WSOP Online 2020: Belgium’s Michael Gathy Wins Fourth Bracelet in Event #85: $500 The Closer, Indo-American Shankar Pillai Finishes 3rd

There is just a day’s play left for the 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online series to complete its inaugural run. The last of the 85 bracelet events on the schedule, Event #85: $500 The Closer, logged in a crowded field of 4,012 contenders. After eight hours of intense action, Belgium’s Michael “Hneves” Gathy (cover image) was the only one left standing and won his fourth career bracelet and $272,504. Yuan Yuan “SunnySummer” Li finished runner-up for $194,248.

Ranked #6 on Belgium’s all-time money list, Gathy has over $2.64 Million in recorded earnings. His biggest career victory came at the 2016 WSOP, where he won his third bracelet in Event #35: $5,000 No-Limit Hold ’em Six-Handed for $560,843. Gathy had an impressive 32 WSOP cashes coming into this series, including three gold bracelets worth $1.87 Million.

It was a tight race to the money as the top 476 players were assured a min-cash of $1,259 from the $1,905,700 prize pool. The anonymous user “UnKnownK1d” was eliminated on the money bubble.

Among Indians, at least nine players crossed the money line. The deepest run came from “DrBravestone”, who placed 29th for $4,691. The other ITM finishers included “rahul1981” (46th for $3,344), “darkroast” (164th for $1,919), “punter27” (172nd for $1,919), “OBellaCiao” (210th for $1,727), Event #64 champion “Mandovi” (216th for $1,727), “tbonerazor” (293rd for $1,554), “mayank070707” (352nd for $1,398), and “RockstarR” (471st for $1,259).

Miguel “kryingkid10” Silva was eliminated in 10th place for $12,949 to set the nine-handed final table.

The two-time bracelet winning Indo-American Shankar Pillai (20,962,186) was the chip leader at the start of the final table. Yuan Yuan “SunnySummer” Li (17,106,347) was his closest competitor, followed by Paul “Wizardofodds” Hockin (14,966,938) in third place.

Erik “KoiOfTheHill” Von Buxhoeveden (7,677,620), the eventual champion Michael “Hneves” Gathy (7,585,496), and Vitor “SPEWberg” Adiron (5,809,066) were all sporting the shortest three stacks at the start of the final table.

You can watch the cards-up FT replay below.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Shankar Pillai – 20,962,186
2. Yuan Yuan “SunnySummer” Li – 17,106,347
3. Paul “Wizardofodds” Hockin – 14,966,938
4. Craig “mrfeeny” Mason – 9,524,548
5. Toni “FinBuddha” Ojala – 8,845,965
6. Luis Gustavo “DJLITTLESOUL” Kamei – 7,821,834
7. Erik “KoiOfTheHill” Von Buxhoeveden – 7,677,620
8. Michael “Hneves” Gathy – 7,585,496
9. Vitor “SPEWberg” Adiron – 5,809,066

Final Table Recap

Vitor “SPEWberg” Adiron, the shortest stack at the start of the final table, was the first to be eliminated in ninth for $18,166.

Within the next ten minutes, Toni “FinBuddha” Ojala fell out in eighth place after his pocket aces got cracked by Yuan Yuan “SunnySummer” Li pocket fives that flopped a set.

Li’s next victim was Paul “Wizardofodds” Hockin, who fell out in seventh place.

Craig “mrfeeny” Mason, trying to stay afloat with his short stack, exited in sixth place.

The next player to be busted in the fast-paced round of eliminations was Luis Gustavo “DJLITTLESOUL” Kamei in fifth place for $70,359.

The tourney was quickly brought down to three-handed after Erik “KoiOfTheHill” Von Buxhoeveden was taken out with his pocket sixes failing to get anywhere against Michael “Hneves” Gathy’s pocket tens.

The Indo-American Shankar Pillai’s hunt for a third bracelet was prematurely ended after his got crushed by Yuan Yuan “SunnySummer” Li’s that completed a one-card straight on the rundown.

Michael “Hneves” Gathy started the heads up with a 2:1 chip lead over Yuan Yuan “SunnySummer” Li and never really gave him a chance to win big pots. Soon, Li’s stack was down to a very short one. On the final hand, Li’s fell short to Gathy’s , getting the latter his fourth WSOP bracelet!

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Michael “Hneves” Gathy – $272,504
2. Yuan Yuan “SunnySummer” Li – $194,248
3. Shankar Pillai – $138,467
4. Erik “KoiOfTheHill” Von Buxhoeveden – $98,704
5. Luis Gustavo “DJLITTLESOUL” Kamei – $70,359
6. Craig “mrfeeny” Mason – $50,154
7. Paul “Wizardofodds” Hockin – $35,751
8. Toni “FinBuddha” Ojala – $25,485
9. Vitor “SPEWberg” Adiron – $18,166

Content & Images Courtesy: WSOP.com and PokerNews.com

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