
On the final hand of the night Horak raised to 5,000,000 from the button and Keeline moved all in. Horak called and tabled 
while Keeline held 
. The 
[7h
flop hit Horak, but not well enough and the 
turn was no help either. The river was the 
giving Horak top two pair but also completing Keeline’s flush and sealing the victory for him.
“I’m elated. I can’t even think about what this means, not just the money, but the gold bracelet. This is something I could not have imagined would happen just a few days ago,” said Keeline. “Sure, I thought it could happen and I thought I could win if I played well, but to have it go the way it went, well – that’s more than I express how I feel right now. It’s going to take some time for this to all sink in.”
The two played 122 hands heads up poker over nearly four hours. Horak, who thought he won the tournament when the fell on the river, earned $618,000 for his runner-up performance.
PocketFivers Richard ‘carrtennis’ Carr finished fourth for $348,462 and Jonathan ‘Itsmejon’ Borenstein finished eighth for $118,937, the first six-figure live score of his career.
Colossus II Final Table Payouts
- Ben Keeline – $1,000,000
- Jiri Horak – $618,000
- Farhad Davoudzadeh – $462,749
- Richard ‘carrtennis’ Carr – $348,462
- Marek Ohnisko – $263,962
- Christopher Renaudette – $201,151
- Alex Benjamen – $154,208
- Jonathan Borenstein – $118,937
- Xiu Deng – $92,291
Event #5: One-time Poker Dealer Lawrence Berg Wins $1,500 Six Max Dealers Choice Event
With 19 different games to choose from in the $1,500 Dealers Choice event, it should come as no surprise that former dealer found his way to the winner’s circle. Lawrence Berg overcame 388 other players to win $125,466 and the first WSOP bracelet of his career.
Berg defeated Yueqi Zhu heads up while playing Omaha Hi-Lo. Zhu, who is from China, now has 47 WSOP cashes to his credit but no bracelet. This is his second runner-up finish.
The final table included two players with WSOP titles already to their credit. Former #1-ranked PocketFiver Paul Volpe finished fourth for $33,39 and while Andrew Brown finished third for $50,250.
Final Table Payouts
- Lawrence Berg – $125,466
- Yueqi Zhu – $77,526
- Andrew Brown – $50,250
- Paul Volpe – $33,393
- Joseph Couden – $22,765
- John Templeton – $15,932
Event #6: Justin Young Leads $1,500 No Limit Event
Just over six weeks after capturing his first World Poker Tour title, Justin Young finds himself in the driver’s seat as he chases down the first WSOP bracelet of his career. Young bagged up 997,000 chips after Day 2 of the first $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event of the summer and sits atop the remaining 36 players with just one day to go.
Right behind Young is Irish poker pro Timothy Farrelly with 870,000. Those who follow the WSOP Circuit will recognize the name of the player in third. Alexandru Masek, whose nine WSOP Circuit rings is the most won by any player, finished with 744,000. Mike ‘M8675309a’ Addamo, who won the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up in April, sits fourth with 724,000.
The final 36 players return to the tables at 2 PM PT and will play down to a winner with the eventual champion walking away with $438,417.
Top 10 Chip Counts
- Justin Young – 997,000
- Timothy Farrelly – 870,000
- Alexandru Masek – 744,000
- Mike Addamo – 724,000
- Quang Ngo – 698,000
- Alexander Stasenko – 649,000
- Paul Siegel – 635,000
- Michael Moore – 608,000
- Korenev Roman – 589,000
Event #7: Ryan D’Angelo Leads Final Eight in $1,500 No Limit Deuce to Seven
Ryan D’Angelo leads the final eight players in the $1,500 No Limit Deuce to Seven event with a former #1-ranked PocketFiver within striking distance. D’Angelo finished with 499,000 at the end of Day 2 of the event with Dan Kelly sitting in fourth.
Kelly, who already has two WSOP bracelets to his credit, ended the day with 256,500. Sandwiched between D’Angelo and Kelly is John Monnette (425,000) and Tom Franklin (360,000).
The final eight players return at 2 PM PT and will play down to a winner.
Chip Counts
- Ryan D’Angelo – 499,000
- John Monnette – 425,000
- Tom Franklin – 360,000
- Dan Kelly – 256,500
- Alex Dovzhenko – 176,500
- Konstantin Maslak – 162,000
- Todd Barlow – 118,000
- Joao Vieira – 94,500
Event #8: Naoya Kihara Leading $1,500 HORSE After Day 1
One of two events to kick off on Tuesday, the $1,500 HORSE event drew 778 players with 201 making it through the day. Japan’s Naoya Kihara finished with the biggest stack at the end of the day, putting 85,900 in the bag. Danny Wong, who already has three WSOP cashes this summer, finished right behind Kihara with 78,500.
Other notable still in contention include Esther Taylor-Brady (75,000), Matt Vengrin (54,400), Jared Bleznick (53,600), Richard Ashby (51,600) and Andre Akkari (50,300). Brian Hastings, who won two WSOP bracelets in 2015, also made it through Day 1, finishing with 48,200.
Defending champion Arash Ghaneian was one of the 577 Day 1 casualties.
Top 10 Chip Counts
- Naoya Kihara – 85,900
- Danny Wong – 78,500
- Ron Ware – 77,800
- Esther Taylor-Brady – 75,000
- Raul Paez – 75,000
- Nick Kost – 72,900
- Harold Klein – 65,000
- Jake Schwartz – 64,200
- Gaurav Kalro – 64,000
- Joseph Kohls – 63,000
Event #9: Busquet, Esfandiari, Kenney Among 32 Left in $10,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold’em Championship
One of the marquee events on the WSOP schedule each year, the $10,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold’em Championship drew 153 players including most of the biggest names in the game. Only 50 players played in the first round to get the number of players down to a bracketable 128 players.
The final 32 players includes some of the players you would expect to see in an event of this stature. Olivier Busquet, Max Silver, Sam Stein, Jason Les, Antonio Esfandiari, Bryn Kenney and Chance Kornuth all advanced.
The eventual champion will walk away with $320,574. The Day 2 schedule calls for a minimum of three rounds of play and possibly four depending on the pace of play.
Round of 32 Bracket
- Jared Jaffee vs. Scott Baumstein
- Chance Kornuth vs. Olivier Busquet
- Federico Petruzzelli vs. Jason Les
- Daniel McAulay vs. Orlando Romero
- Matthew Parry vs. Konstantin Ramazanov
- Alan Wehbi vs. Alan Percal
- Tanner Millen vs. Benjamin Geisman
- Paul Newey vs. Sam Soverel
- Igor Yaroshevskyy vs. John Smith
- Antonio Esfandiari vs. Bryn Kenney
- Ankush Mandavia vs. Jacob Wideman
- Nick Yunis vs. Ali Davoudi
- Sam Stein vs. Max Silver
- Matthew Diehl vs. Adrien Allain
- Adrian Mateos vs. Max Altergott
- Alex Luneau vs. Bobby Oboodi
