WSOP: Brian Rast Captures 4th Bracelet in $10K 2-7 Championship
Doyle Brunson was firmly in the spotlight today at the 2018 World Series of Poker, but in the end the ‘Godfather of Poker’ couldn’t take down his 11th bracelet in what we now know will be the legend’s last ever tournament.
A very recognisable name would take down that bracelet though, while Tuesday also saw two new events kick off. Here’s all the info from June 12.
Brian Rast Takes Down 4th Bracelet in $10K 2-7 Championship
Another event is in the books, even if it didn’t quite produce the fairytale ending that many were hoping for.
Brian Rast is now a four-time bracelet winner, after he defeated start-of-day chip leader Mike Wattel heads-up for the $259,670 winner’s prize and the WSOP gold. Italy’s Dario Sammartino came close to his first bracelet, ending in third, while the short stack coming into the final table, James Alexander, will surely be happy to ladder up to fourth.
However, it was the sixth-place finisher who may capture most of the headlines. Doyle Brunson announced to the world on Monday that he was retiring from the game, meaning this event would be his last shot at an 11th WSOP bracelet. Texas Dolly put on a great showing, but couldn’t capture the gold to bookend his incredible, legendary career at the felt.
Rast spoke highly of Brunson after his victory, saying: “In the last couple of years, I’ve started playing with Doyle a lot. So, in that respect, it was, you know, just another day playing with Doyle, but I could still take a step back and appreciate, like from the poker world’s poker world’s perspective … he has a history of back-to-back and the 10-deuce named after him because he won the back-to-back championships and he’s won a lot of bracelets … He’s a legend.
“I could really appreciate from that perspective how special it was that Doyle came, he actually played a tournament this year and final tabled it,” Rast continued. “And you know everyone was pulling for Doyle and I can understand that. And you know, outside of me, I was pulling for Doyle too.”
Rast held a 4:1 chip lead over Wattel when their duel began, and in the last hand Wattel shoved with a ten-low which Rast called with a nine-low. Both stood pat, and that meant Rast was the champ.
As for his fourth bracelet, Rast said: “This element gives everyone who you normally play with something to talk about, something to share, something that bonds you a little bit, which as the years go by is nice.”
Final Table Results:
- Brian Rast – $259,670
- Mike Wattel – $160,489
- Dario Sammartino – $114,023
- James Alexander – $81,986
- Shawn Sheikhan – $59,669
- Doyle Brunson – $43,963
- John Hennigan – $32,796
McKeehen, Loeser, Boatman Headline Final 17 in MILLIONAIRE MAKER
There is a stacked line-up of seasoned pros heading into the fourth day of play in Event #21: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONAIRE MAKER. Day 3 saw the 155 players (out of 7,361 who entered) cut down to just 17, with all eyes now firmly on the $1,173,223 first-place prize.
It’s Chad Hahn who leads the survivors, having bagged up 6,525,000 chips. He’s closely followed by Sean Marshall (6,160,000), and Manuel Ruivo (5,900,000). However, those guys will have a tough time tomorrow as they’ll be battling with the likes of 2015 Main Event winner Joe McKeehen (4,210,000), German high roller regular Manig Loeser (3,040,000), and British poker legend Barny Boatman (1,150,000).
Tomorrow’s field could have been even more loaded, as they lost lots of big names deep into the money. Some of those who cashed include Joseph Cheong (23th, $40,898), Kyle Hatree (25th, $40,898), Robert Brown (36th, $32,927), JC Tran (42th, $26,713), Eddy Sabat (49th, $21,839), Steve Sung (59th, $17,995), James Calderaro (74th, 12,508), Elio Fox (92th, $8,976) and Greg Merson (94th, $8,976).
The final 17 will return at 11am on Wednesday, with blinds starting at 50K/100K and all of them guaranteed a $51,188 payday. Here’s a look at the chip counts:
- Chad Hahn – 6,525,000
- Sean Marshall – 6,160,000
- Manuel Ruivo – 5,900,000
- Ralph Massey – 4,435,000
- Michael Souza – 4,400,000
- Joe McKeehen – 4,210,000
- Justin Liberto – 3,337,000
- Manig Loeser – 3,040,000
- Samad Razavi – 2,935,000
- Michael Finstein – 2,450,000
- Arne Kern – 2,440,000
- Enio Bozzano – 2,255,000
- Richard Dixon – 1,615,000
- Kelly Wolfe – 1,515,000
- Jared Narzem – 1,340,000
- Aaron Messmer – 1,295,000
- Barny Boatman – 1,150,000
THE MARATHON Jogs Along, Down to 246
Another slow stretch of Event #24: $2,620 THE MARATHON No-Limit Hold’em was chalked up today, bringing the 1,479 total field down to 246.
Another six 100-minute levels were played on Tuesday’s Day 2, and when the chip bags were brought out it was Walter Fisher who held the chip lead with 641,500. He’s closely followed by Scott Einiger (636,000), while Faraz Jaka (491,500) is near the top of the counts too. Jaka is looking for back-to-back final tables in this one, having finished sixth last year.
