In this quick round-up of the action from the 48th Annual World Series of Poker, Abe Mosseri denies Daniel Negreanu his seventh gold bracelet, and Thomas Pomponio becomes a millionaire in THE COLOSSUS III.
“It was just my time, I guess.”
Humble words from Abe Mosseri, after winning Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, and thus ending Daniel Negreanu’s search for a seventh World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet…for now.
163 entrants created a prize pool of $1.4m, slightly down on the 155 that entered last year, and the final table housed players owning 16 WSOP gold bracelets.
Mosseri squared off against the world’s most famous poker face during an unscheduled Day 4, after the three-way action between Mosseri, Negreanu, and Yarron Bendor lasted close to six hours.
The tale of the tape saw Mosseri begin Day 4 with a 5,135,000 v 2,575,000 chip advantage, and he had the lot within four hands.
Before the WSOP began, Negreanu set a goal of winning three bracelets and even purchased special bracelet cases in readiness for their return home. The runner-up showing against Mosseri now means he has finished second and third in the first nine events, after a deep run in the $10,000 Tag Team event.
Mosseri’s victory means he becomes the fourth player to win multiple career bracelets this series. His first came way back in 2009 in a 2-7 Triple Draw event.
Final Table Results
1. Abe Mosseri – $388,795
2. Daniel Negreanu – $240,290
3. Yarron Bendor – $166,895
4. Fabrice Soulier – $118,340
5. Ilya Dyment – $85,702
6. Ray Dekharghani – $63,419
7. Anthony Zinno – $47,975
8. Mike Matusow – $37,120
9. John Monnette – $29,391
Other players who delved as deep as a Wonderbra cleavage were David Baker (14th), Max Pescatori (15th), and Dan Shak (16th)
Thomas Pomponio Wins THE COLOSSUS III
Thomas Pomponio told the waiting press that he had dreamed of winning a WSOP bracelet since he was a little boy after his victory in THE COLOSSUS III.
The 18,054 turnout is the second successive year the attendance has dropped ever since Cord Garcia topped a field of 22,374 entrants back in 2015 (a 19.3% dip in footfall).
Pomponio won’t care one iota about that after winning the $1m first prize, the second distributed at this series following Doug Polk’s victory in the One Drop High Roller.
The final table was 100% American beef, but it was tender beef. Erkut Yilmaz owned a World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) gold ring, and Matt Affleck was making his third WSOP final table appearance, but outside of that, the Hendon Mob wrap sheets were short of titles. In the past three years, Americans have taken up 24 of the final table places and won all three events.
Pomponio, whose previous career high score was $24k for a 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Advent
ure (PCA) side event, started the three-handed action as the short stack. Taylor Black held 50% of the chips in play. John Hanna was playing the role of the pig in the middle.
The elimination of Hanna would prove vital. If Black had taken him out, there might have been no way back from Pomponio, but fortunately, the eventual champion was the man responsible for sending Hanna to the rail to give him heads-up hope with a 5:3 chip deficit.
The pair went at it for a while until Pomponio took the chip lead. The final hand saw the pair getting it in with Black holding AT, and Pomponio holding AK. Black had a tinge of hope when he saw a ten on the flop, but it came accompanied with a king, and the turn and river bricked for Black to hand Pomponio the title.
Final Table Results
1. Thomas Pomponio – $1m
2. Taylor Black – $545,480
3. John Hanna – $406,474
4. Mark Babekov – $305,294
5. Kent Coppock – $230,564
6. Erkut Yilmaz – $175,208
7. Ralph Massey – $133,975
8. Matt Affleck – $103,090
9. Luke Vrabel – $79,827
