The World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2021 is in full swing. Another six players bagged gold bracelets at the 52nd annual WSOP. Michael Noori championed Event #30: $1,500 Monster Stack NLHE for his career-first bracelet and $610,437. Ran Koller won Event #33: $800 8-Handed NL Hold’em Deepstack to win his first-ever gold bracelet and his career-best $269,478. David “Bakes” Baker took down Event #34: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw for his career-third gold bracelet and $87,837. Anthony Koutsos was the last player standing in Event #35: $500 Freezeout NLHE and won his first WSOP bracelet and $167,272 in the top prize. Lithuania’s Karolis Sereika championed Event #37: $1,500 NLHE Super Turbo to his first WSOP bracelet for $195,310. Let us check out the stories below!
Michael Noori Wins Event #30: $1,500 Monster Stack NLH Freezeout For $610,437
After a long wait of almost 11 years, California high-stakes poker pro-Michael Noori finally landed his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet after topping a massive field of 3,520 entries in Event #30: $1,500 Monster Stack NLH Freezeout. He masterfully navigated a short stack at the final table to eventually ship it after defeating the hot running Ryan Leng (2nd for $377,220) to win his career-best $ 610,437.
- Entries: 3,520
- Prize pool: $ 3,126,570
- ITM: 528 places
Noori played exceptionally well at the final table, eliminating four players on his way to the title. His first victim was Mordechai Hazan who exited in sixth place for $132,812. Noori continued his momentum and eliminated both Andler in fourth and Reis in third place. Leng held chip lead of 2:1 at the heads-up but Noori flopped a straight against Leng’s top two pair to double-up and overtake the lead. Forty minutes late, Noor claimed the title. On the final hand, Noori held pocket queens against Kc 8c of Leng. The ladies held up to help him to win the coveted title and his first bracelet.
“I feel pretty good. I’m still kind of in shock,” said Noori to WSOP live reporters after the dream WSOP victory. “The heads-up match went really quick, I’m still processing it and going through it. I had two huge coolers that went my way so I was fortunate enough to win the bracelet today.”
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Michael Noori – $ 610,437
- Ryan Leng – $ 377,220
- Rafael Marcondes Reis – $ 288,101
- Christopher Andler – $ 221,289
- Charlie Dawson – $ 170,943
- Mordechai Hazan – $ 132,812
- Daniel Fortier – $ 103,784
- Johan Schumacher – $ 81,573
- Anthony Ortega – $ 64,490
- Suren Jaesh Balachandran – $ 51,286
Ran Koller Takes Down Event #33: $800 8-Handed NL Hold’em Deepstack For $269,478
At Event #33: $800 8-Handed NL Hold’em Deepstack, it was an Israeli showdown with two Israeli players Koller and Ilani battling it out for the bracelet. In the end, it was Koller who shipped it to score his first career tournament victory, a memorable one as it came with a gold bracelet. This was Israel’s second bracelet in this series with Yuval Bronshtein winning the first. With seven left, Koller was a short stack at the final table. He was all-in preflop with 10c9c against Ilani’s Ah4d at the risk of his tournament life. The flop and turn were safe for Ilani, but the lucky 9d on the river saved Koller.
- Entries: 2,778
- Prize pool: $1,955,712
- ITM: 417 places
Thereafter, Koller busted Jorge Hou (7th) and Ilani busted the rest to take the lead over Koller into the heads up. It was a well-fought dual with both players playing well. Once Koller overtook the lead, he managed to close it out with a win. Koller flopped the nuts with 5d3c on a flop of Ah4d2d. Ilani check-called a bet on the flop and got all-in on the Kh turn. Ilani showed 7h2h, good for a pair and a flush draw, but the river was not the card he was looking for. Ilani earned $166,552 for his runner-up finish.
“It’s amazing,” Koller said after his dream victory. “I do not even have words for it. It was surreal.”
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Ran Koller – $ 269,478
- Ran Ilani – $ 166,552
- Florian Guimond – $ 124,671
- Oleg Titov – $ 94,028
- Kris Lee Steinbach – $ 71,457
- Alex Outhred – $ 54,722
- Jorge Hou – $ 42,231
- Donald Maloney – $ 32,845
David “Bakes” Baker Wins Event #34: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw For $87,837
David “Bakes” Baker outlasted Peter Lynn of Tacoma, Washington heads-up to claim his third bracelet in Event #34: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw at the WSOP 2021. The event attracted 284 runners and created a prize pool of $380,475, and Baker took home $87,837 for the victory.