Just a few of the notables set to return tomorrow include Kristen Bicknell, Chris Moorman, Jesse Sylvia, Cate Hall, David Peters, and former main event champion Ryan Riess. This event has created a $3,485,124 prize pool so far.
Play resumes at 1pm Wednesday, and you’ll find the top 10 stacks below:
- Walter Fisher – 641,500
- Scott Einiger – 636,000
- Daniel Colpoys – 598,500
- Bart Lybaert – 569,500
- Joseph Pietrafesa – 524,500
- Yaniv Peretz – 496,500
- Faraz Jaka – 491,500
- Spencer Champlin – 486,000
- Marcos Antunes – 480,000
- Martin Kozlov – 465,000
Dobson, Greenstein, Elezra Advance in Event #20: $1,500 Stud-Hi Lo
Day 2 of Event #20: $1,500 Stud-Hi Lo ended with just 23 players still in contention. The chip leader overnight is Ben ‘f3nix35’ Dobson, who tops the pack with 595,000. Dobson took the lead courtesy of a huge pot versus Mike Matusow which saw both make full houses.
Barry Greenstein finished the night second in chips with 349,000, while Eli Elezra bagged the fourth biggest with 334,000. Bracelet winners Jesse Martin (335,000) and Georgios Sotiropoulos (231,000) will return, as will actor James Woods (210,000), who is seeking his second final table of the summer.
Spare a thought for former PocketFives no.1 player Calvin ‘cal42688’ Anderson, who finished this one as the bubble boy. All 23 players have now locked up $4,899, but there’s $173,528 for the eventual champ.
Play continues at 2pm Wednesday. You’ll find the top 10 stacks below:
- Benjamin Dobson – 595,000
- Barry Greenstein – 349,000
- Jesse Martin – 335,000
- Eli Elezra – 334,000
- Nicholas Kiley – 276,000
- James Nelson – 249,000
- Tim Finne – 246,000
- Georgios Sotiropoulos – 231,000
- Joel Tushnet – 212,000
- James Woods – 210,000
$1K PLO Kicks Off
One of the two Day 1s to get going on Tuesday was Event #26: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha. It attracted 986 runners, but after ten levels just 100 remain, all in the hunt for the $169,842 first-place prize.
The bubble burst at 148 players, and some of those who cashed but failed to advance to Day 2 include Bryce Yockey (134th – $1,503), Martijn Gerrits (116th – $1,564), Sandeep Pulusani (111th – $1,564) and Justin Young (104th – $1,564).
However, one player who will definitely be back tomorrow is overnight chip leader Ryan Goindoo. He’ll be joined tomorrow by the likes of Felipe Ramos, Christian Harder, Joe Cada, Martin Finger, Mikhail Semin and Shannon Shorr.
They’re all guaranteed $1,564 when play resumes at 12pm Wednesday.
Top 10 Chip Counts:
- Ryan Goindoo – 196,000
- Ivaylo Sivinov – 192,900
- Clinton Monfort – 173,900
- Thayer Rasmussen – 142,000
- Richard Tuhrim – 141,700
- Filippos Stavrakis – 141,500
- Arthur Morris – 133,000
- Uri Reichenstein – 100,000
- Roman Valerstein – 98,100
- Sean Troha – 90,800
Former no.1 Shaun Deeb leads $10K H.O.R.S.E.
It’s none other than former PocketFives no.1 Shaun Deeb who topped the Day 1 field in Event #27: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. The 157 entries were chopped down to 72 after ten levels, and as you’d expect, it’s a stellar line-up of mixed game beasts.
Following two-time WSOP bracelet winner Deeb with 234,500 is Michael McKenna (215,500) and Robert Mizrachi (212,500), while other big stacks and notables include Brock Parker (199,500), Aditya Prasetyo (191,000), Randy Ohel (185,500), John Hennigan (175,000), David Benyamine (166,500), James Obst (164,500), Anthony Zinno (162,000), David “Bakes” Baker (159,000), Ian Johns (158,000), Cliff Josephy (142,500), John Monnette (142,000) and Jeff Lisandro (132,500).
Daniel Negreanu had a good start to the day, but couldn’t maintain the momentum, ultimately finishing with one of the shortest stacks (25,500). Meanwhile, Jason Mercier bagged up 79,000.
Registration is still open, and play resumes at 2pm Wednesday.
Top 10 Chip Counts:
- Shaun Deeb – 234,500
- Michael McKenna – 215,500
- Robert Mizrachi – 212,500
- Brock Parker – 199,500
- Ryan Miller – 198,000
- Iraj Parvizi – 192,000
- Aditya Prasetyo – 191,000
- Andrew Kelsall – 187,500
- Randy Ohel – 185,500
- John Hennigan – 175,000
Tomorrow’s Action (June 13)
There are two shiny new tournaments set to kick off on Wednesday June 13, and both are sure to be popular.
First, one for the NLHE heads. Event #28: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed kicks off at 11am, which was won last year by the winnigest player in online history, former no.1 Chris ‘moorman1’ Moorman.
Then at 3pm there’s one for the mixed gamers. Event #29: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw will get going, and Brian Brubaker was last year’s champ.
