WSOP 2018: Benjamin Moon Wins His 1st Bracelet in Big Blind Antes $1,500 NLHE

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) introduced the Big Blind Ante format for the first time this year and the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em went on to attract a decent turnout of 1,306 participants. The 4-day event witnessed some high-octane action and once the last was dealt it was Benjamin Moon (cover image) who had all the chips in play after defeating Romain Lewis heads-up and was rewarded with his first WSOP gold bracelet and $315,346 in prize money.

Moon is a recent addition to the poker circuit having participated in his first tournament earlier this year in the $350 No Limit Hold’em – LAPC25 Kickoff Event #1 at 2018 WPT L.A. Poker Classic, Los Angeles. But he was quick to make his mark with his first win coming at the $350 No Limit Hold’em – KO Bounty #2 for $11,800. This American poker player currently has total live earnings of $328,826.

India’s Aditya Agarwal made a deep run in the event, finishing in 77^th place for $3,517 (~₹2.37 Lakhs). Popularly known by his online moniker ‘Intervention’, he is ranked 3^rd on India’s All Time Money list and has been the poster boy for Indian poker in the national and international poker community since 2006. He was the first Indian to join the PokerStars Team Pro rooster and he is also the Team Mentor for Kolkata Creators for the inaugural season of GPL India. After busting the Big Blind Antes event, Agarwal jumped into the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em – 6 Handed (Event #17) where he finished 133^rd for $2,615 (~₹1.76 Lakhs).

Final Table Recap

The nine-handed final table had started on Day 3 with Romain Lewis, Steven Snyder, Benjamin Moon, Nhathanh Nguyen, Colin Robinson, Eric Polirer, Raymond Ho, Dutch Boyd and Bohdan Slyvinskyi.

Following the elimination of Polirer, Ho and Boyd in seventh, eighth and ninth places respectively, the final table on Day 4 started with the six remaining players. Benjamin Moon led the chip count with 2,760,000, followed by Colin Robinson for 2,660,000 and Nhathanh Nguyen for 1,403,000.

Day 4 Recap

Bohdan Slyvinskyi was the first casualty of the day. He open-jammed with from under the gun which was countered by Colin Robinson from cutoff with . The board gave both players top pair of aces but Robinson’s queen-high kicker helped him kick Slyvinskyi out of the game in sixth place.

Less than 30 minutes later, Nhathanh Nguyen was sent to the rails in fifth place by Benjamin Moon. When Moon raised from small blind with , Nguyen went all-in from big blind with . Moon was able to clip a three-of-a-kind of aces on the flop . The turn gave Nguyen a top pair of kings but the river meant the he was effectively busted.

StevenSnyder was the next to go when he moved all-in from big blind with . Moon called from under the gun with . With the board running , Moon picked up a pair of aces that sent Snyder packing in fourth place.

On the 80^th hand on the day, with the flop open , Colin Robinson shoved all-in from small blind hoping to hit his flush draw or gutshot straight draw with . Moon called from big blind with . With the turn bringing and river , Robinson’s hopes were dashed in third place.

The heads-up match between Romain Lewis and Benjamin Moon continued for 10 more hands. Lewis was ousted when Moon called a three-bet jam with against Lewis’ . The rundown presented a pair of eights, but Moon came out on top with his jack kicker, leaving Lewis as the runners-up.

When asked about his aggressive playing style Moon said, “I think that might be a bit of an understatement. My table draw was really fortunate. Colin (Robinson) was my biggest threat and I had position on him. I knew that there was so much pressure on everyone with these pay jumps so I just stayed aggressive the whole time.”

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Benjamin Moon – $315,346

2. Romain Lewis – $194,837

3. Colin Robinson – $138,938

4. Steven Snyder – $100,268

5. Nhathanh Nguyen – $73,242

6. Bohdan Slyvinskyi – $54,160

7. Eric Polirer – $40,549

8. Raymond Ho – $30,742

9. Dutch Boyd – $23,605

Content and Image courtesy WSOP.com

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