WSOP: Tu Dao Wins Six Max Limit Hold'em, Brandon Adams Leads $100K
The 2019 World Series of Poker went through 70 events before a woman took down an open bracelet event. Thankfully it took just a few more days for a second woman to end up in a winner’s photo. Stephanie Dao took some inspiration from one of the 2019 WSOP breakout stars on her way to winning the first bracelet of her career.
Stephanie Dao Wins $3K Six Max Limit Hold’em
Stephanie Dao was done with tournaments. She was over them. Then a pep talk from a good friend got her back into them and on Thursday afternoon she turned all of that into a WSOP bracelet win.
Dao beat Alain Alinat heads-up to win the $3,000 Six Max Limit Hold’em event for $132,189 and her first career win.
“For about five years I didn’t play any tournaments at all. I was giving up on it,” Dao said. “Then I had a deep run at (an event in Canada). It gave me the motivation to play more tournaments. I’m very happy with the outcome this year.”
That run in Canada was the result of a few conversations with a fellow Canadian grinder who has put on a show this summer in the WSOP Deepstacks events, earning $380,000 after making three final tables.
“I felt like I’m not good enough to play tournaments. I’m dead money. So I stopped playing (tourneys) and stuck with the cash games,” Dao said. “But my friend Benny Underwood – he’s the one that gave me the motivation to play more tournaments. We exchanged information on how to play; he helped me a lot.”
Alinat took home $82,312 for finishing in second while Ian O’Hara earned $55,749 for his third-place result.
Final Table Payouts
- Stephanie Dao – $132,189
- Alain Alinat – $82,312
- Ian O’Hara – $55,749
- Chad Eveslage – $38,561
- Jan Suchanek – $27,251
- Oleg Chebotarev – $19,687
Five Remain in Little One for One Drop
Just five players are still standing in the $1,111 Little One for One drop with Brazilian Fernando Karam holding a significant lead over the rest of the field. Karam finished Day 4 with 93,500,000 and his next closest competitor, Liran Betito has 52,400,000.
The day began with 48 players still in contention. Start of day chip leader Mike Dentale was eliminated in 22nd place for $23,825. Former #1-ranked PocketFiver Michael Wasserman finished 33rd for $19,184.
The final table begins at Noon PT and will play down to a winner.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Fernando Karam – 93,500,000
- Liran Betito – 52,400,000
- James Anderson – 49,200,000
- Shalom Elharar – 24,500,000
- Marco Guibert – 23,200,000
$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Bounty Needs Overtime
Originally scheduled for three days of play, the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Bounty still had seven players with chips when play was halted for the night on Thursday. Denmark’s Maximiliam Klostermeier holds nearly double that of any player heading into the extra day.
Klostermeier bagged 10,240,000 while David Callaghan ended with 5,250,000. Bryce Yockey rounds out the top three with 4,315,000.
There were 42 players when Day 3 began. Included in the 35 players who were sent to the rail were Jim Collopy, Kevin Eyster, Denis Strebkov, Jeffrey Lisandro, Joao Simao, Jesse Sylvia, and Toby Lewis.
Day 4 begins at 1 PM PT.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Maximiliam Klostermeier – 10,240,000
- David Callaghan – 5,250,000
- Bryce Yockey – 4,315,000
- Jason Stockfish – 3,150,000
- Ryan Lenaghan – 2,460,000
- Tim Seidensticker – 1,810,000
- Scott Sharpe -1,011,000
Six Left in $3,000 No Limit Hold’em Event
David Gonzalez will wake up Friday morning knowing he has the biggest stack and just five opponents standing between himself and the first bracelet of his poker career. Gonzalez finished Day 2 of the $3,000 No Limit Hold’em event with 4,295,000 to edge out Guillaume Nolet for the lead.
Nolet ended with 3,960,000 while the rest of the remaining four are all well behind. Former #1-ranked PocketFiver Patrick Leonard ended with 1,320,000 for the fifth biggest stack.
Andras Nemeth began Day 3 with the chip lead but was eliminated in seventh-place before play finished for the night. Michael Tureniec and Jonas Mackoff were eliminated in 12th and 11th place respectively.
The final table begins at 1 PM PT.
Final Table Chip Counts
- David Gonzalez – 4,295,000
- Guillaume Nolet – 3,960,000
- Ivan Deyra – 1,975,000
- David Dibernardi – 1,365,000
- Patrick Leonard – 1,320,000
- David Weinstein – 515,000
Francis Rusnak Leads $1,500 Mixed NLHE/PLO
Day 2 of the $1,500 Mixed NLHE/PLO event went from 340 players to just 47 and Francis Rusnak sits on top heading into what is scheduled to the final day of play. Rusnak finished with 2,334,000 and the only other player to finish above the 2,000,000 mark was Gary Bolden with 2,100,000.
Sweden’s Jerry Odeen just missed joining that group, putting 1,957,000 in the bag after ten levels of play. Other notables moving on to Day 3 include Lucas Greenwood, Anton Wigg, Matthew Wantman, Steve Sung, David ‘ODB’ Baker, and Benjamin Underwood.
