Another World Series of Poker review including bracelet wins for Benjamin Zamani and Joseph Mitchell. Meanwhile, Bertrand “ElkY’ Grospellier leads the final table in the One Drop High Roller.
Benjamin Zamani and his rail were able to break out the frozen daiquiris after the World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year (POY) had ensured he was the architect of a successful run for gold in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.
Zamani won the Season XV WPT POY award for his sheer consistency, but he never nailed down a title, making this bracelet win all the more satisfying.
The Floridian finished runner-up in the WPT Legends of Poker Main Event, the Main Event in WPT Choctaw, and the Season XIV WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble.
A WPT title may have eluded him, but he seems to have sussed out how to shoot down the sharks when bracelet hunting. This was Zamani’s second bracelet win after overcoming 1,844 entrants to win a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event in 2015.
Zamani topped a field of 905 entrants to take the first prize of $238,620. Jared Hemingway failing to find the right storyline during the heads-up phase of proceedings. Last year, Benny Glaser won this event after defeating 934 entrants so the attendance was on par.
Pict of the day lol @Choochinstein@martin_zamani@PakmanMMApic.twitter.com/f7updfm2vv
— Andy Philachack (@philachack) June 4, 2017
Here are the final table results:
1. Benjamin Zamani – $238,620
2. Jared Hemingway – $147,428
3. Alex Ferrari – $103,471
4. Ryan Paluf – $73,647
5. Gary Vick – $53,171
6. Forrest Auel – $38,946
7. Scott Buller – $28,948
8. Martin Corpuz – $21,839
9. Dustin Sitar – $16,726
James Collopy (17th), Marco Johnson (23rd), and Ken Aldridge (30th) also ran deeper than an illiterate in a spelling bee.
Joseph “ul_gg” Mitchell wins the first online event of the series.
The second new event of the series is in the books after Joseph “ul_gg” Mitchell took down Event #8: $333 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em.
The unlimited re-entry event was the first of a record three WSOP bracelets where the entirety of the action would take place on the virtual felt. It was also the lowest buy-in point of any event in the 2017 schedule.
The event attracted 1,780 entrants, and Mitchell caught a break from the Poker Gods when his heads-up opponent, Mark “PLODonkey17” Scacewater, mysteriously sat out the vast majority of the action.
You do the arithmetic.
You have just made your way through a field of 1,780 entrants, and are possibly one or two hands away from your first WSOP bracelet, and a difference in $50,000 prize money.
Why would you sit out?
It’s not like Scacewater was trying the old rope-a-dope technique.
I don’t have all the facts, but it seems likely that there was an Internet issue. Although it goes with the territory, I can’t help thinking about the recent Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) Main Event where the members of the final table sat out until Charlie Carrel found a stable Internet connection.
What would you have done if you were in this situation?
Here are the final table results in full:
1. Joseph “ul_gg” Mitchell – $122,314
2. Mark “PLODonkey17” Scacewater – $73,539
3. Michael “ooookillthem” Addamo – $54,044
4. Hao “sandongcpa” Sun – $39,592
5. Bobby “bcmclawh” McLawhorn – $29,205
6. Michael “TonyPerkis1” Jacoby – $21,828
7. Kevin “SEQUENCE” Sheetz – $16,559
8. Casey “rhin0” Long – $12,645
If you are in Nevada and are interested in competing in a bracelet event online at WSOP.com then here are your options:
• Event #61: $3,333 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em High Roller – Sat July 1
• Event #71: $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit
ElkY Leads One Drop Final Table
Only nine players remain from the 130 entrants in the highest buy-in event of the tournament: Event #6: High Roller for One Drop – $111,111 No-Limit Hold’em, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier leads the way.
I wouldn’t back against ElkY in this one.
The gaming polymath may have won more than $11m in live tournament earnings includi
ng the Triple Crown, but he will be the first to admit that his results in recent years have not been up to his usual standards.
Green shoots of growth have spouted in recent weeks for the Team PokerStars star. ElkY finished 13th, 12th and 13th in the most recent PokerStars Championships in Macau, Monte Carlo, and Sochi.
He is knocking on the door, and if this one opens, he will be $3.6m the richer.
It won’t be easy, though.
Here is the competition:
Final Table Seat Draw
1. Dario Sammartino – 7,975,000
2. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – 16,825,000
3. Rainer Kempe – 5,760,000
4. Andrew Robl – 6,670,000
5. Doug Polk – 6,090,000
6. Haralabos Voulgaris – 2,865,000
7. Michael Kamran – 3,470,000
8. Chris Moore – 7,600,000
9. Martin Jacobson – 8,890,000
