WSOP 2023: Faraz Jaka Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Shootout, Diego Ventura Repeats the trick in Poker Hall of Fame Bounty

A thrilling day of action at both the Horseshoe and Paris casinos saw long-time poker luminaries Faraz Jaka and Diego Ventura claim maiden WSOP bracelets as the Poker Hall of Fame Bounty event and the $1,500-entry Shootout were concluded in dramatic fashion on Day 47 of the 2023 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Faraz Jaka Wins Shootout for Maiden Gold Bracelet

The legendary poker player and coach Faraz Jaka won his first-ever WSOP bracelet for $237,767 last night as he took down the $1,500-entry Shootout event, beating Michael Finstein heads-up for the title.

First to bust was Alan Mello, who busted in ninth place when his lost out to Michael Finstein’s despite hitting a ten on the flop. Sometime passed before the next elimination as Jaka first doubled then dominated to fly up the leaderboard and thrill his many watching fans on the rail. Adam Friedman’s exit in eighth place for $29,834 when his lost to Olga Iermolcheva’s as a board of was an important result for Jaka too as one of the best remaining players took the L.

Mo Zhou and Matteo Cavalier busted in 7^th and 6^th places respectively, before Brazilian poker legend Yuri Dzivielevski (5^th for $63,295) left the event too, his losing to Finstein’s on a board of . Ao Chen and Iermolcheva busted next, as Finstein went into the final duel with less half of Jaka’s chips.

A short time into the heads-up match, Jaka and Finstein got all the chips into the middle. A flop of landed, and Jaka bet-called Finstein’s raise. On the turn, Jaka check-called, before a river of a led to a check again from Jaka. Finstein took the bait, moving-all-in with just , a complete bluff, as his straight draw had missed, but Jaka’s quick call with a rivered straight holding sent the rail into raptures.

Diego Ventura Wins Debut Gold in HOF Bounty

The Peruvian player Diego Ventura won his first-ever WSOP bracelet, landing a top prize of $402,054 in emotional scenes in Las Vegas. Beating Kysar heads-up, Ventura’s victory came as the 2014 Main Event winner Martin Jacobson busted in seventh place as the Swede fell short of winning his second bracelet, instead cashing for $55,165.

“When I got to the final table I already wanted to cry,” said Ventura to reporters upon the conclusion of the match.  “When the moment arrived, I was like so calm that I couldn’t let my emotions out until I started to look back at my life and in that moment I got emotional.”

Ventura’s win came after an incredibly dramatic final hand where his effectively counterfeited Thomas Kysar’s on a board of when all the chips went into the middle pre-flop.

Flip & Go Finale Gives Meng First Bracelet

Event #89 of the WSOP was a unique one, with the GGPoker Flip & Go structure applied to a bracelet event. Courting controversy with new bracelet event choices has never stopped players playing them and 1,022 players put up the $1,000 entry fee that applies to this event, with 128 of them surviving the ‘Flip’ stage to make the poker tournament that effectively follows that money bubble bursting.

Down to the final day, it was Pete Chen who many people had eyes on, but the American finished in a disappointing fifth place, cashing for $38,600 one place further than the former WSOP Main Event runner-up David Williams, who came sixth for $28,870. With the final five comprising of five players from four different countries, the Taiwanese player Chen was followed from the felt by American Kevin Eyster (4^th for $52,280) and Brady Hinnegan from Canada (3^rd for $71,700).

Wen and Moore Leading The Closer Field on Day 1b

A busy day took place on Day 1b of The Closer, as the $1,500-entry event saw Chen Feng Wen and Mathew Moore both bag the chip lead with 1,750,000 chips. A mere three-bet behind them was Cuba Levenberry (1,710,000), with others such as Jack Duong (1,485,000), Richard Roberts (1,400,000) and Ronald Sims (1,340,000) all making the top 10.

The Day 1b crowd was a massive one, with 2,390 players in seats and 183 of them surviving, meaning players such as Phil Ivey, Josh Arieh and Mustapha Kanit all busted on the day, as a prize pool of $4.7 million was accumulated.

With stars of the felt such as Niall Farrell (805,000), Ben Yu (535,000) and Kathy Liebert (130,000) all making the Day 2 seat draw, there’s sure to be an exciting conclusion as one of the last big bracelets of the series will be won in two days’ time.

Pupillo and Le Pushing for Glory in Mixed Event

Nghia Le (7,400,000) and Nick Pupillo (6,045,000) are locked in a battle for the bracelet in Event #87, with third wheel Bradley Smith (2,655,000) still a dangerous chaos element as three went into an extended final day’s play in Event #87. The $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud event saw players such as Israeli former bracelet winner Yuval Bronshtein (8^th for $19,662) miss out on the chance of last-day gold.

O’Connor and Chidwick in Top Five of NLHE Championship

Two great British players sit in the top five places of 30 remaining players in Event #90 on the WSOP Schedule. Jamie O’Connor (2,545,000) is the chip leader in the $10,000-entry NLHE Championship, with Stephen Chidwick (1,615,000) also well in contention. Between those two British crushers, each of whom have vast experience in live poker, specifically the six-max variant, there are three other players in with a brilliant chance of glory. AJ Kelsall (2,325,000), Fabrice Bigot (1,975,000) and Farid Jattin (1,935,000) all have the poker chops to change the resolution of the event tomorrow, with the American, French and Colombian players respectively earning millions over their careers to date.

On Day 2, 55 new entries made it a total prize pool of over $5.1 million, with 252 players starting the action and just 30 bagging up, including a certain Mr. P. Hellmuth Junior who has 860,000 chips (43 big blinds) with which to pursue bracelet #18 tomorrow.

Akkari in the Ascendancy in H.O.R.S.E. Race

The Brazilian Andre Akkari is leading a field of 195 players who emerged from 332 entries on Day 1 of the $3,000-entry H.O.R.S.E. event, with a stack of 232,300. A prize pool of $886,440 means a top prize of $208,460 is on the line along with the WSOP bracelet, with 50 players due to reach the money. Among them, double bracelet winner Chad Eveslage (167,000) is fourth in chips as he bids to become the only players this series to win three bracelets during the summer.

Jeff Platt has been something of the Grim Reaper this Series, we all know about the Jeff Platt Curse. But can it really affect poker legends in a High Roller?

In a world where everybody busts…

One man is on a mission to bust them.

This summer, @jeffplatt stars as "The Interviewer," in the @WSOP Main Event.

Coming to a poker streaming service near you. pic.twitter.com/Jq9LQye2Cp

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 15, 2023

Matt Waxman drew a comparison between the start of the World Series of Poker and the end of the World Series of Poker.

99% of people who played a full schedule this summer… #WSOP pic.twitter.com/u0FxJJ71hD

— MW (@Matthew_Waxman) July 16, 2023

The announcement of the winner of the ‘WSOP Main Event for 30 Years’ promotion was delayed and everyone’s favorite WSOP info guru ‘Kevmath’ was in the firing line.

Glad to see we’ve now reached the frozen envelope level of conspiracy about this drawing. https://t.co/eCBQ5QKrbp

— Kevin Mathers (@Kevmath) July 15, 2023

Wait, finally! There’s been a late development and the winner of the Main Event ticket for 30 years has been announced. Here’s that all-important reveal video:

You guys can stop bugging @Kevmath about the @WSOP giveaway! Here is the winner of the next 30 main events! #WSOPMainEvent pic.twitter.com/PorKLMMMb3

— Collin Capone (@PokerCapone) July 16, 2023

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