Some of the notables to bust once the money bubble burst on Thursday included Chris Moorman, Davidi Kitai, Ryan Hughes, Manig Loeser, Chance Kornuth, Kenny Hallaert, Shawn Buchanan, Calvin Anderson, Shaun Deeb, and Eric Baldwin.
Given the number of players left, a fourth day of play will likely be necessary. Day 3 begins at Noon PT.
Top Chip Counts
- Francis Rusnak – 2,334,000
- Gary Bolden – 2,100,000
- Jerry Odeen – 1,957,000
- Dominique Mosley – 1,530,000
- Adam Demersseman – 1,249,000
- Sebastian Langrock – 1,246,000
- Ajay Chabra – 1,145,000
- Adithya Lanka – 1,140,000
- Jeremy Kottler – 1,137,000
- Lucas Greenwood – 1,118,000
Tommy Nguyen Leads $1,500 Bracelet Winners Only Event
Registration for the $1,500 Bracelet Winners event was still open at the start of Day 2 and 42 more previous WSOP winners decided to jump into the mix. That pushed the total number of entrants to 185. By the end of the day, just eight players remained.
Leading the way heading into the final table is Canada’s Tommy Nguyen with 2,910,000. Right behind him is Shankar Pillai with 2,425,000. New Jersey online poker grinder Michael Gagliano ended up third with 1,500,000. No other player bagged up seven figures.
Yuval Bronshtein, Ryan Riess, Brian Yoon, Cord Garcia, and Upeshka De Silva were among the players who busted after the bubble burst on Thursday.
The final table begins at 2 PM PT.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Tommy Nguyen – 2,910,000
- Shankar Pillai – 2,425,000
- Michael Gagliano – 1,500,000
- Brett Apter – 995,000
- Andreas Klatt – 440,000
- Kevin Gerhart – 370,000
- Thom Werthmann – 370,000
- Scott Bohlman – 260,000
New Dad Mike Leah Leads $1,500 Double Stack
Mike Leah had to miss a good chunk of the early part of the 2019 WSOP schedule following the birth of his first child. The Canadian poker pro returned just in time for the Main Event and while he didn’t cash there, he’s now leading one of the post-lims on the schedule.
Leah turned his 50,000 starting stack into 1,628,000 over the course of 20 30-minute levels on Thursday and now leads the remaining 357 players still alive.
Will Givens and Raj Vohra hold down the second and third biggest stacks. Former #1-ranked Steven van Zadelhoff finished with 1,040,000 for the seventh best stack. Other notables still chasing this bracelet include Ismael Bojang, Diego Ventura, Valentin Vornicu, Ryan Laplante, Gordon Vayo, Jake Schwartz, Kristen Bicknell, Shannon Shorr, and Phil Hellmuth.
The event drew 2,589 players to push the total prize pool to $3,495,150 with $530,164 up top. This one was also scheduled to end on Friday, but given the sheer size of the field it will most likely be extended to a third day.
Action resumes at Noon PT.
Top Chip Counts
- Mike Leah – 1,628,000
- Will Givens – 1,484,000
- Raj Vohra – 1,465,000
- Kalyan Cheekuri – 1,174,000
- Philip Scaletta – 1,169,000
- Justin Harvell – 1,157,000
- Steven van Zadelhoff – 1,040,000
- Gregory Raymer – 1,030,000
- Shawn Kjetland – 1,020,000
- Rami Mornel – 882,000
Not a Repeat: Brandon Adams Leads High Roller
Just a few days ago, Brandon Adams entered the final table of the $50,000 Final Fifty High Roller event with the chip lead before finishing fourth. On Thursday, he finished the first day of play in the $100,000 High Roller as the chip leader with 50 players remaining.
In other words, Brandon Adams is leading the final 50, again.
Adams bagged up 2,950,000 to hold off other big stacks including Byron Kaverman (2,655,000), James Chen (2,150,000) and Thomas Boivin (2,116,000).
A total of 98 players entered on Thursday with registration set to close when play resumes at 1 PM PT.
Also making it through Day 1 were high roller regulars Mikita Badziakouski, Ali Imsirovic, Steffen Sontheimer, Bryn Kenney, and Jason Koon.
Monster Stack winner Kainalu McCue-Unciano, who has never cashed in an event with a buy-in greater than $3,500, jumped into the deep end and ended up finishing with a top 10 stack.
Top Chip Counts
- Brandon Adams – 2,950,000
- Byron Kaverman – 2,655,000
- James Chen – 2,150,000
- Thomas Boivin – 2,116,000
- Mikita Badziakouski – 2,105,000
- Ali Imsirovic – 2,060,000
- Bryn Kenney – 2,035,000
- Steffen Sontheimer – 2,010,000
- Matthias Eibinger – 2,000,00
- Kainalu McCue-Unciano – 1,865,000
