WSOP: Kwon Defeats Urbanovich In Razz, Klein Wins #3 in $10K PLO
After a ‘no bracelet’ day on Monday, we saw two new bracelet winners on Tuesday at the 2018 World Series of Poker. One of them picked up his first piece of WSOP jewellery, while the other claimed his third, plus over a million bucks to go with it.
Meanwhile, the MONSTER STACK played down to 20, the $10K Limit Championship got down to 14, and the $3K NLHE kicked off for Day 1.
Here’s all the news from June 26.
Razz Specialist Jay Kwon Wins First Bracelet and $125,431
Coming into the final table fifth in chips, and with some stiff competition from the likes of start-of-day chip leader Kevin Iacofano, Adam ‘adamyid’ Owen, and Dzmitry ‘Colisea’ Urbanovich, meant Jay Kwon had his work cut out for him in Event #46: $1,500 Razz.
Thing is though, Kwon considers himself a Razz specialist, and with two prior cashes in WSOP Razz events, he’s now a bracelet winner in the format.
“Razz is like my favorite game, and I feel like it’s an underappreciated game and people get frustrated at it,” Kwon said after his victory. “But I love the game and yeah, this means more to me than a lot of tournaments. I started playing it and it was really interesting, so I kind of got into it and just started playing it a lot. I’m somewhat of a Razz specialist.”
His ability in the game was on display today, defeating the aforementioned tough final table. Owen bowed out in third, meaning Kwon was up against Urbanovich heads-up. The Polish wunderkind built a 2.5:1 chip lead at one point, but Kwon was able to fight back and close it out.
Final Table Results:
- Jay Kwon – $125,431
- Dzmitry Urbanovich – $77,526
- Adam Owen – $52,536
- Michael McKenna – $36,324
- Kevin Iacofano – $25,637
- Thomas Taylor – $18,477
- Jeff Mitseff – $13,605
- Jeanne David – $10,240
- Kyle Montgomery – $7,881
Loren Klein Wins Bracelet #3 in $10K PLO Championship ($1,018,336)
For the third year running, Loren Klein has bagged himself a WSOP bracelet. And this one, his third, is a big one.
Klein took down Event #49: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for a massive $1,018,336 score, defeating three-time bracelet winner Rep Porter heads-up to clinch victory. Klein’s previous WSOP bracelets came in a $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha in 2016, and a $1,500 PLO event in 2016. It’s safe to say that PLO is this guy’s game.
Brandon Shack-Harris came into the six-handed finale as chip leader, but would ultimately have to settle for a third-place finish. He’ll have to wait for another tournament to grab his third bracelet, as will fifth-place finisher Ryan Hughes. Prior to those eliminations, we lost 2018 bracelet winner Scott Bohlman in sixth.
When asked what winning a bracelet three years in a row meant to him, Klein said :”Not a ton, the variance in getting a bracelet is pretty wild. I was the same player I was three years ago before I had any bracelet, so it doesn’t mean a whole lot. But it is certainly a good time. There are a lot of guys that make good runs all the time, so I am probably right there with them.”
Final Table Results:
- Loren Klein – $1,018,336
- Rep Porter – $629,378
- Brandon Shack-Harris – $433,259
- Jerry Wong – $303,491
- Ryan Hughes – $216,391
- Scott Bohlman – $157,097
MONSTER STACK Down to 29
They call it the ‘Mini Main Event’, and Event #48: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MONSTER STACK has certainly lived up to that banner, what with 6,260 players taking part. After Tuesday’s Day 3 though, just 29 players remain in the hunt.
Vitor Rangel is the player closest to the $1,037,451 first-place prize right now, as he bagged the overnight chip lead with 8,910,000. He’s followed by James Carroll (8,165,000), Harald Sammer (7,170,000) and Rittie Chuaprasert (5,785,000).
Other notables still in contention include Michael Benko (5,250,000), Colin McHugh (4,310,000), James Salmon (4,210,000), two-time WSOP bracelet winner Steve Billirakis (4,145,000) and Jimmy Chen (4,000,000).
The final 29 will return Wednesday at 11am, with all players guaranteed a $28,841 payday.
Top 10 Stacks:
- Vitor Rangel – 8,920,000
- James Carroll – 8,165,000
- Harald Sammer – 7,170,000
- Rittie Chuaprasert – 5,785,000
- Michael Benko – 5,250,000
- Colin McHugh – 4,310,000
- James Salmon – 4,210,000
- Steve Billirakis – 4,145,000
- Jimmy Chen – 4,000,000
- Raul Manzanares Lozano – 3,365,000
Day 2 of BOUNTY Takes Field Down to 29
Just like in the MONSTER STACK, Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em BOUNTY is also down to just 29 players. The 1,982 field has been whittled down to that after Tuesday’s Day 2 action.
The overnight chip leader is Ranno Sootla, who entered the day with the second biggest stack and ended with the largest – 1,500,000 million. Not too far behind him is Ryan Leng with 1,381,000 in chips, while the next biggest stacks belong to 2013 Main Event runner-up Jay Farber (901,000), Jamie ‘EzGame89’ O’Connor (also 901,000), Russell Rosenblum (730,000), Mikhail Semin (677,000) and Marvin Rettenmaier (316,000).
Throughout the course of play we lost several notables from the field, including Aaron Massey, (36th – $6,946), Dieter Dechant (54th – $4,765), Jan Eric Schwippert (56th – $4,014), Men Nguyen (66th – $3,419), James Mackey (89th – $2,576) and Andrey Zaichenko (144th – $1,846).
