Jesse Martin managed to battle his way through one of the toughest final tables of the series to take his first WSOP gold bracelet in Event: #43 $10,000 2-7 No-Limit Draw Lowball, and boy did he feel it.
We talked about emotion yesterday and how refreshing it was to see Jared Hamby fighting back the tears during his celebratory interview. So it’s fantastic to see Jesse Martin break down in tears during his post match interview with PokerNews sideline reporter Lynn Gilmartin.
Why, you may ask? Because it epitomizes what it means to win a WSOP bracelet. His tears speak a thousand words; and they call this poker thing ‘just a game!’ It’s not just a game. For thousands of people who grind at the tables every day this is their life. This is Jesse Martins life.
For Martin this is the pinnacle of a lifetime of hard graft. Coming to the series, year-after-year and walking away empty wristed can be a tough scenario to face, so when Martin found himself seated in a game he is not familiar with, and a whole host of superstars who were, it’s safe to say that he was an underdog.
But Martin rode his luck, especially three-handed, and managed to defeat David ‘Bakes’ Baker in heads-up action thus preventing the talented superstar from winning his third gold bracelet.
Martin takes $253, 524 for his troubles, but most importantly the memories of a WSOP bracelet win.
Hungary Take Gold For Europe
The Hungarians are the unlikeliest of countries to add more World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold to the European umbrella after Norbert Szecsi outlasted 2,100 entrants in Event #42: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE).
It was the Hungarians greatest day in his poker life, eclipsing his final table performance in the World Poker Tour (WPT) stop in the Viennese capital back in 2012 where he finished in sixth place.
The final table was one of the quickest of the series with Szecsi getting the business done in just 132-hands. It was another close shave for the American Chris De Maci who had to settle for a third place berth worth $149,281. De Maci was the runner up when Japan won their first gold bracelet in the $5k Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) Six-Handed event last year, courtesy of Naoya Kihara.
Mercier Has Few People Worried
We are three-quarters of our way through the series and Jason Mercier is fast running out of time if he is going to escape the hole that his bracelet bets have currently dug for him.
The Global Poker Index (GPI) ranked top live tournament player in the world has cashed five times, so far this series, but he is really motoring in Event #44: $3,000 NLHE where he currently sits 3/17 in the third day of action.
1,072 players entered the event and the likes of WSOP bracelet holder Will Jaffe and the highly talented Nam Le join Mercier. There is $592,684 reserved for first.
Moorman Dominating the Ante Only Format
Event #45: $1,500 Ante Only tournament has whizzed through it’s first day of action and the British online legend, Chris Moorman, has dominated proceedings finishing the day on top of the pile.
Allen Cunningham continues his great performance, at this year’s series, with another great run, and he is joined by the likes of Gabriel Nassif, Tommy Vedes, David Vamplew, David Singer and Blair Hinkle as this fresh event enters its second day of action.
Woodward Leads the PLO
Matt Woodward has more chips that anyone else in Event #46: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low 8-or-Better. 435-players ponied up the $3k and after the end of Day One only 116-survived to take their seats in Day Two.
Woodward is joined by the likes of Paul Tedeschi, Gavin Smith, Ali Eslami and Donnacha O’Dea as the second day of action gets underway.
