2024 WSOP Paradise: Nick Schulman Joins the Six-Bracelet Club Winning the $5K The Closer NLHE ($145,000); India’s Santhosh Suvarna Shines with Back-to-Back FTs (₹43.21 Lakhs)!

The glitzy 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise concluded in style at the luxurious Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas. The 14-day poker extravaganza, running from December 6 to 19, celebrated 15 bracelet events and saw some genuinely awe-inspiring performances, with poker pros from around the globe battling for glory.

The final event of the series, Event #15: $5,000 The Closer No-Limit Hold ’em Bounty Turbo, proved to be a climactic affair. Poker legend Nick Schulman (cover image – left) took center stage, etching his name in the history books with his sixth WSOP bracelet, while India’s Santhosh Suvarna (cover image – right) delivered a stellar performance, finishing fifth and making waves with back-to-back final table appearances.

Nick Schulman Joins the Elite Six-Bracelet Club

Nick Schulman just joined a very exclusive group, becoming the 25th player with six WSOP bracelets! He battled his way through a field of 238 players, pocketing a cool $145,000 and adding another shiny piece of WSOP gold to his collection. Schulman defeated Ren Lin in a swift heads-up battle, with Lin pocketing $110,000 for his valiant effort.

This win was Schulman’s fourth cash of the series and his second final-table appearance. His masterful run included a fourth-place finish in Event #8: $50K PLO Championship. He ended up netting almost a million dollars – $998,680, to be precise – from his Paradise journey. And here’s a fun fact: this is Schulman’s second No-Limit Hold’em bracelet, and get this – he won BOTH of them this year! Earlier this summer, he conquered the 2024 WSOP Event #26: $25K High Roller NLHE for $1,667,842.

The win marked Schulman’s 134th WSOP cashes, pushing his lifetime WSOP earnings past the $9 Million mark to $9,108,156. His overall live tournament winnings, as per Hendon Mob, have soared to a jaw-dropping $21,593,652.

India’s Poker Icon Santhosh Suvarna Shines Bright

Santhosh Suvarna, a prominent figure in the Indian poker circuit and the nation’s top-ranked player on the all-time money list, delivered a noteworthy performance at the 2024 WSOP Paradise. His journey through the series was characterized by a determined comeback and valuable strategic plays.

Immediately following his eighth-place elimination from the $50K NLHE High Roller, Suvarna demonstrated his commitment to the game by directly entering the final starting flight (Day 1D) of Event #15: $5,000 The Closer NLHE Bounty Turbo. This decisive action resulted in him accumulating a substantial stack of 360,000 chips, positioning him favorably for Day 2.

On Day 2 of The Closer, Suvarna exhibited commendable skill in navigating a challenging field to steadily build his stack, culminating in a final table appearance. Entering the final ten players in the ninth position with 430,000 chips, Suvarna remained a formidable contender despite holding a shorter stack.

Suvarna’s pursuit of a third WSOP bracelet concluded in a fifth-place finish in The Closer. A pivotal hand against the eventual champion, Nick Schulman, saw Suvarna’s queen-ten off-suit fall short against Schulman’s jack-eight off-suit when a critical eight appeared on the turn. This secured Suvarna a $50,800 (~₹43.21 Lakhs) prize and marked his second consecutive final table appearance at the series.

Suvarna’s 2024 had commenced with significant achievements, including a victory at EPT Paris and a WSOP bracelet win in Las Vegas. However, the early stages of the WSOP Paradise presented a series of challenges. Despite several near-successful runs, he faced a period where favourable outcomes proved elusive.

Suvarna’s perseverance was rewarded in the $25K WSOP Super Main Event, where he secured his first cash of the series, earning $50,000 (~₹42.46 Lakhs). This appeared to mark a turning point, as he subsequently finished eighth in the $50K NLHE High Roller, adding $209,420 (~₹1.78 Crores) to his winnings.

Concluding the WSOP Paradise with three cashes totaling $310,220 (~₹2.64 Crores), Suvarna not only demonstrated a strong recovery but also achieved a significant career milestone. His performance propelled his lifetime live tournament earnings past the $15 Million mark. According to his Hendon Mob profile, he now boasts $15,028,525 (~₹127 Crores) in career earnings, hardening his position at #83 on poker’s all-time money list.

Day 2 Recap

The $5,000 buy-in Closer event created a prize pool of $1,190,000, and 37 players returned for Day 2, all guaranteed at least $7,000. Some big names cashed but didn’t make the final table, like the 2019 WSOP Main Event champion Hossein Ensan (12th for $12,230), Georgios Sotiropoulos (14th for $10,550), Aram Oganyan (18th for $9,100), Daniel Zack (19th for $9,100), Jin Hoon Lee (22nd for $7,900), Artur Martirosian (28th for $7,000), Vlad Darie (30th for $7,000), and Rodrigo Sirichuk (33rd for $7,000).

The action heats up in Event #15: $5,000 The Closer – NLH Turbo Bounty 🌟 Familiar faces like:

🇺🇸 Nicholas Schulman
🇨🇳 Tony Lin
🇨🇦 Daniel Negreanu
🇺🇸 Shaun Deeb
🇦🇹 Samuel Mullur
🇮🇳 Santhosh Suvarna
🇳🇿 Sosia Jiang #Poker #wsopPARADISE pic.twitter.com/DvOMu6Hwr7

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) December 20, 2024

Final Table Recap

The final table action was electric, with Ebony Kenney, the start of Day 2 chip leader, exiting in tenth place for $14,100 following a double knockout that also saw Sosia Jiang go out in ninth for $18,100.

Nick Schulman, entering the final table second in chips, wasted no time asserting dominance. He eliminated former bracelet winner Samuel Mullur (7th for $30,500) and six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb (6th for $39,400) before taking down two-time bracelet winner Santhosh Suvarna in fifth place. After that, the Poker Hall of Famer and seven-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu fell in fourth for $65,200 to Ren Lin.

Schulman then won a crucial hand against Arkadiy Tsinis (3rd for $84,600), his ace-queen holding up against Tsinis’ pocket threes. This gave Schulman a 2:1 chip lead going into the heads-up play against Ren Lin.

It didn’t take long for Schulman to seal the deal. In the final hand, Ren Lin was down to under ten big blinds and shoved all-in with queen-eight. Schulman called with ace-king that held strong, sealing his victory in style.

Final Table Results (USD) (Excluding Bounties)

1. Nick Schulman – $145,000
2. Ren Lin – $110,000
3. Arkadiy Tsinis – $84,600
4. Daniel Negreanu – $65,200
5. Santhosh Suvarna – $50,800
6. Shaun Deeb – $39,400
7. Samuel Mullur – $30,500
8. Meir Meystel – $23,400
9. Sosia Jiang – $18,100
10. Ebony Kenney – $14,100

Content & Images Courtesy: WSOP & PokerNews

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