2024 WSOP: “Allez!” An Emotional Clement Richez Champions Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship ($1,041,989)

The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has seen its fair share of drama, but it was all about the French last night. The Horseshoe in Las Vegas echoed with cries of “Allez!” as Clement Richez (cover image), draped in the French “Le Tricolore” flag, celebrated his monumental win in the inaugural Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship. Richez, who now calls Budapest, Hungary, home, took down a field of 3,177 runners, securing a career-high payday of $1,041,989 and his first-ever WSOP bracelet.

The final day was a nail-biter, with Richez facing off against 16 other hungry contenders. But the real showdown was the intense hour-long heads-up battle against Adam Owen from the UK, a seasoned pro known for his runner-up finish in the 2018 partypoker Millions Barcelona Main Event.

Owen initially held the chip lead after sending Alec Torelli to the rail in third place, but Richez wasn’t about to back down. He fought back with a series of well-played hands, chipping away at Owen’s stack until the Brit was left with just 15 big blinds. Owen managed to double up once, but the momentum was firmly in Richez’s hands, and he eventually sealed the deal, leaving Owen with a still-impressive $694,714 for his second-place finish.

This was a bittersweet moment for Owen, who had also come agonizingly close to winning a bracelet in Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud earlier in the series despite entering as the heads-up chip leader both times. Despite the disappointment, this was the third-largest cash of his career.

For Richez, the victory was an emotional one. “I’m shaking all over, I could cry,” he admitted in a post-win interview. “I never thought winning a bracelet would feel like this.” The weight of the moment was clear, and Richez even confessed he might shed a few more tears later to release the pressure.

This win was a huge leap forward for Richez, whose previous biggest score was $188,000 from his 50th-place finish in last year’s Main Event. He’d already made a name for himself on the featured tables with his fearless play and distinctive tattoos in 2023, but this victory cemented his status as a top-tier player.

“I was very focused and didn’t feel any doubt,” Richez admitted. “I did not even check what first-place money was. I was just playing hand by hand and trying to play well.” And played well he did, starting the final day in fourth place and steadily climbing to the top.

This win was special on several counts, as Richez shared, “My first final table was already a dream; as more players went down, it became even more of a dream. It’s amazing. Every poker player dreams of winning a bracelet. It wasn’t my initial goal, but once I won, I realized it had been my goal all along.”

Richez was also quick to acknowledge the recent success of French players at the WSOP. With Malo Latinois still in the running in the Main Event, Richez expressed his hope for an all-French victory. “If he wins, it would be crazy!” he said, his excitement evident.

The win was made even sweeter by the presence of Richez’s wife, who had flown in from France just in time to witness his triumph. The couple shared an emotional embrace after the final hand, a fitting end to a remarkable day for the French poker star.

The all-new Mid-Stakes Championship made a grand debut this year, attracting a massive 3,177 players and generating a hefty $8,482,590 prize pool. The top 477 players all got a taste of the action, with payouts starting at a not-too-shabby $6,006.

India’s very own poker legend, Aditya Agarwal, fresh off his first bracelet win, made a deep run in this event, finishing in 116th place for $8,989 (~₹7.51 Lakhs). With this cash, his total earnings for the 2024 WSOP now stand at an impressive $208,613 (~₹1.74 Crores) across three events.

Six other Indian players also showed their skills and cashed in this event, including Aditya S (214th for $7,032; ~₹5.87 Lakhs), Ashish Munot (249th for $7,032; ~₹5.87 Lakhs), Siddarth Singhvi (250th for $7,032; ~₹5.87 Lakhs), Kunal Patni (255th for $7,032; ~₹5.87 Lakhs), Avneesh Munjal (329th for $6,006; ~₹5.02 Lakhs), and Sriharsha Doddapaneni (348th for $6,006; ~₹5.02 Lakhs).

