WSOP: Vladas Burneikis Wastes No Time Winning Event #49
The shortest recorded war in history was the Anglo-Zanzibar War. It lasted 38 minutes. That’s the same amount of time that Vladas Burneikis needed to dust off the final table of Event #49 ($500 Turbo Deepstack NLHE) of the 2020 World Series of Poker Online on Sunday night on the way to earning the first WSOP bracelet of his career.
Burneikis eliminated five of his final eight opponents to win $192,523 and the hardware. Prior to this win, his lifetime WSOP cashes totaled $3,568 and his total live earnings was just a tad more than $200,000.
Five minutes after the final table began, the first player was sent packing. Action folded to Pierre Marlin in the cutoff and he moved all in for 21,744,166 and Jimmy Guerrero called from the big blind for 7,817,956. Guerrero showed and Merlin tabled . The flop paired Merlin’s ace but gave Guerrero middle set. The turn kept Merlin’s runner-runner hopes alive and the turn completed his straight to eliminate Guerrero in ninth place.
Eight minutes later, Burneikis opened to 3,000,000 from middle position and Guillaume Nolet moved all in for 8,978,617 from the big blind. Burneikis called and tabled and found out he was racing against the of Nolet. The board ran out to give Burneikis top pair and elimniate Nolet in eighth.
Six minutes later, Burneikis ended another player’s night. Burneikis opened to 2,400,000 from middle position before Zhewen Hu raised all in for 10,445,311 from the big blind. Burneikis called and showed while Hu tabled . The flop put Burneikis in control and neither the turn or river kept Hu from a seventh place result.
Burneikis simply couldn’t be stopped at this point. Two minutes after eliminating Hu, the Lithuanian grinder came out on top of a blind versus blind battle. Action folded to Burneikis in the small blind and he raised to 20,400,000 and Ezequiel Waigel called all in from the big blind. Burneikis showed and Waigel happily showed . The flop flipped the script and Waigel was unable to change it back as the turn and river completed the board. Waigel was done and dusted in sixth.
The next elimination also came in a battle of the blinds but this time Burneikis was in the role of spectator. Pierre Marlin moved all in from the small blind and Jeff Cormer called all in from the big. Marlin happily turned over and Cormier tabled . The flop gave Cormier a pair of tens and the turn added a flush draw. The river was a brick for Cormier and he was eliminated in fifth place.
Two hands later, Burneikis sent the short stack home. Down to less than half of a big blinds, Brendan Sheehan was all in from the small blind with and Burneikis called from the big with . The runout made Sheehen’s elimination in fourth place official.
On the very next hand, Merlin moved all in from the small blind for 42,739,662 and Kolev called from the big blind. Merlin showed and Kolev had live cards with . The flop left Kolev drawing to a gutshot or some runner-runner help. The turn was a blank as was the river and Kolev was out in third.
After the fast-paced eliminations leading to heads up, the one-on-one battle took a relatively longer time. Burneikis needed 10 minutes of play to finish off Merlin.
Down to just under five big blinds, Merlin moved all in for 9,736,310 and Burneikis called. Merlin tabled and Burneikis had . The flop missed Merlin. The turn however made his bustout official and the river served only as an unnecessary needle. Burneikis’ victory also included a $12,000 WSOP Europe package.
Final Table Payouts
- Vladas Burneikis – $192,523
- Pierre Merlin – $147,052
- Boris Kolev – $105,732
- Brendan Sheehan – $76,022
- Jeff Cormier – $54,660
- Ezequiel Waigel – $39,301
- Zhewen Hu – $28,258
- Guillaume Nolet – $20,317
- Jimmy Guerrero – $14,608