There’s a very attractive $272,504 waiting for the winner, as well as the bracelet. Everyone has locked up $6,946 by making Day 3, which kicks off at 12pm Wednesday.
Top 10 Stacks:
- Ranno Sootla – 1,500,000
- Ryan Leng – 1,381,000
- Jay Farber – 901,000
- Jamie O’Conner – 901,000
- Russell Rosenblum – 730,000
- Mikhail Semin – 677,000
- Juan Vecino – 663,000
- Ryne Capra – 602,000
- Robert Damelian – 562,000
- Quyen Hoang – 554,000
Stacked Final Two Tables in $10K Limit Hold’em
There are 11 bracelets split between the final 14 players in Event #52: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship, but the guy who holds a massive chip lead overnight is seeking his first piece of WSOP gold.
Dan Zack dominates the field right now with more than double the chips of the second largest stack. Zack bagged up 1,217,000, followed by Matt Szymaszek with 561,000 and Nick Schulman with 499,000. Schulman is going for his third bracelet.
Other bracelet winners still in include one-time winners Anthony Zinno, Scott Seiver, and Michael Moore, and three-time winners Benny Glaser and Brock Parker. Rounding out the field are Christopher Chung, Ken Deng, Matt Glantz, Philip Cordano, Maria Ho, and Bryce Landier.
A few of the notables who went deep include Joao Vieira and John Hennigan, the latter of which adds points to his Player of the Year run.
The final 14 have $17,000 locked up, but they’re all after the $296,222 first-place prize and the bracelet that goes with it. Will we have a new bracelet winner or will it go to one of the previous winners? Find out tomorrow when they return at 2pm.
Final 14 Stacks:
- Dan Zack – 1,217,000
- Matt Szymaszek – 561,000
- Nick Schulman – 499,000
- Anthony Zinno – 493,000
- Christopher Chung – 487,000
- Scott Seiver – 467,000
- Ken Deng – 406,000
- Michael Moore – 368,000
- Matt Glantz 267,000
- Philip Cordano – 251,000
- Maria Ho – 224,000
- Benny Glaser – 215,000
- Brock Parker – 167,000
- Bryce Landier – 83,000
Negreanu, Hellmuth, Elezra Advance in $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo 8
Day 1 of Event #53: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better wrapped up on Tuesday, with plenty of big names making it through. Out of the 935 entries, 191 found a bag.
Brad Albrinck ended play with the chip lead and a stack of 137,100. He’s followed by Bryce Yockey, who had an amazing 2017 WSOP, final tabling the MONSTER STACK before going on to win his first bracelet in the $10K PLO Championship. Defending champ in this event, Nathan Gamble, will also return tomorrow with a 42,000 stack.
Daniel Negreanu (81,100), Phil Hellmuth (67,400), Mike Matusow (76,800), and Eli Elezra (102,600) will all be back for more tomorrow too. Sadly, the same can’t be said for Erik Seidel, Mike Wattel, Frank Kassela, Mike Leah and Scott Bohlman, all of whom busted.
There’s $244,370 up top in this one, while the bubble bursts at 141 players for a $2,245 min-cash. Action resumes at 12pm Wednesday.
Top 10 Stacks:
- Brad Albrinck – 137,100
- Bryce Yockey – 131,900
- Dustin Pattinson – 129,100
- Eli Elezra – 102,600
- Kyle Miaso – 85,800
- Quinn Do – 83,600
- Thomas Cazayous – 81,400
- Daniel Negreanu – 81,100
- Hsiao Liu – 77,000
- Mike Matusow – 76,800
Mustafov Bags Day 1 Lead in $3K Big Blind Ante NLHE
Event #54: Big Blind Antes $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em proved a pretty popular event today, with 1,020 players taking part. When all was said and done ten levels later though, just 252 remained.
Farehdin Mustafov ended play as the chip leader with 205,000, closely followed by Jordan Young (203,000), Uri Reichenstein (164,000) and Luciano Hollanda (162,100). Some of the other big names to advance include Kristen Bicknell (132,900), Connor Drinan (100,000), Frank Kassel (99,700), Scotty Nguyen (95,500), Kathy Liebert (60,700), Calvin Anderson (58,400), and Michael Gathy (45,000).
As anyone who has ever played poker knows, for one player to gain a lot of chips must mean someone else has lost a lot. Some of those who lost their entire stacks today include Mohsin Charania, Rainer Kempe, Stephen Chidwick, Maria Lampropulos, Martin Jacobson, Sofia Lovgren, and Parker ‘Tonkaaaa’ Talbot.
The bubble will burst at 153 players, all of whom will secure a $4,513 cash. That pales in comparison to the $522,715 reserved for the winner though.
Action resumes at 2pm Wednesday.
Top 10 Stacks:
- Fahredin Mustafov – 205,000
- Jordan Young – 203,200
- Luciano Hollanda – 162,100
- Ryan Hall – 137,200
- Kristen Bicknell – 132,900
- Daniel Strelitz – 130,500
- Marciano Cruz – 128,000
- Randy Levin – 124,200
- Liu Yin – 110,000
- Andrey Zaichenko – 109,000
Tomorrow’s Action (June 27)
There are two new events kicking off on Wednesday June 27, one of which will be right up Jay Kwon’s street.
At 11am there’s the always popular Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em, so it will be interesting to find out who pairs up with who.
Then at 3pm there’s Event #56: $10,000 Razz Championship. Expect to see all the Razz specialists out in force for that one.
