Indians have been hogging limelight at World Series of Poker 2017 after Aditya Sushant and Nipun Java clinched the first gold bracelet for the country. Indian-origin player from USA Gaurav ‘Gary’ Raina also won the WSOP title. He claimed his first gold bracelet in Event #29: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em.The 33-year old currently living in Athens in Georgia previously worked in sales before turning poker pro. He has only two WSOP cashes totaling to $9,749 and has now added one more with $456,822, his career’s best score.
In Event #30: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, it is David Bach emerging the champion. Event #32: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Mix was the other event wherein Vladimir Shchemelev became the champion after beating the 688-entry field for $193,484. A large Indian contingent is present at the series. A few players from India were seen in action in Event 36: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em 6-Max but it was only Team PokerStars pro Aditya Agarwal who could made Day 2 after bagging 44,000 in chips.
Gaurav “Gary” Raina Takes Down Event #29: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em
The Event #29: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em of World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2017 saw a 1,086-entry field for an impressive $2,443,500 in the total prize pool. While the top 163 players made in the money in this event, Indian-origin Gaurav “Gary” Raina took down the title after defeating James Calvo in heads-up. He clinched his first WSOP bracelet along with $456,822 in the top prize money.
UK-based Sadan Turker was the first elimination of the final table followed by his countrymate Scott Margereson who finished 9th. Up next, Giuseppe Pantaleo hit the rail in eighth place and was soon followed by Henric Stenholm who was eliminated by Eric Cloutier. The next man to fall was Eddy Sabat. Cloutier also didn’t last much longer either and went out. Asi Moshe who was leading the way lost his chips in short time and went out in third place, leaving Raina and Calvo in the heads-up battle.
The last hand of the event saw Raina opening with 400,000 and Calvo made the call. The flop came Qd-Jh-5s. Raina bet another 400,000 and Calvo check-raised to 1,200,000. The dealer turned the 5c and Calvo moved all-in with Qh-10d. Raina snap-called with Jd-Js. The board was completed with 4c. Raina won the pot with full house to eliminate Calvo in heads-up and clinch his first WSOP bracelet.
Final Table Payouts:
- Gaurav Raina – $456,822
- James Calvo – $282,276
- Asi Moshe – $199,718
- Eddy Sabat – $143,148
- Eric Cloutier – $103,957
- Griffin Abel – $76,506
- Henric Stenholm – $57,068
- Giuseppe Pantaleo – $43,154
- Scott Margereson – $33,087
David Bach Claims Event #30: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship
Another event at the 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was Event #30: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship wherein David Bach emerged the winner to claim the $383,208 first prize and his third career WSOP gold bracelet. The final day of this event began with just 15 players remaining from the original 150 entrants. Many poker veterans and savvy young guns of poker had come and gone across the first two days and all eyes were on two-time WSOP Player of the Year and six-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu who began the final day as chip lead. Negreanu had already secured a second-place and third-place finish at WSOP events 2017 and was looking confident to win the bracelet. The other big story was Jason Mercier, who was looking forward to winning bracelet.
Although final table had many tough players, it was David Bach from the US who managed to defeat them all. The eliminations at the final table began with Jerry Wong leaving the table, followed by Yuebin Guo. Several hours later Negreanu and Mercier also hit the rail. Four- and three-handed play began with David Bach and Eric Rodawig still there. It was Rodawig who had a small chip advantage at this time. After a while, Bach took the chip lead. After that, it did not take Bach long time to take down the event and he was eventually crowned as the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E Championship winner.
Final Table Payouts:
- David Bach – $383,208
- Eric Rodawig – $236,841
- Don Zewin – $163,557
- Andrew Brown – $115,485
- Jason Mercier – $83,415
- Daniel Negreanu – $61,677
- Yuebin Guo – $45,587
- Jerry Wong – $36,218
Vladimir Shchemelev Wins Event# 32 $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Mix
The $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Mix event attracted 688 entries and besting them all was Russian banker Vladimir Shchemelev who walked away with second bracelet and $193,484 in prize money. The Day 1 of the event saw the field coming down to 244 survivors and that further reduced to 29 players on Day 2. Shchemelev began the final day as the seventh biggest stack among 29 players remaining. He gradually chipped up and by the time the final table was set, he was second in chips.
On the final table of the event, it was American pro Jesse Simonelli who went out in 8th place. The next casualty was China based Yueqi Zhu who was followed by UK’s Usman Siddique. Up next, the two Russians Igor Sharaskin and Nikolai Yakovenko went out in 4th and 3rd places, leaving Howard Smith and Shchemelev in heads-up play. Shchemelev started the heads-up match as the chip lead. Smith fought back to make a comeback but Shchemelev ended it all to win his second WSOP bracelet.
Final Table Payouts:
- Vladimir Shchemelev – $193,484
- Howard Smith – $119,524
- Nikolai Yakovenko – $81,232
- Igor Sharaskin – $56,187
- Usman Siddique – $39,565
- Yueqi Zhu – $28,375
- Erle Mankin – $20,730
- Jesse Simonelli – $15,435
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