Monday Night’s World Series of Poker Online event saw an exciting climax crown Martin Zamani as the new bracelet winner in WSOP Online Event #19 ($888-entry Pot Limit Omaha Crazy Eights). Zamani claimed the win at the expense of Shawn Stroke, but that only tells half the story of an incredible ending to what was a fast-paced PLO final table.
Heading into the final table, a dominant Zamani led the players from three tables to one. Zamani had been leapfrogged into the lead, however, by the man who was the reason that only seven rather than eight players made the final table – Stroke.
Stroke took out Kyle Bowker in ninth place and Joseph Cheong in eight place when his 
managed to turn a straight on the 
board, bettering the trip sevens of Gowker and aces in the hole for Cheong. That hand gave Stroke momentum at exactly the right time, and he would be the man to catch as the final table got underway.
Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Loren Klein busted in seventh place for the first five-figure result of the tournament as he won $10,221. Klein made his all-in move on a flop of 
after flopping two pair with his hand of 
, but Zamani held 
and the 
on the turn gave Zamani the nut flush. Klein needed to find an ace or a jack on the river to survive, but the 
sent him home and quick as a flash, play at the final table was six-handed.
There were six players remaining for just a few minutes as Arkadiy Tsinis left in fifth place for $13,871 soon after Klein’s exit. Tsinis held 
and bet-called for his tournament life against Ryan Depaulo’s 
. The board of 
gave Depaulo trip nines from the flop and Tsinis could never catch him, giving Depaulo a much-needed way back into the match having been short-stacked not long before.
It was the unknown ‘bobbybaldwin’ who left next after running extremely short. They moved all in from under the gun with 
and were called by three players. On the flop of 
, everyone checked but the turn of saw Stroke, who had 
, bet and only Zamani call. On the river of , another bet from Stroke pushed Zamani off the pot and his Broadway straight sent ‘bobbybaldwin’ home.
Depaulo may have kept his head above water a few hands earlier, but he was sunk in almost the next hand. Zamani was the aggressor as he opened and then called Depaulo’s three-bet. The flop of 
saw Depaulo bet and Zamani move all-in over the top of that bet.
Depaulo called it off with 
for the flopped straight, but Zamani was live to a full house with and when the 
completed that draw on the river, play was down to just three bracelet hopefuls, with the last player who had previously won a bracelet event on the rail.
John Del Rossi busted in third place for $38,978 when his hand of was no match for Zamani’s 
on a board of 
after Del Rossi moved all-in on the flop. The tournament was not set for a long heads-up, either. In a massive pre-flop raising war, all the money went in with Stroke holding less than half of Zamani’s chips.
Stroke was holding but needed help against Zamani’s 
. The flop of 
kept Zamani in front and after the 
turn and river, the 19th bracelet event of the 2021 WSOP Online was decided.
There were some near-misses for big players in the run-up to the latest victory. Just 285 players took part in the event, but with 222 rebuys, that meant 507 entries overall and a prizepool of $405,600 to fight for. Just 72 players made the money, and they didn’t include luminaries such as Brett Shaffer, who finished third in Event #18 which was won by James Gilbert.
Shaffer crashed out in 243rd place, and he was followed by players such as David Williams (220th), Ryan Leng (209th), Ryan Laplante (174th), Chris Moorman (169th), Daniel Negreanu (142nd), Kristen Bicknell (90th), Jesse Sylvia (83rd) and 15-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who finished in 76th place.
Several well-known players finished with profit but couldn’t quite reach the final table, with Matt Stout (51st for $1,662), Jared Koppel (16th for $3,001), Jason Gooch (14th for $3,650) and Ema Zajmovic (12th place for $4,583) all going close but missing out on the final table action.
WSOP Online Series Event #19 PLO Crazy Eights Final Table Results:
- Martin ‘bathroomline’ Zamani $92,598
- Shawn ‘sHaDySTeeM’ Stroke $57,067
- John ‘thirteen’ Del Rossi $38,978
- Ryan ‘joeyisamush’ Depaulo $27,094
- ‘bobbybaldwin’ $19,225
- Arkadiy ‘Crocofantos’ Tsinis $13,871
- Loren ‘BabyJesus’ Klein $10,221
- Joseph ‘biueberry’ Cheong $7,665
