Another round-up from the World Series of Poker, this time focusing on a maiden victory in an inaugural performance as the Canadian, Tim Andrew, wins the $365 Pot Limit Omaha GIANT at the first time of asking.
It’s always a little intriguing when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tries something new. Will it be as successful as a fruit fly that’s set up camp in a kitchen food disposal unit? Will it bomb like the dog toilet?
I don’t think there was ever any doubt that the $365 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) GIANT would go the way of the dog toilet. People love their PLO. People love a $365 buy-in.
I think we can safely pencil it in for the next decade or so.
Five starting flights played out on successive weekends, here are the stats:
Another round-up from the World Series of Poker, this time focusing on a maiden victory in an inaugural performance as the Canadian, Tim Andrew, wins the $365 Pot Limit Omaha GIANT at the first time of asking.
It’s always a little intriguing when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tries something new. Will it be as successful as a fruit fly that’s set up camp in a kitchen food disposal unit? Will it bomb like the dog toilet?
I don’t think there was ever any doubt that the $365 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) GIANT would go the way of the dog toilet. People love their PLO. People love a $365 buy-in.
I think we can safely pencil it in for the next decade or so.
Five starting flights played out on successive weekends, here are the stats:
Day 1A – 423 entrants, 19 left.
Day 1B – 523 entrants, 31 left.
Day 1C – 492 entrants, 23 left.
Day 1D – 565 entrants, 33 left.
Day 1E – 1,247 entrants, 79 left.
All told, that’s 3,250 entrants.
I think you will see more next year.
The combined 185 came together like glue on a searing hot Day 2. The dragons of the poker world tried to prise that it all apart until only one person was remaining, unstuck, the only piece of stickiness attached to a bracelet.
One dragon who towered above them all was Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi.
A few weeks ago, Mizrachi won the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship (PPC) for an unprecedented third time, banking $1.2m in the process, and here he was at the final table of a $365 rebuy.
The man loves it.
Mizrachi began Day 2 as the chip leader but would enter the final table 8 million chips behind Srinivas Balasubramanian, but that wouldn’t last long.
Final Table
1. Srinivas Balasubramanian – 18,325,000
2. Robert Cicchelli – 11,055,000
3. Pete Arroyos – 10,550,000
4. Tim Andrew – 10,425,000
5. Michael Mizrachi – 10,150,000
6. Kevin Nomberto – 7,700,000
7. James Sievers – 5,450,000
8. Sandeep Pulusani – 4,375,000
9. Raymond Walton – 3,075,000
Balasubramanian (the type of name you cut and paste) must have gone to bed dreaming of winning this thing after accruing such a massive chip lead during the penultimate day.
So it must have felt like a blind man had shaved his balls with a rusty baked bean tin lid when he became the first to leave the event in ninth place for a mere ten large.
First, he got it in good on the turn against Kevin Nomberto with his KKxx beating QQxx until a Q hit the river. Then Sievers doubled through the former chip leader KKxx>QQxx. Before Mizrachi became the third person to strike when they got it in on the flop with Mizrachi holding top two pairs, and Balasubramanian holding the top and bottom pair. Mizrachi took the chip lead, if not the scalp of the man with the super-duper long arse name.
That scalp eventually ended up on the belt of Sandeep Pulusani. The pair got it in pre-flop with AcKdQc9s beating QsJs8d2h with ace-king-high good enough to win the hand.
Ray Walton followed in eighth when his AdKhQc2s lost to the Qs9h8d6d of Pete Arroyos. They both flopped a pair with Walton out in front, but Arroyos rivered a second pair.
Then the biggest pot of the tournament to give Arroyos the lead.
It was all-in pre-flop with Mizrachi’s AhAd4d3h ahead of Arroyo’s KhKd7g5c only for the latter to river a king. Who knows what would have happened had Mizrachi’s hand had held. Maybe he would have run away with it.
Mizrachi didn’t have time to lick his wounds; instead, he got back into the thick of things eliminating Kevin Nomberto and James Sievers in a humdinger of a hand.
All the marbles when in pre-flop:
Mizrachi – AdTh9s2d
Nomberto- KhKc7c2c
Sievers – AcAh8s7s
As you can see, Mizrachi was well behind, but the low board handed him a wheel, and a solid footing with five left.
And.
Then.
He was out.
Poker is a funny old game, and it doesn’t get much weirder than PLO.
Once again it was all-in pre-flop, and once again Arroyos was his nemesis. Mizrachi held the pocket kings with KcKdJh3s versus AsTd7s6c, but an ace on the flop eliminated the PPC Champ and thrust Arroyos into the lead.
He didn’t hold onto it for long.
Tim Andrew decided to get into the dirt, doubling through Arroyos after rivering Broadway in a hand that went all the way.
Then we lost Pulusani.
Once again, Arroyos was the lit match to Pulusani’s tinder.
Pulusani: KhJcTcTd
Arroyos: AdJs4c4s
The ace was good.
And then we reached heads-up after Arroyos eliminated Robert Cicchelli when the pair got it in on a flop of Qc8s5d. Arroyos turned over a pair of eights. Cicchelli held not much of anything, and the eights held up.
Heads-Up
Pete Arroyos began heads-up with a 46m>35.3m chip lead over Andrews, and soon extended the lead to 64m>17.3m.
Then Andrew doubled into a big lead when the pair got it in on a flop of AsJh9h with Andrew holding Ah2h5c4s against Arroyos set of jacks with JdJc8s5d. The Qh on the turn gave Andrew his flush.
The end of the contest arrived soon after when Andrew found AAxx and outlasted every draw in the book for Arroyos and his wrap.
It wasn’t the best start for Andrews, who overslept and arrived 30-minutes late, but it was the dream finish. The Canadian rarely plays tournaments – this was his first WSOP event – preferring to play live cash games back home in Calgary.
He recently decided to switch from studying to playing poker full-time, and now he has the cushion of a decent bankroll.
Final Table Results
1. Tim Andrew – $116,015
2. Pete Arroyos – $71,703
3. Robert Cicchelli – $53,709
4. Sandeep Pulusani – $40,379
5. Michael Mizrachi – $30,461
6. James Sievers – $23,076
7. Kevin Nomberto – $17,541
8. Raymond Walton – $13,384
9. Srinivas Balasubramanian – $10,250
464 players received enough money to buy a few candy canes including the two-time bracelet winner Randy Holland, single bracelet winner Leif Force, and the polished Pole, Dzmitry Urbanovich (19th).
