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731 participants joined the action at the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event of the 49th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) for a chance to win the top prize of $202,787 and a WSOP gold bracelet. The four day long event ultimately crowned Andrey Zhigalov (cover image) the winner. Having cashed at the WSOP 15 times before, this was the Russian’s first WSOP bracelet win.
A former programmer by profession, Zhigalov’s first appearance in WSOP was in 2014 at the $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (Event #25) where he ran deep and finished 11th for $ 14,605. He has since been a regular fixture at the WSOP and has accumulated total live earnings of $552,982.
Following two days of fast-paced action, the third day started with 24 players. 3-time WSOP bracelet winner Brian Hastings was chasing his fourth bracelet but missed out on the chance at fifteenth place for $7,120.
Day 3 Recap
Day 3 began with Damjan Radanov in the chip lead with 518,000, followed by Michael Berger with 439,000 and Timothy Frazin with 416,000. Ismael Bojang and Radanov were eliminated in ninth and tenth place respectively for $14,240 each setting up the official eight handed final table.
Final Table Recap
The eight-player final table consisted of Scott Clements, Andrey Zhigalov, Matt Woodward, Sandeep Vasudevan, Nicholas Derke, Timothy Frazin, Bradley Smith and JW Smith. Smith was leading the way with 1,550,000, Woodward came in second with 780,000, and Frazin was hot on his heels for 765,000.
In a hand of Razz played between Matt Woodward and JW Smith, it was Smith who became the first casualty in eight place. Smith went all-in preflop with Xx Xx/4x6xKx7x/Xx and was called by Woodward with Xx Xx/3x5xQx4x/Xx. After the cards were tabled, Smith had AxAx3x, but Woodward’s Ax2x8x hit a wheel and won him the pot.
Next to go was Scott Clements in seventh place when he was defeated by Zhigalov in a Omaha Hi-Lo hand. Clement’s could not match up to Zhigalov’s with the community cards running .
Indian origin player Sandeep Vasudevan was eliminated in sixth place by Nicholas Derke, playing the Stud variant. Vasudevan went all-in with Xx Xx//Xx and Derke called with Xx Xx//Xx. The board cards were then tabled and Vasudevan held giving him a pair of kings but he missed the flush. Derke had that gave him a three-of-a-kind jacks along with the pot.
Nicholas Derke followed him out in fifth place as Bradley Smith made quick work of him in a hand of Omaha Hi-Lo. Derke went all-in with against Smith’s . As the rundown showed , Derke’s two pairs lost to Smith’s flush.
Matt Woodward, Bradley Smith and Andrey Zhigalov competed against each other in the stud variant that saw Woodward depart in fourth place. Zhigalov raised with Xx Xx//Xx, prompting Woodward to go three-bet all in with Xx Xx//Xx. Smith called with Xx Xx//Xx. The showdown gave Smith two pairs with , whilst Woodward had for a pair of eights. The pot was won by Smith and Woodward had to move on from the felt.
Bradley Smith and Zhigalov then went head-to-head in the Stud Hi-Lo. Zhigalov had Xx Xx//Xx against Smith’s Xx Xx//Xx. After the community cards were tabled, Smith held for a pair of sixes and Zhigalov tabled . Since there was no low draw and both players were able to improve to two pairs, the hand progressed to seventh street. Eventually Smith flipped the and wasn’t able to overcome Zhigalov’s two pair leading to his elimination in third place.
With only two finalists remaining, the event was halted after 14 hours of continuous play with Andrey Zhigalov in the chip lead with 3,080,000 and Timothy Frazin with 2,510,000 who returned for the final Day 4 to play down to a champion.
Day 4 Recap
The play resumed on Saturday at 12 noon and just 20 minutes into the game, a winner was crowned. While playing Razz, Timothy Frazin went all-in in the middle of third street with Xx Xx/7xJxKx6x/Xx. Zhigalov called with Xx Xx/9x2x4xQx/Xx and the board cards were tabled. Frazin showed 6x2x, while Zhigalov showed 1x4x. The Jx on the seventh street did not help Frazin against Zhigalov’s 8x resulting in his second place elimination.
Post his victory Andrey Zhigalov said, “I think razz is one of my strongest games. I won a lot of chips playing that, which made up for my losing hands in stud. I was exhausted yesterday. It was difficult to concentrate with sweat dripping off your forehead in the Amazon Room. I usually only play limit mixed games. When I play hold’em and look down at two cards, I think ‘Where are my other cards?’ Two cards is kind of boring.”
Final Table Results (USD)
1. Andrey Zhigalov – $202,787
2. Timothy Frazin – $125,336
3. Bradley Smith – $87,769
4. Matt Woodward – $62,379
5. Nicholas Derke – $45,006
6. Sandeep Vasudevan – $32,971
7. Scott Clements – $24,531
8. JW Smith – $18,541
Content and Image courtesy WSOP.com
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