WSOP 2022: Young Sik Comes From Behind to Win Maiden Bracelet in Event#66: $1K Mini Main Event ($594,189); Kartik Ved Finishes 3rd (~₹2.17 Crores)

Young Sik pulled off an incredible victory in the 2022 WSOP Event #66: $1,000 Mini-Main No-Limit Hold ’em! Sik was the shortest stack with six BBs when the unofficial ten-player final table was formed. He entered Day 3 with just 11 BBs as the second shortest stack. But he unleashed his poker prowess on the final day, eliminating Phillip Lee, bracelet winner Kartik Ved, and eventual runner-up Cosmin Joldis to collect his career-first gold bracelet and a $593,985 payday!

This was Sik’s second final table finish of the series. He had previously finished runner-up in Event #18: $1,000 Freezeout No-Limit Holdem, losing the title to Bryan Schultz. Sik now has $1,003,599 in WSOP winnings.

“I came into today with a 10 big blind stack,” the new champion said. “I wasn’t expecting too much out of it, but it turned out great.”

Before this victory, the California resident boasted $716,460 in career tournament earnings and crossed the $1 Million milestone with the score, cracking the top 200 on California’s All-Time Money List.

“I liked it better being on the short stack,” he said about his play. “When there is a shorter stack, you feel more ICM pressure, but when you are the shortest, you can just play,” Sik concluded the interview by saying he’s looking forward to playing the Main Event!

PokerGuru Ambassador Kartik Ved Banks Team India’s Biggest Score at the 2022 WSOP

It was a bittersweet day for the Indian rail as PokerGuru Ambassador Kartik Ved fell in third place in the Mini Main Event for $275,593 (~₹2.17 Crores). This is the highest score by an Indian at the 2022 WSOP and the fourth-highest score overall, behind Abhinav Iyer (1st in Event #84: The Closer – $1,500 No-Limit Hold ’em), Paawan Bansal (2nd in Event #75: The Closer – $1,500 No-Limit Hold ’em) and Aditya Agarwal (2nd in Event #76: Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold ’em).

The Goa resident made his WSOP debut in 2018. He had kick-started his WSOP scorecard with a deep run in that year’s WSOP Main Event, finishing 128th for $57,010 (~₹39.20 Lakhs). Ved is the second Indian after Nipun Java to win a WSOP Online Bracelet. He achieved this feat in the 2020 WSOP Online Series when he championed Event #64: $840 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold ’em for $234,433 (~₹1.76 Crore).

In these past four years, Ved has cashed 17 times at the annual series, with his latest deep run pushing his WSOP winnings to $592,301 (~₹4.68 Crores).

Raghav Bansal (156th for $4,133, ~₹3.26 Lakhs), Aditya Sushant (417th for $2,597, ~₹2.05 Lakhs), and Ankit Ahuja (645th for $1,752, ~₹1.38 Lakhs) were the other Indians who crossed the money line in the event.

The event registered 5,833 entries, generating a $5,191,370 prize pool. The top 875 places got paid.

Shaun Deeb (18th for $23,148), Tyler Patterson (27th for $18,817), Ran Koller (30th for $18,817), Day 1 chip leader Jake Bluston (89th for $6,380), Indo-Swiss player Dinesh Alt (91st for $5,476), and Indo-American Alok Arora (163rd for $4,133) were notables who finished in the money.

Shinya Nakai’s 11th place exit ($45,071) saw the remaining ten-player reconvene to the unofficial final table.

Unofficial Final Table Chip Counts

1. Cosmin Joldis – 118,000,000
2. Theodore Lee – 60,000,000
3. Kartik Ved – 51,000,000
4. Kei Nitta – 36,000,000
5. Phillip Lee – 23,000,000
6. Jesse Lonis – 20,000,000
7. Keith Littlewood – 16,500,000
8. Sergio Ochoa – 10,000,000
9. Adam Velez – 9,600,000
10. Young Sik – 7,300,000

After Jesse Lonis was knocked out in 10th place ($45,079) by Kartik Ved, the nine-handed final table was set up.

Final Table Recap

Sergio Ochoa was the first player to be eliminated in ninth place when his ran into Kei Nitta’s . The board blanked out for Ochoa.

Thirteen minutes later, Keith Littlewood’s failed to get past Cosmin Joldis’ . Both players hit two pair of Aces and eights on the board, but Joldis’ King-high kicker ousted Littlewood in eighth place.

Finishing in seventh place was Adam Velez. His were cracked by Joldis’ that flopped two pair on the runout .

Theodore Lee became Joldis’ third FT victim. Lee’s fell short of Joldis’ that bettered to a rivered two pair on the runout . Lee bowed out in sixth place.

With Lee’s exit, the play was halted on Day 2.

After scoring three eliminations in under an hour, Cosmin Joldis bagged a massive overnight chip lead of 180,000,000 (60 BBs). Kartik Ved was a distant second in chips with 58,500,000 (20 BBs).

Final Day Chip Counts

1. Cosmin Joldis – 180,000,000
2. Kartik Ved – 58,500,000
3. Kei Nitta – 49,200,000
4. Young Sik Eum – 33,500,000
5. Phillip Lee – 28,400,000

Final Day Recap

The first elimination of the day took place within the first 16 minutes. Before he was knocked out, Japan’s Kei Nitta lost a massive pot to Joldis, leaving him crippled with 31.50 Million. Six minutes after that, Nitta moved all-in with , and Joldis called off with . The community cards showed and Joldis rivered a 10 high straight, eliminating Nitta in fifth place.

About 30 minutes later, Joldis raised to 9 Million from the cutoff, and Young Sik jammed the button. Phillip Lee moved all-in from the big blind for his last 24 Million, getting Joldis to fold.

Phillip Lee

Young Sik

Sik was behind pre-flop but hit two pair on the runout , sealing Lee’s fate in fourth place.

Lee’s elimination gave Sik the boost he needed, and soon after that, he doubled up through Joldis to whisk the chip lead away from the Romanian.

Eleven minutes later, Sik moved all-in for 85 Million from the button. Kartik Ved, who had the shortest stack of 19 Million, called with his tournament life at risk. Joldis folded his big blind.

Kartik Ved

Young Sik

Ved got it in good and held the advantage pre-flop with his pocket pair, and the flop bettered his odds to 82%. But the turn turned the tide in Sik’s favor. The river blanked for Ved, bringing India’s bracelet dreams to an end in third place.

The heads-up between Young Sik (274,980,000) and Cosmin Joldis (75,000,000) began with the former commanding a 3:1 chip lead. While Joldis doubled up to close the gap, it wasn’t much help as he was eliminated soon after that.

Finally, Sik opened to 12.50 Million from the button and Joldis 3-bet to 35 Million. Sik shoved all-in, covering Joldis. The latter called.

Cosmin Joldis

Young Sik

The board ran out , and Sik’s turned pair of Kings got him his career-first bracelet, relegating Joldis to a runner-up finish.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Young Sik – $594,189
2. Cosmin Joldis – $367,233
3. Kartik Ved – $275,593
4. Phillip Lee – $208,275
5. Kei Nitta – $158,515
6. Theodore Lee – $121,504
7. Adam Velez – $93,803
8. Keith Littlewood – $72,941
9. Sergio Ochoa – $57,133

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerGO, PokerNews & WSOP

Keep following PokerGuru for all the latest updates from WSOP 2022!