In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Jeremiah ‘freestylerr’ Williams took down Event #5 ($1,000 NLHE Eight-Max) of the 2021 World Series of Poker Online for his first-ever WSOP bracelet and the $139,600 top prize, beating ‘Vegasbroke’ heads-up after the latter had dominated much of the final table.
Just eight players kicked off the final table action and it was Kevin ‘vamonospest’ Lutz who was first to lose his seat. He was all-in for eight big blinds from late position with 
pre-flop but was called by ‘Vegasbroke’ on the button with 
9c]. The board played out 
to see the field reduced to seven players.
Next to bust was Adam ‘Shakusky’ Richardson, who jammed from the small blind for just over a million chips after ‘Vegasbroke’ had opened to 160,000 chips from early position. ‘Vegasbroke’ called it off for a third of their stack with 
and saw that Richardson had been making a move with 
. The flop of 
gave Richardson genuine hope of a double with the open-ended straight and flush draw, but the turn and 
river condemned him instead to an early exit, as ‘Vegasbroke’ faded over a dozen outs to take the chip lead.
It had been Gary ‘phiI_ivey’ Kosakowski who had begun the final table with a big lead, but the momentum had shifted across the table to ‘Vegasbroke’. ‘Pickitup’ was down to under ten big blinds when three players limped, so moved all-in from the big blind with 
. Again, it was ‘Vegasbroke’ who made the call, this time with the dominated 
.
The board would confound ‘Pickitup’ who would do the opposite, watching ‘Vegasbroke’ collect the pot as a jack on the flop and queen on the river gave the chip leader two pair and yet more chips to add to a commanding lead over most of the remaining four players.
‘Vegasbroke’ was dominating the table and it was the former chip leader Kosakowski who would fall victim next. Opening to 160,000 – twice the big blind – from under the gun, Kosakowski saw ‘Vegasbroke’ three-bet to 540,000 and made a fold, but in the next hand, ‘Vegasbroke’ was under the gun and made it 320,000, with only Kosakowski in the big blind making the call.
The flop of 
saw ‘Vegasbroke’ continue for 540,000, prompting the check-raise to 1,080,000 from Kosakowski. ‘Vegasbroke’ moved all-in and Kosakowski quickly called with [6c6s]. ‘Vegasbroke’ turned over 
and the nut flush draw was immediately paid off with a 
on the turn. An innocent on the river confirmed the biggest pot of the final table would go to ‘Vegasbroke’, and Kosakowski, so in control at the beginning of the final table, was out in spectacular fashion in fifth for a return of $29,710.
With ‘Vegasbroke’ holding almost double the chips off the other three players, each of their opponents either needed to ladder or hold on for dear life. It was Jeremiah Williams turn to show some aggression and with ‘Vegasbroke’ sitting out momentarily, the eventual winner took some pre-flop pots before Matt Stout took a stand, moving all-in for 1.6 million chips with 
when Williams opened from the button. Williams had 
, however, and through the board of 
, Stout was out in stunning fashion, with Williams suddenly a major threat.
Joshua Ray was very short when Stout lost his tournament life and had just eight big blind to his name when he moved all-in with 
from the small blind, running into trouble as ‘Vegasbroke’ had an easy call with from the big blind. The jack-high board sent play heads-up, with Vegasbroke holding a chip lead with 9.7 million and Williams facing a 2:1 deficit with 4.1 million.
Just 30 minutes into the final table action, the match was heads-up, and it took some 25 minutes for Williams to turn the tide in his favor. With the stacks very close to even, Williams held a lead of just 400,000 chips when the dramatic final hand played out. Making it 320,000 at blinds of 80,000/160,000 from the button, Williams saw ‘Vegasbroke’ raise to 992,000 and made the call.
The flop of 
saw ‘Vegasbroke’ bet 1.3 million chips and Williams called. The turn of saw ‘Vegasbroke’ bet 3.1 million and when Williams shipped, his opponent made the call. ‘Vegasbroke’ had called off their stack with 
for top two pair on the turn, but Williams held and had flopped the nut straight. All he needed to do was fade a jack or a queen on the river and the gave Williams the pot and the WSOP bracelet.
With $648,700 in the prize pool and a massive $139,600 up top, 459 unique players battled it out for the top prize, with just 90 players paid and 248 re-buys taking place. Players such as Phil Hellmuth, Anthony Zinno, Chris Moorman, and Katie Lindsay all made the money but couldn’t threaten the business end of the event. A deeper run was enjoyed by players such as Martin Zamani (29th for $3,179), Vanessa Kade (26th for $3,827), Ben Yu (17th for $4,606) and Ryan Lapante (12th for $7,136).
It was Williams who earned the WSOP Online Event bracelet, however, claiming $139,600 and the fifth bracelet of the summer at the virtual felt. Having previously cashed just once in World Series event in a Caesars Atlantic City Circuit Event, finishing 17th for $1,716, the win represents a huge return on the $1,000 buy-in. Williams announced his victory in modest fashion on Twitter shortly after closing it out.
Just won 140k and my first wsop bracelet
— Jeremiah Williams (@Jeremia19275163) July 6, 2021
2021 WSOP Online Event #5 $1,000 Eight Max Final Table Results:
- Jeremiah Williams $139,600
- ‘Vegasbroke’ $86,472
- Joshua Ray $59,551
- Matt Stout $41,771
- Gary Kosakowski $29,710
- ‘Pickitup’ $21,537
- Adam Richardson $15,893
- Kevin Lutz $11,936
