WSOP: Shinkar Pillai Highlights Four Friday Bracelet Winners
As the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event was playing down to a final table inside the Amazon Room, another eight events were in action on Friday including three that resulted in a player winning the first gold bracelet of their career and another player earning his second.
James Anderson, Maximilian Klostermeier, Ivan Deyra, and Shankar Pillai all contributed to tying the record for most bracelets awarded in a single day.
James Anderson Ships Little One for One Drop
Just five players returned to a chip stack on Day 5 of the $1,111 Little One for One Drop and James Anderson was right in the middle with an average stack. He overcame that and the massive chip lead of Brazil’s Fernando Karam to win $690,686 and his first bracelet.
The 33-year-old recently returned to playing poker after taking some time away.
“I just started playing again a couple of months ago so this one definitely feels good,” Anderson said. “I wanted to get away from the game for a little bit. I was grinding really hard and wanted to take a little break from it. I feel good now. My mind is a lot fresher now, I have a different perspective, and hopefully, it continues. It’s a good start.”
Karam ended up taking home $426,543 for his runner-up finish.
Final Table Payouts
- James Anderson – $690,686
- Fernando Karam – $426,543
- Marco Guibert – $316,233
- Liran Betito – $236,151
- Shalom Elharar – $177,639
- Nils Tolpingrud – $134,608
- Mark Strodl – $102,757
- Ying Fu – $79,029
- Bob Mather – $61,238
Bounty Hunter Maximilian Klostermeier Wins $1,500 PLO Bounty Event
Maximilian Klostermeier really did live out a poker players dream this week. The 23-year-old German turned his first career WSOP cash into gold. Klostermeier beat Ireland’s David Callaghan heads up to win the first bracelet of his career and $177,823.
“I have only played poker professionally for about a year, so to win a bracelet this soon is amazing,” Klostermeier. “This is the only PLO game I have played. I have only played a couple of online tournaments, 25 at the most. PLO is not my main game, I play Hold’em.”
Bryce Yockey finished third for $77,893. That’s his eighth cash this summer and fourth time finishing in the top eight.
Final Table Payouts
- Maximilian Klostermeier – $177,823
- David Callaghan – $109,844
- Bryce Yockey – $77,893
- Ryan Lenaghan – $55,939
- Jason Stockfish – $40,691
- Tim Seidensticker – $29,987
- Scott Sharpe – $22,391
- Heng Zhang – $16,944
- Joseph Liberta – $12,996
Vive la France: Ivan Deyra Wins $3,000 No Limit Hold’em
Ivan Deyra has been to a WSOP final table before, but only to cheer on his friends. On Friday he was the one being serenaded after beating David Gonzalez for the bracelet in the $3,000 No Limit Hold’em event.
“The main goal was to have a bracelet. When I was young I watched TV with stars in my eyes. To be here and to win it, it’s amazing. It’s like a real dream,” Deyra said. He’s the third player from France to win gold this year joining Jeremy Saderne and Thomas Cazayous.
Deyra’s previous best WSOP result came earlier this summer when he finished eighth in the $1,000 Double Stack for $78,638.
Gonzalez, who started the day with the chip lead, earned $234,882. Guillaume Nolet earned $162,575 for finishing third.
Former #1-ranked PocketFiver Patrick Leonard came in fourth for $114,347 and his seventh cash of the summer.
Final Table Payouts
- Ivan Deyra – $380,090
- David Gonzalez – $234,882
- Guillaume Nolet – $162,575
- Patrick Leonard – $114,347
- David Dibernardi – $81,749
- David Weinstein – $59,421
- Andras Nemeth – $43,925
- Dennis Brand – $33,032
- Diego Zeiter – $25,278
Shankar Pillai Takes Down Bracelet Winners Only Event
Shankar Pillai got his second bracelet on Friday and wouldn’t have done it had he not gotten the first one. Pillai beat out 184 other WSOP bracelet winners to win the $1,500 Bracelet Winners Only event for $71,580.
New Jersey online poker grinder Michael Gagliano finished runner-up for $44,232. Tommy Nguyen rounded out the podium finishers with a third-place finish and $31,176 score.
The event was part of the celebrations for the 50th annual WSOP and only players who had previously won a gold bracelet could enter.
Final Table Payouts
- Shankar Pillai – $71,580
- Michael Gagliano – $44,232
- Tommy Nguyen – $31,176
- Brett Apter – $22,349
- Kevin Gerhart – $16,299
- Andreas Klatt – $12,097
- Thom Werthmann – $9,140
- Scott Bohlman – $7,032
- Haixia Zhang – $5,512
Ayaz Mahmood Leads $1,500 Mixed NLHE/PLO Final Table
Ayaz Mahmood won his first bracelet nine years ago in the $10,000 Heads Up Championship event at the 2010 WSOP. He’s been waiting to win his second ever since and on Saturday he’ll start the final table of the $1,500 NLHE/PLO event in pole position with seven players left.
