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Poker Masters 2018: Ali Imsirovic Wins $25K NLHE For $462,000

PG News September 13, 2018
6 Mins Read

The 2018 Poker Masters series aims to be one of the most coveted events in the poker world and as expected, we have already witnessed world class players making top-notch scores in the four tournaments that have played out so far.

David Peters took down the $10K NLHE for $193,200, Brandon Adams claimed the $25K NLH title pocketing $400,000, Keith Lehr won the $25K PLO banking $333,000 and Isaac Haxton shipped the $10K Short Deck Poker netting $176,000.

Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em played out over the course of two days and attracted 66 entries, generating a prize pool of $1,650,000. While several poker heavy weights joined the action, it was Ali Imsirovic (cover image) who defeated the rest, including World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winners Jason Koon and Brian Rast on the final table, to take home the top prize of $462,000.

Ranked 13^th on the Washington, USA All Time Money List, this was Imsirovic’s maiden Poker Master’s title win and his career best score which swelled his total live earnings to $1,605,499.

Day 1 Recap

Numerous notables were seen in action on Day 1, however not all made it in the money. With only the top 10 spots receiving payouts, notables like Justin Bonomo, Cary Katz, Nick Petrangelo, Maurice Hawkins, winner of $10K Short Deck Poker Isaac Haxton, John Hennigan, Nick Schulman and Dominik Nitsche, busted out empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Dan Shak (8^th for $66,000), Bryn Kenney (9^th for $49,500) and Dan Smith (10^th for $49,500) finished in the money.

Elio Fox finished 7^th for $82,500 and bubbled the final table.

The final day began with the six finalists returning to the felt, with each assured a min-cash of $99,000, but all eyeing the top prize of $462,000.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Jake Schindler – 2,725,000

2. Ben Yu – 1,695,000

3. Ali Imsirovic – 1,615,000

4. Brian Rast – 1,200,000

5. Jason Koon – 905,000

6. Daniel Negreanu – 215,000

Final Table Recap

The first casualty on the six-handed final table was six-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu. When Ben Yu raised to 100,000 from the hijack, Negreanu called from big blind, leaving just 10,000 behind. The flop brought and Negreanu moved all-in, prompting Yu to call.

Daniel Negreanu

Ben Yu

The on the turn and on the river were of no help to Negreanu who busted out in sixth place.

Less than five minutes later, action folded to Imsirovic who raised from the cutoff with . Jason Koon moved all-in from the small blind holding . Imsirovic snap-called, putting Koon at risk. The flop fell and Imsirovic picked up two pairs of aces and kings while Koon only had a pair of aces. The turn gave Koon some hope of hitting a broadway straight, but the river dashed those hopes and he bounced off in fifth place.

Next to go was Jake Schindler who shoved all-in from small blind holding and Imsirovic snap-called from the big blind with . The board fanned out and Imsirovic paired his ace on the turn, thus ending Schindler’s run in fourth place.

With only three players remaining, Imsirovic moved all-in from the button with pocket sixes, and Brian Rast called with his last 640,000 from the big blind holding . The runout missed both players and Rast was eliminated in third place.

Following Rast’s exit, the heads-up play between Ali Imsirovic (5,895,000) and Ben Yu (2,360,000) commenced but didn’t last for long. After just a couple of hands, Imsirovic limped in on the button and Yu moved all-in from the big blind for 2,510,000. Imsirovic immediately called and both players tabled their cards.

Ali Imsirovic

Ben Yu

The flop put Imsirovic in the lead with a set of fives and the turn left Yu drawing dead and just like that Imsirovic claimed the first-place prize money of $462,000.