WSOP 2018: Paul Volpe Wins 3rd Bracelet After Taking Down $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship

It’s been an amazing run for Paul Volpe (cover image) this summer as the American pro has already cashed twice at the ongoing World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2018. But what pushes all this to the background is his title win in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 Or Better Championship.

Volpe juggernauted his way through a 169-player field to make it to the final nine on Wednesday. The next day, he maneuvered his way through the six-handed final table and won the heads-up finale against Eli Elezra to win WSOP’s first championship event!

This is Volpe’s third WSOP bracelet and with his title win of $417,921, his total live earnings now stand at $7,238,757. The heads-up between Volpe and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Eli Elezra was quite a show, with Elezra who had a near-equal stack raging a stiff fight right till the last hand.

“I just ran like, really, really good, I think a lot of people with the same cards as me would have won the tournament. I was playing solid in the beginning, At Omaha, as there become fewer people, you know, you play more aggressive. Six-handed I was just trying to pick good hands, As we became shorter, that’s when you try to open up and steal some pots if you can”, Volpe said, talking about his win.

Elezra, meanwhile, praised Volpe for his run in the event, particularly the heads-up. “He got it fair and square, he ran like god”, he said.

Prior to this in the WSOP 2018, Volpe finished 15th in the $100,000 NLHE High Roller and took third place in Event #2: $10,000 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty.

The total prize pool of $1,588,600 was divided among the top 26 finishers. It was in the late hours of Day 2 that the money bubble burst with Daniel Ratigan bouncing out as the bubble boy.

Big names like Anthony Zinno, Steven Wolansky and Dan Shak failed to bag chips.

On Day 3, 22 players returned and played down to the six-handed final table. By then, Nikolai Yakovenko, Chris Bjorin, Felipe Ramos, Daniel Alaei and Mike Gorodinsky were all sent to the rail.

There were a lot of cheers for Volpe and Elezra and the crowd also applauded second runner-up Adam Coats who works as a dealer in a casino in Washington.

Final Table Recap

The unofficial final table began with nine players in the field. Swedish player Per Hildebrand and American players Daniel Zack and Robert Mizrachi were the first to bust out in ninth, eighth and seventh place respectively. Following this the final table of six players was live streamed. By now, the play had crossed Level 26.

Elezra was leading in stacks when the official final table began, with Dustin Dirksen starting off as the short stack. He doubled once but his luck was running out fast. On his last hand of the tournament, Dirksen raised from the cutoff and Volpe called from big blind. On the flop , Dirksen bet, Volpe check-raised, and Dirksen moved all-in. Volpe called with and Dustin tabled for flopped fours and threes for a high and a eighty-four low but they were no match for Volpe’s sets of threes and six-four low. With on turn and , it was time for Dirksen to leave and he busted out in sixth place.

Then, Kyle Miaso raised the button and Elezra called off from the small blind. Viacheslav Zhukov from Russia three-bet from the big blind. Both players called. Elezra checked the flop , Zhukov led out, Miaso raised, Elezra folded and Zhukov moved all in with . Miaso called with . The turn and river sent Zhukov packing in fifth place.

With play down to the last four players, the chip lead exchanged hands more than a few times. The next elimination was of Miaso, who struggled from small blind and as Elezra raised, he called. The flop fell , Elezra bet and Miaso check-raised. Elezra moved all-in and Miaso called with against Elezra’s . The rundown were not the cards Miaso was hoping for and he was sent to the rail in fourth place.

Next, Elezra quartered Volpe but he won it back in the subsequent hand. It was here that Volpe made a decisive push towards the title, winning the next major pot.

Next up, Elezra called from small blind, Coats raised from big blind and Elezra called. With the flop open , Elezra bet while Coats moved all in. Elezra called with and Coats tabled . Although Coats had the lead, the turn and river gave Elezra a queen-high straight eliminating Coats in third place.

The heads-up saw Volpe winning the first three hands, followed by Elezra fighting back. However, he soon buckled under pressure as Volpe kept up the momentum. On the final hand, Elezra bet and Volpe raised; Elezra called to see the flop . Here, Volpe bet, Elezra moved all in and Volpe snap-called. Elezra held @13d while Volpe showed . Elezra had a gutshot, and Volpe had flopped the bottom end of the straight. The on turn and on river denied Elezra the title and he settled for a second place finish, conceding the title to Volpe.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Paul Volpe – $417,921

2. Eli Elezra – $258,297

3. Adam Coats – $181,374

4. Kyle Miaso – $129,648

5. Viacheslav Zhukov – $94,730

6. Dustin Dirksen – $69,971

7. Robert Mizrachi – $52,866

8. Daniel Zack – $40,715

9. Per Hildebrand – $31,977

Content and Image courtesy WSOP.com

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