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Attracting participation of 6,260 entrants, Event #48: $1,500 No-Limit Hold ‘em Monster Stack at the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) culminated with Tommy Nguyen (cover image) capturing the tournament title along with the gold bracelet and prize money of $1,037,451.
From Team India, Team PokerStars pro Aditya Agarwal was the only player to survive the massive player field for Day 4 among 29 survivors. Poker enthusiasts from India tuned into the event’s play right as the play began, with Agarwal returning with a stack of 1,680,000. Much to the disappointment of his fans, Agarwal’s stellar run ended early in the day and he finished in 27th place for $35,819 (~₹24.60 Lakhs).
Right after David Polop (28th for $35,819) was busted out in the very first hand of the day, eventual winner, Nguyen who was seated on the same table as Agarwal moved all in from the small blind. Agarwal, who was in the big blind snap-called. Nguyen held and Agarwal revealed . Agarwal was in great shape to add to his stack as the flop rolled out but the on the turn gave Nguyen an open-ended straight draw. As luck would have it, the came on the river, completing Nguyen`s straight. As Nguyen doubled up his stack to 3,550,000, Agarwal was left with just below four big blinds.
Just one hand changed the fate for Agarwal who was eliminated next. The action folded to him on the button and he shoved all in for 280,000. He was called by Corbett in the big blind and Agarwal was at risk. Corbett tabled while Agarwal showed . On the flop Agarwal paired his king, but Corbett spiked trip fours. The turn and the river didn’t help Agarwal and his deepest run this series ended in 27th place.
This is Agarwal’s fifth cash in the ongoing WSOP, also his biggest score so far in the tournament series. A look at Agarwal’s run through the tournament shows that he entered in Flight 1A and built up his stack to 95,500 for Day 2. By the time curtains were drawn to Day 2, Agarwal had climbed up on stacks to reach the fifth place in the leaderboard with 1.1 Million chips. With his elimination on Day 4, Team India’s dream run in the tournament also came to an end.
For 28-year old Nguyen this was his first appearance at WSOP and what a performance on that account! “I dreamed of this and I always believed I could make it. I never doubted that I was going to win. I was just focusing on winning a bracelet. That was my goal when I came here,” Nguyen said, after the tournament.
As the play narrowed down to the final two tables following a steady stream of eliminations, Carroll took the chip lead and what followed through the subsequent hands was a tussle between him, Chong and Corbett over the lead on the unofficial final table.
Along the way, Steve Billirakis (11th for $71,880), Daniel Sprung (12th for $71,880), Colin Mchugh (14th for $56,551), Vitor Rangel (16th for $44,833), Raj Singh (21st for $35,819) and Chad Eveslage (22nd for $35,819) all hit the rails.
Jimmy Chen’s elimination (10th for $71,880) got the final table action underway.
Final Table Recap
Action unfolded with Rittie Chuaprasert railing out first in ninth place after his pair of sevens lost out to Carroll’s pair of eights.
Austrian pro Harald Summer then moved all in from the cutoff and Shyam Srinivasan called from the big blind. Summer showed while Srinivasan held . Sammer was floundering and the flop, the on the turn and the river didn’t help and he was eliminated in eighth place.
Subsequent hands saw Benko scooping a miracle double up and Nguyen kept up improving his stack by doubling through Corbett. Srinivasan then went short stacked. Soon, he was eliminated by Nguyen in a hand where he held pocket nines and Nguyen held ace-king. While he was ahead at this point, the flop brought on which Nguyen hit two pairs, and Srinivasan was on a flush draw. However the turn and on the river bricked for Srinivasan who exited in seventh place.
The next one sent packing was Michael Benko who jammed all in from the cutoff seat for 7,900,000 and Carroll pushed all in over the top from the small blind. Chong folded the big blind and the two hands were tabled. Carroll held while Benko revealed . Carroll was leading on the flop . The turn gave Benkro some chop outs but the on the river ended Benko`s tournament run in sixth place.
In the five-handed play, Daniel Corbett bowed out first when Chong announced all in from the small blind and Corbett who was in big blind snap-called for his last 6,050,000 chips. Chong tabled and Corbett held . Corbett held the pocket nines and the hand could have very well gone his way with the rundown but the on the river brought Chong a much-needed king. Corbett was eliminated in fifth place.
Another player shown the door by Nguyen was Chris Chong. Nguyen opened to 1,700,000 from under the gun and Chong shoved all in for 11,200,000. Nguyen snap-called and the cards were revealed. Nguyen held and Chong showed . Nguyen was clearly dominating and the flop kept it that way as both players flopped a pair of aces but Nguyen held the better kicker. The rundown ended Chong’s run in fourth place.
Francis Rusnak exited next, in third place. Rusnak had less than ten big blinds left and shoved all in for 6,800,000 on the button. Nguyen made the call and revealed while Rusnak showed . On the flop, Rusnak picked a flush draw to go with his two overcards. The turn was the. When the dealer burned the on the river, Nguyen’s pocket deuces held up, eliminating Rusnak.
Heads-up, Nguyen didn’t slow down his pace. On the final hand, he raised to 2,500,000 and James Carroll raised all in for 14,625,000. Nguyen snap-called and both revealed their cards. Nguyen was holding while Carroll turned over . The boisterous rail started shouting in support of their respective players and amid the commotion the flop opened . The board completed with the and rundown and just like that Nguyen won the pot and the bracelet!
Final Table Results (USD)
1. Tommy Nguyen – $1,037,451
2. James Carroll – $640,916
3. Francis Rusnak – $475,212
4. Chris Chong – $354,903
5. Daniel Corbett – $266,987
6. Michael Benko – $202,327
7. Shyam Srinivasan – $154,463
8. Harald Sammer – $118,802
9. Rittie Chuaprasert – $92,061
Content & image courtesy WSOP.com
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