The Italian poker pro, Nicolo Molinelli has taken down the 2021 WSOP Online Event #3: $2,500 buy-in limit hold ’em championship. He topped a strong field of 180 entries in the event to secure his second online bracelet and the top prize worth $88.461. His first bracelet at the series on GGPoker had come last year when he took down Event #81 (People’s Choice Spin the Wheel) for $243,415!
The top 31 finishers were paid out in this event on GGPoker, with plenty of big names among those who cashed, including six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu (29th for $4,063), Adam Owen (26th for $4,063), 2020 WSOPO bracelet winner Ranno Sootla (24th for $4,256), bracelet winner Luke Schwartz (23rd for $4,256), Dan Shak (22nd for $4,256), bracelet winner Justin Lapka (18th for $4,458), bracelet winner Daniel Dvoress (17th for $4,670), and Dario Sammartino (13th for $4,892).
The final table of the event started with Molinelli in the lead, and another bracelet winner Joao Vieira holding the second largest stack. The two-time bracelet winner Mark Radoja was the first player to be eliminated. His A-K failed to beat K-10 suited of Stanislav Kuvaev. The flop brought a ten to give Kuvaev a lead which he maintained through the river and Radoja exited the final table in third place.
Despite scoring that knockout, Kuvaev was the next to fall. He got all-in with pocket sixes which could not hold against the Ac 9c of Molinelli, who found an Ace on the river to win the pot. Following Kuvaev were Joao Vieira (seventh), Romain “Flingue” Dours (sixth), and Vince Cavailles (fifth).
With Alex “Pl3ase_MuCk” Fortin-Demers (fourth) and Milos “Picasso98” Petakovic (third) falling in quick succession, it eventually came down to the heads-up between Molinelli and Renan Bruschi.
The heads-up began with Bruschi holding the early advantage in the match. The tables quickly turned with Molinelli winning a big pot to overtake the lead. Molinelli was able to further extend his lead and finally win it. The final hand saw Bruschi moving all-in with Qd 6x against Molinelli’s 10s 4s. The board ran 10c 8c 2s Ah 5s, giving Molinelli a pair of tens to win his second online WSOP bracelet.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Nicolo Molinelli – $88,461
- Renan Bruschi – $66,336
- Milos “Picasso98” Petakovic – $49,745
- Alex “Pl3ase_MuCk” Fortin-Demers – $37,303
- Vince Cavailles – $27,974
- Romain “Flingue” Dours – $20,977
- Joao Vieira – $15,731
- Stanislav “Stas Kuvaev” Kuvaev – $11,796
- Mark Radoja – $8,846