Mahmood bagged up 8,430,000 and sits almost 2 million ahead of the second biggest stack. Lucas Greenwood is the owner that 6,515,000 stack. Jeremy Kottler is third with 5,145,000.
There were 47 players at the start of the day. David ‘ODB’ Baker, Lexy Gavin, Steve Sung, Matt Giannetti, and Anton Wigg all busted before the final table but did manage to pick up a cash.
The final table resumes at Noon PT.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Ayaz Mahmood – 8,430,000
- Lucas Greenwood – 6,515,000
- Jeremy Kottler – 5,145,000
- Eddie Blumenthal – 3,240,000
- Peter Linton – 3,115,000
- Jerry Odeen – 2,380,000
- Adam Demersseman – 2,315,000
Freek Scholten Leads $1,500 Double Stack Final Table
Freek Scholten is hoping to put the Netherlands on the board on Saturday. The Dutchman finished Day 2 of the $1,500 Double Stack with 26,000,000 and leads the final eight players into an extra day of play.
Darren Rabinowitz snuck past the 20,000,000 mark with 20,050,000 and sits second. Barry Shulman is third with 18,450,000.
Of the 349 players to be sent to the cashier window on Friday were Kristen Bicknell, Jerry Wong, Shannon Shorr, Conor Beresford, Ismael Bojang, Phil Hellmuth, Jake Schwartz, and Ryan Laplante.
Mike Leah, who started the day with the lead, finished 34th for $13,808.
The final table begins at 11 AM PT.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Freek Scholten – 26,000,000
- Darren Rabinowitz – 20,050,000
- Barry Shulman – 18,450,000
- Kunal Punjwani – 15,500,000
- Adam Hendrix – 15,350,000
- Philip Scaletta – 13,575,000
- Tom Koral – 10,550,000
- Kalyan Cheekuri – 9,925,000
Keith Tilston Leads $100K High Roller
Just six players remain in the $100,000 High Roller event with Keith Tilston on top with 14,475,000. Brandon Adams, who started the day with the biggest stack, sits second now with 12,375,000. Nick Schulman is third with 11,650,000.
The other three players at the final table are Dominik Nitsche, Igor Kurganov, and the shortest remaining stack belongs to Daniel Negreanu.
Six players took the Day 2 late registration option to push the total to field to 99 players.
Sam Grafton, Stefan Sontheimer, $50,000 High Roller Danny Tang, and Christoph Vogelsang made into the money before busting.
Kainalu McCue-Unciano, who won the $1,500 Monster Stack earlier this month, finished 12th for $195,862. Prior to this event, he had never cashed in an event with a buy-in grater than $3,500.
Cards are in the air beginning at Noon PT.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Keith Tilston – 14,475,000
- Brandon Adams – 12,375,000
- Nick Schulman – 11,650,000
- Dominik Nitsche – 9,850,000
- Igor Kurganov – 8,500,000
- Daniel Negreanu – 3,150,000
Ari Engel in Contention After Day 1A of The Closer
The first of three starting flights in the $1,500 The Closer brought out 463 entries, 30 of whom survived all the 20 levels of play. Roman Korenev ended Day 1A with 1,198,000 and the biggest stack. Griffen Abel was the only other player to finish with a seven-figure stack after putting exactly 1,000,000 in the bag.
Former #1-ranked Ari Engel sits third with 936,000.
Other notables moving on to Day 2 include Ian O’Hara, Steven Wolansky, Kristen Bicknell, and Mike Sexton.
Day 1B begins at 11 AM PT.
Top 10 Chip Counts
- Roman Korenev – 1,198,000
- Griffin Abel – 1,000,000
- Ari Engel – 936,000
- Ian O’Hara – 756,000
- Fabian Gumz – 628,000
- Steven Wolansky – 610,000
- Daniel Neilson – 538,000
- Brian Croak – 520,000
- Christopher Fisher – 500,000
- James Pavlick – 400,000
$3,000 Six Max Pot Limit Omaha
Paresh Doshi topped the 173 players who made it through Day 1 of the $3,000 Six Max Pot Limit Omaha with the biggest stack. The Londoner finished with 359,300. That gives him a 67,800-chip lead over the next closest player.
Kenneth Lucas is that player with 291,500 while Hao Chen and Christopher aren’t far behind with 287,800 and 284,300 respectively.
Anton Morgenstern, David Williams, Max Silver, Denis Strebkov, Joseph Cheong, Bruno Fitoussi, Fabrizio Gonzalez, Vivian Saliba, and Michael Mizrachi were among the familiar faces moving onto Day 2.
The 835-player field put the total prize pool at $2,254,500 with the first place score being $448,392.
Top 10 Chip Counts
- Paresh Doshi – 359,300
- Kenneth Lucas – 291,500
- Hao Chen – 287,800
- Christopher Wehner – 284,300
- Alan Sternberg – 270,100
- Keith Lehr – 235,400
- Anton Morgenstern – 233,000
- Martin Zamani – 231,700
- Niko Soininen – 224,700
- Ka Lau – 218,900
