In this World Series of Poker round-up, we bring you news of victories in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship by a tough fish and a surprise win in the $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo or Better Mix from a restauranteur with zero cashes.
Some people win a World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet and sit there in front of the cameraman, gold in hand, shaking, with all of the liquids running out of them.
Tommy Le is not that man.
The man who professes to be nothing more than a tough fish is all business. Before this win, Le had visited the final table of WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) events on five separate occasions, including a superb 2016 showing finishing runner-up finish to Jens Kyllonen in the $25k event, and a third place finish in the very event he won a few days ago.
“It was time to finally win one of these,” said Le.
It wasn’t a breeze for Le.
With two-time bracelet winners Scott Clements and Jason DeWitt on the final table, joined by the former Nov Niner Eoghan O’Dea, there were times when Le had to cling on to his seat like Dorothy holding on to her bed rail as she was about to wave Kansas bye-bye.
Those three stars dimmed in sixth, fifth, and fourth, leaving Le as the most experienced player at the table. He eventually finished off Chris Lee in heads-up action to take home one of the biggest prizes of the summer and lay that WSOP bracelet hoodoo to rest.
Event #54: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship attracted 428 entrants, an increase of 7% on last year’s field when Brandon Shack-Harris won the gold.
Final Table Results
1. Tommy Le – $938,732
2. Chris Lee – $580,177
3. Hani Mo – $397,836
4. Scott Clements – $277,768
5. Jason DeWitt – $197,533
6. Eoghan O’Dea – $143,128
7. Murat Tulek – $105,705
8. Miltiadis Kyriakides – $79,599
Other players who were more anchor than balloon in this event were the multiple bracelet winner John Monette (14th), the former WSOP Player of the Year Ben Lamb (15th), and one of the current WSOP POY front runners, John Racener (17th).
Smith Sirisakorn Wins Event #57: $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo or Better Mix
Smith Sirisakorn is yet another player to invade the sacred space of the WSOP tournament shrine with muddy cash game feet and walk away with a bracelet.
Sirisakorn, who came to the final table without a Hendon Mob profile, defeated 405 players, an increase of 5% YoY, to take the $215,902 first prize, after beating the impressive Jameson Painter in a tough heads-up battle.
It was a final table full of in-form personnel.
Painter was making his second final table of the summer, Jared Bleznick his third, Barry Greenstein was making his tenth cash and second final table, and the fabulous Frenchman Alex Luneau was also making the top table for the second time.
But in the end, it was the restaurant owner, who plays cash games in his spare time, who sheaved his sword at the end so he could collect the gold.
Final Table Results
1. Smith Sirisakorn – $215,902
2. Jameson Painter – $133,431
3. Jared Bleznick – $90,640
4. Larry Tull – $62,796
5. Samoeun Mon – $44,388
6. John Sorgen – $32,026
7. Barry Greenstein – $23,595
8. Bonnie Rossi – $17,760
9. Alex Luneau – $13,662
Other players who went so deep in this tournament their hair looked like it had been trampled on by a passing army were the bracelet winners, Naoya Kihara, (10th), Jesse Martin (19th), and Kyle Bowker (27th).