But it wasn’t just Indian players making waves. Some big names and previous bracelet winners also made their mark in the Mid-Stakes Championship. We saw the likes of Xing He (12th for $65,157), Natural8 Ambassador Michael Soyza (24th for $42,088), two-time bracelet winner John Riordan (34th for $34,253), four-time bracelet winner Asi Moshe (45th for $23,270), and three-time bracelet winner Jim Collopy (50th for $23,270) all cashing in.

The final table saw impressive performances from Alec Torelli (3rd for $517,525), Chinese WSOP bracelet winner Dong Chen (4th for $388,519), David Uvaydov (5th for $293,950), Taylor Black (6th for $224,152), Russia’s Andrey Pateychuk (7th for $172,285), Croatia’s Boris Kuzmanovic (8th for $133,479), and the UK’s David Brehme (9th for $104,248).

Unofficial Final Table Chip Counts

1. Adam Owen – 27,000,000
2. Clement Richez – 18,325,000
3. Taylor Black – 15,200,000
4. Alec Torelli – 14,500,000
5. Andrey Pateychuk – 11,500,000
6. Boris Kuzmanovic – 11,150,000
7. Dong Chen – 11,000,000
8. David Uvaydov – 10,150,000
9. David Brehme – 6,850,000
10. Stefan Dimitrov – 3,550,000

Final Table Recap

The record-breaking field of 3,117 entrants made this $3,000 buy-in tournament the largest of its kind. Day 4 began with 17 players, but it quickly became a ten-player free-for-all in just two hours. Stefan Dimitrov and David Brehme were the first to fall, their hopes of WSOP glory dashed early on.

During eight-handed play, the chip lead swung back and forth like a pendulum. A pivotal moment came when Adam Owen, holding , hit a crucial river card on a board to eliminate Boris Kuzmanovic, who held , in eighth place.

This double-up propelled Owen back into contention, and he didn’t stop there. He next took out Andrey Pateychuk in seventh with his holding up against Pateychuk’s .

Richez, meanwhile, was quietly building his stack, playing a patient and calculated game. He finally flexed his muscles when he sent start-of-day chip leader Taylor Black to the rail with a classic cooler with against Black’s . Richez’s big slick held firm, ending Black`s tournament run in sixth place.

David Uvaydov, who had already tripled his previous career-best score, was the next to fall, losing out to Torelli’s pocket nines. Dong Chen, who had been short-stacked for most of the final table, managed to ladder up to a fourth-place finish.

With only three players remaining, the stacks were deep, and the tension was palpable. Alec Torelli, starting with the chip lead, played aggressively, but his luck ran out against Owen. In a crucial hand, Torelli check-raised all-in after Owen on a flop with a straight flush draw, holding . Torelli whimsically asked Owen if he wanted to hear his “quantum poker theory” before recounting Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment. Owen eventually called with , and the last two streets brought and , confirming Torelli’s elimination in third place. This finish marked the second-best result of Torelli’s career, behind his 11th-place finish in last year’s Main Event.

Heads-up play was a rollercoaster of shifting momentum. Adam Owen started with the chip lead, but Richez quickly seized control, winning multiple pots and forcing folds. Within an hour, Owen was down to his last 15 big blinds. He managed to double up once, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.

The final hand saw Richez raise from the big blind and Owen three-bet all in from the button. Richez made the call, and the French rail erupted as the flop came , giving Richez top pair with . The turn and river were no help to Owen’s , and Richez was crowned the first-ever champion of the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship.

This victory was a fairytale ending for Richez, who had never reached a final table before this event. He not only walked away with his first WSOP bracelet but also a life-changing $1,041,989, more than tripling his career earnings.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Clement Richez – $1,041,989
2. Adam Owen – $694,714
3. Alec Torelli – $517,525
4. Dong Chen – $388,519
5. David Uvaydov – $293,950
6. Taylor Black – $224,152
7. Andrey Pateychuk – $172,285
8. Boris Kuzmanovic – $133,479
9. David Brehme – $104,248

Content & Images Courtesy: World Series of Poker

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