Plenty of World Series of Poker action to catch up on as we hit the end zone of the 47th annual festival including bracelets for Tony Dunst, Jens Kyllonen, and Kyle Bowker.
I was walking down the Rio corridor to get Matt Ashton a coffee (I have to bribe my interview guests) when Jens Kyllonen and his girlfriend walked past me in the opposite direction. The pair looked out of place amongst the shorts and flip flops. Both immaculately dressed, looking like they had just stepped out of a Gucci advert.
It later transpired that Kyllonen had flown into Las Vegas with one goal in mind – to win the $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) event, and that’s what he did.
Kyllonen became only the third Finnish player in history to win a WSOP bracelet, and bank a $1.1m score in the process, after beating 2016 WSOP hero Tommy Le in a three-hour heads-up marathon. Le was making his third final table of the season, and as now recorded Top 5 finishes in all of them.
184 entrants created a $4.3m prize pool, and as you would imagine, there were no mugs at the final table, but it was the pristinely preened Finn who beat the lot, afterwards telling WSOP officials that he once won a million bucks playing online in a single day.
Rumour has it; Kyllonen has already paid $200,000 to Richard Branson so he can be one of the first passengers to fly into space on Virgin Galactic. I think the lad should give Elon Musk a call. We could do with his genes on his million man and women mission to populate Mars.
Final Table Results
1. Jens Kyllonen – $1,127,035
2. Tommy Le – $696,558
3. Dan Smith – $487,361
4. Ryan D’Angelo – $347,641
5. Veselin Karakitukov – $252,909
6. Dmitry Savelyev – $187,724
7. Ludovic Geilich – $142,227
8. Sean Winter – $110,035
Other titans who came close to a million bucks were Robert Mizrachi (9th), Michael Mizrachi (12th), and Paul Volpe (15th).
Alan Du Wins $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em
We have our first bracelet for China in 2016 after Alan Du upset the odds to blast his way through the final table en route to winning the strong $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event.
Du, who is a businessman, came to the final table with over half of the chips in play before proceeding to eliminate every player at the final table including Dominik Nitsche, who was searching for bracelet #4. Du also removed Natasha Barbour in the third position, but her disappointment soon turned to joy after her boyfriend Jason Mercier got down on one knee and popped the question.
She said yes.
Du, 48, defeated 863 entrants and wins $800,586.
Final Table Results
1. Yue Du – $800,586
2. Michael Gentili – $494,797
3. Natasha Barbour – $348,374
4. Dominik Nitsche – $248,640
5. Ismael Bojang – $179,923
6. Marius Gierse – $132,030
7. Matthew O’Donnell – $98,269
8. Sertac Turker – $74,201
9. Arne Coulier – $56,851
A few beasts who came mightily close to the final table were Sergey Lebedev (12th), Daniel Rudd (15th), and Byron Kaverman (30th).
David Prociak Wins Event #60: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
There was another shock in Event #60: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better when David Prociak won a bracelet in his first ever visit to the WSOP.
Prociak has only been playing poker seriously for less than a year, and he has hit the ground running after beating 521 entrants, including a final table that included bracelet winners Calvin Anderson, Brandon Shack-Harris, and John Monnette. Shack-Harris was going for his second bracelet in less than a week. Monnette has now cashed eight times and booked 6 Top 10 finishes.
Final Table Results
1. David Prociak – $156,546
2. Brandon Shack-Harris – $96,750
3. John Monnette – $66,601
4. Alexander Livingston – $46,652
5. Louis Russo – $33,263
6. Guarav Kalro – $24,148
7. Jameson Painter – $17,855
8. Calvin Anderson – $13,452
Other icons of the felt to make a deep run were Bryan Devonshire (10th), Jimmy Fricke (19th), and Andy Bloch (23rd).
Doug Polk and Ryan Fee Wins the $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit, Hold’em Event
Team Upswing Poker has won the first tag team tournament in 34 years. Doug Polk and Ryan Fee were representing the new coaching and Twitch streaming site. Polk was winning his second bracelet; Fee his first.
863 teams entered the event. Ryan Laplante made a little bit of history by cashing for the 12th time this summer – a record number of cashes for a single series. The Little Family (father, wife and won) finished ninth, and Mohsin Charania very nearly joined the Triple Crown Club when he and Marvin Rettenmaier finished third.
Final Table Results
1. Ryan Fee/Doug Polk – $76,679
2. Niel Mittelman/Adam Greenberg/Gabriel Paul – $31,583
3. Marvin Rettenmaier/Mohsin Charania – $33,229
4. Chris Godfrey/James Dempsey – $23,639
5. TJ Shulman/John Gale – $17,059
6. Owais Ahmed/Adam Owen/Benny Glaser/Bart Lybaert – $6,245
7. Robert Altman/Reuben Peters – $9,282
8. Michael Padula/Marco Caruso/Daniel Urban – $4,667
9. Jonathan Little/Larry Little/Rita Little – $3,575
Tony Dunst Wins Event #63: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
World Poker Tour (WPT) Raw Deal Presenter, Tony Dunst, has beaten 2,452 entrants to take the $339,254 first prize in the final $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em events of the series.
Dunst has now won a WPT title and a WSOP bracelet. He only needs a European Poker Tour (EPT) title to earn a Triple Crown. Dunst, 31, was cashing for the 25th time in his career. It was his second WSOP final table appearance of his life.
Final Table Results
1. Tony Dunst – $339,254
2. Jason Rivkin – $209,596
3. Joshua Fields – $153,015
4. Francisco Araujo – $112,724
5. Matas Cimbolas – $83,804
6. Sergio Cabrera – $62,880
7. Levon Torosyan – $47,622
8. Raffaele Castro – $36,406
9. David Sciacqua – $28,097
Other big names to run deep included Steven Wolansky (13th), Faraz Jaka (17th), and Sebastian Pauli (21st).
Kyle Bowker Wins Event #64: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better
10-years is a long grind, but it’s worth it in the end.
Kyle Bowker beat 473 entrants to take the $294,960 first prize, and most importantly, the gold bracelet, in Event #64: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better. It was his 34th cash after playing in over 200 events.
Bowker prevented Kate Hoang from winning a third bracelet for fans of female poker this series. Richard Ashby and Scott Clements also made the final table.
Final Table Results
1. Kyle Bowker – $294,960
2. Kate Hoang – $182,281
3. Jarred Graham – $124,360
4. Richard Ashby – $86,422
5. Chris Ruby – $61,196
6. Noah Bronstein – $44,171
7. Daniel Lowe – $32,510
8. Scott Clements – $24,409
9. Paul Taylor – $18,702
Other superheroes to play exceptionally well but end up short were Marco Johnson (11th), Ari Engel (14th), and Jon Turner (15th).