- Entries: 284
- Prize pool: $380,475
- ITM: 43 places
Baker topped a tough field of mixed game specialists to win his third WSOP gold bracelet. Other bracelet winners to finish in the money included the likes of Brian Yoon (40th), John Esposito (26th), Cory Zeidman (25th), Frankie O’Dell (20th), Ian Johns (19th), and Matt Grapenthien (17th).
“I came out here and initially I was only going to do ten days. But when you come out and win you just want to keep playing. So I’ll be here through the Main Event. $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. is tomorrow. That’s my tournament. I will celebrate tonight and I’ll get right back in it and celebrate this after the Main Event.,” the champ said after winning the 34th event of the ongoing World Series of Poker.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- David “Bakes” Baker – $ 87,837
- Peter Lynn – $ 54,286
- Stephen Deutsch – $ 37,194
- Kristijonas Andrulis – $ 25,971
- Marc Booth – $ 18,488
- Mark Fraser – $ 13,423
Anthony Koutsos Takes Down Event #35: $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em For $167,272
After a back and forth battle heads up, Anthony Koutsos topped a sizable field of 2,930 players to take down the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #35: $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em. The real estate agent from San Francisco took home $167,272 and his first gold bracelet for the win.
- Players: 2,930
- Prize pool: $1,231,020
- ITM: 440 places
Several Indians players were seen in action from Team India, with Arsh Grover (71st for $ 2,331) and Nipun Java (52nd for $ 3,215) managing to finish deep among them. The other prominent players to post deep runs in the event were GGPoker Ambassador Denys Chufarin (11th for $12,944), Justin Turner (12th for $10,347), Mark Allen (14th for $8,340), and Aaron Massey finished 18th for $6,778).
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Anthony Koutsos – $167,272
- Charbel Kanterjian – $103,402
- Dongsheng Zhang – $77,600
- Jonah Lopas – $58,685
- Sundiata DeVore – $44,725
- Jacob Rich – $34,353
- Ronald Ibbetson – $26,595
- John Moss – $20,753
- Fausto Valdez – $16,324
Karolis Sereika Wins Event #37: $1,500 Super Turbo For His Career-First Bracelet and $195,310
Three players from Lithuania have won WSOP bracelets. Vincas Tamasauskas, Gediminas Uselis, and Vladas Burneikis all secured their bracelets in online events. When Lithuania’s Karolis Sereika topped a 1,441-player field in Event #37: $1,500 NLHE Super Turbofreezout at the WSOP 2021, he actually became the first player from his home country to take down a gold bracelet in a live event.
- Entries: 1,441
- Prize pool: $1,923,735
- ITM: 217 places
“This is the first live Lithuanian WSOP bracelet, so that means a lot to me and all Lithuanian players, I’m very happy and very excited,” he told PokerNews live reporters after securing the win. “Just so many emotions, I really wanted it with all my heart.”
On his way to the victory, Sereika overcame Brazil’s Pedro Padilha ($ 120,700) at heads up. Sereika held more than a 4:1 chip lead at the start of the heads-up. Padilha was able to battle his way into the lead, but Sereika won a sizable pot with pocket aces to regain control. On the final hand, Padilha shoved with Kc 8c and Sereika called with Ac 9c. The board ran out Qh 10h 6s 2s Ah, giving Sereika a pair of aces for the coveted victory. Padilha was awarded $120,700 as the runner-up finisher.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Karolis Sereika – $195,310
- Pedro Padilha – $120,700
- Lorenzo Adams – $88,435
- Pierre Calamusa – $65,494
- Steve Buell – $49,033
- Alec Gould – $37,114
- Romuald Pycior – $28,406
- Alexander Norden – $21,986
- Wing Yam – $17,211
Ryan Stoker Wins Online Event #4: $888 PLO Crazy 8’s 8-Handed For $ 95,338
The fourth online bracelet event of the WSOP 2021, the $888 PLO Crazy 8’s 8-Handed, was meant for players in Nevada and New Jersey. 295 entered for a prize pool of US$ 417,600. Ryan “Santasbzack2” Stoker came out on top to win it for his first-ever gold bracelet and largest WSOP payout of $ 95,338.
- Entries: 295
- Prize pool: $417,600
- ITM: 72 places
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Ryan “Santasbzack2” Stoker – $ 95,338
- Tony “tonisinz” Sinishtaj – $ 58,756
- Quang “qpoker205” Ngo – $ 40,131
- Alex “Draw5” Ferrari – $ 27,896
- Chan Woo “Rikishi” Kim – $ 19,794
- Andrew “randylerch” Kelsall – $ 14,282
- Edward “eddiegood598” Espino – $ 10,524
- Allan “atl777” Le – $ 7,983
Keep following Online Poker News (OPN for all the latest updates from the ongoing WSOP 2021!