WSOP 2019: Abhinav Iyer wins bracelet; Daniel Negreanu’s wait continues

With an abundance of focus and fanfare being centred on the Main Event in the last week, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is the last event of the series. In fact, there are still plenty of other events which have recently concluded, with some interesting stories and near misses having been experienced along the way.

Here is an update of the latest WSOP results.

wins the “closer” event; Carlos Chang and Steve Yea make final table

Event 84 on this summer’s schedule was the $1,500 NLH “The Closer” event. 2,800 entries built a prizepool of $3,780,000 which ensured a 1st place prize of $565,346. The latter stages of the event saw Malaysia’s Natalie Teh making a deep run which would eventually end in a 42nd place finish for $12,248. Two-time bracelet winner JC Tran also enjoyed a deep run, falling just short of the final table in 10th place for $37,125. While Teh’s run was admirable, it was certainly not the best run by an Asian player in this event. When the final table was set, there were no less than three Asian players still in contention.

Korea’s Steve Yea was one of the early casualties on the final table, exiting in 8th place for $61,834 and he was followed soon after by one of the other big stories of the final table; Shaun Deeb. The four-time bracelet winner had been a real danger in the latter stages of the tournament, but finally bowed out in 7th for $80,766. Taiwan’s Carlos Chang went a few places better, taking a creditable 4th place for $189,584 but he was bested by Indian Abhinav Iyer, who helped make this a series to remember for India, claiming their fourth bracelet of the summer. He took home $565,346 for his win.

Here are the final payouts:

1st – Abhinav Iyer – $565,346
2nd – Sammy Lafleur – $349,417
3rd – Sergio Aguilar – $256,298
4th – Carlos Chang – $189,584
5th – Patrick Eskandar – $141,432
6th – Adam Johnson – $106,418
7th – Shaun Deeb – $80,766
8th – Steve Yea – $61,834
9th – Jason Reels – $47,758

Event #86 – Alan Sternberg wins the $3K PLO; Ka Kwan Lau takes 5th

The $3K PLO attracted a healthy field of 835 players this year, generating a prize fund of $2,254,500. This allowed for a top prize of $448,392. The latter stages saw some interesting names decorating the chip counts, but by the time the final six had assembled, the only notable names were bracelet winner Joseph Cheong and Ka Kwan Lau. The challenge for a bracelet by Lau gave cause for Asian fans to get excited, but only briefly. Lau could not progress any further than 5th place at the final table but picked up $90,674 for his efforts. He did, at least managed to outlast Cheong, who was the first to fall in 6th. It was Alan Sternberg who eventually conquered the remaining players to emerge triumphant, picking up a coveted bracelet and $448,392 in the process.

Here are the final payouts:

1st – Alan Sternberg – $448,392
2nd – Evangelos Kokkalis – $227,087
3rd – John Richards – $187,670
4th – Millard Hale – $129,313
5th – Ka Kwan Lau – $90,674
6th – Joseph Cheong – $64,722

Event #83 – Negreanu denied bracelet for a second time this summer; James Chen and Danny Tang go deep

Event 83 always stood out as one of the highlights of this year’s schedule. With a $100K buy in, the field was always going to be small but immensely talented, and the event certainly lived up to that billing. Just 99 players entered the event, with the prize pool growing to $9,603,000. With such quality being seen throughout what was likely one of the toughest tournament fields of the year, it was encouraging to see Asian players holding their own. Both James Chen (Taiwan) and Daniel Tang (Hong Kong) both put together deep runs, eventually cashing in 9th and 10th places respectively for $230,801 each. Daniel Tang has already had a great summer, having won the $50K NLH event for his first career bracelet this summer.

The final table saw notable names such as Christoph Vogelsang (8th), Dominik Nitsche (6th), Igor Kurganov (4th) and Nick Schulman (3rd) all fall just short of the top prize. Having entered the final table as a short-stack, Daniel Negreanu was busy getting the fans on their feet throughout the final table by winning all ins and doubling up into contention. He entered heads-up play close to Keith Tilston in chips, but after losing a chunk of chips in a pivotal hand, his challenge faded. Negreanu eventually succumbed in 2nd place, missing out on bracelet number 7 by one place for the second time this summer. As the Canadian pointed out after the event, he is now tied with Phil Hellmuth on 10 for most ever 2nd places at the WSOP.

Here are the final payouts:

1st – Keith Tilston – $2,792,406
2nd – Daniel Negreanu – $1,725,838
3rd -Nick Schulman – $1,187,802
4th – Igor Kurganov – $840,183
5th -Brandon Adams – $611,258
6th -Dominik Nitsche – $457,772

Event #82 – India show their strength in the $1.5K Double Stack, Tom Koral claims bracelet

The $1,500 NLH Double Stack brought 2,589 players together for one of the last smaller buy-in events of the series. The prize pool swelled to $3,495,150 for the tournament, with $530,164 awaiting the eventual winner.

This large field contracted steadily over the first two days before play reached the final table stage. The final nine runners were somewhat low on star names, but for fans of the Indian playing contingent, there had been plenty to get excited about in the late stages of the event. Three Indian players made it into the final twenty survivors, with Goonjan Mall being the first to fall in 19th for $17,063. Kalyan Cheekuri and Kunal Punjwani both managed to bring stacks to the final table, although both struggled as the final salvos of the event were being fired. Cheekuri could not push on any further than 8th place, which was good enough for $56,850 while Punjwani followed his compatriot to the rail soon after in 7th for $74,401. Tom Koral was able to get the best of Freek Scholten heads up to take home the jewellery and the $530,164 1st prize.

The final payouts are as follows:

1st – Tom Koral – $530,164
2nd – Freek Scholten – $327,563
3rd – Barry Shulman – $239,187
4th – Philip Scaletta – $176,219
5th – Adam Hendrix – $131,001
6th – Darren Rabinowitz – $98,274
7th – Kunal Punjwani – $74,401
8th – Kalyan Cheekuri – $56,850
9th – Pablo Fernandez – $43,843

Other winners

Event #78 – $1,500 PLO Bounty
Prize pool: $960,500
Entries: 1,130
Winner: Maximilian Klostermeier – $177,823

Event #79 – $3,000 NLH
Prize pool: $1,811,700
Entries: 671
Winner: Ivan Deyra – $380,090

Event #80 – $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO
Prize pool: $1,687,500
Entries: 1,250
Winner: Jerry Odeen – $304,793

Event #81 – $1,500 50th Annual Bracelet Winners Only NLH
Prize pool: $277,500
Entries: 185
Winner: Shankar Pillai – $71,580

Event #88 – $500 WSOP ONLINE NLH Summer Saver
Prize pool: $836,550
Entries: 1,325
Winner: Taylor “Galactar” Paur – $149,240

Article by Craig Bradshaw