Team Ivey's Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler Wins Second WSOP Circuit Ring
Monday night was full of action at World Series of Poker Circuit Lodge Casino in Blackhawk, Colorado. While Jonathan Taylor was busy winning the Main Event for $138,938, Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler took a massive chip lead into Day 2 of Event #11: $580 No-Limit Hold’em. By the end of the night, Kessler claimed his second WSOP Circuit gold ring and a $20,859 first-place prize.
“This was really a hard-fought battle,” Kessler said after besting Brian Green in a heads-up match that last two hours. “We had some really good players at the final table. I’m very happy with my play.”
He also took to Twitter to express his enthusiasm:
Wow I won the $500 NL ring event @wsop circuit Blackhawk! Tough final table Got down 4-1 heads up but battled back http://t.co/EhBuPPmuXC
— Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler)
The tournament attracted 149 entries, creating a prize pool of $74,500, but only 15 got paid. Among the 15 were Casino Champion contenders Jonathan Alfonso and Krzysztof Stybaniewicz, but both fell short of Chris Parsons' 87.5 points. Thanks to a ninth-place finish in Event #12, Parsons locked up the Lodge Casino Championship and a spot in the season-ending National Championship.
Kessler, who won his first ring in 2007 in Caesars Las Vegas Event #3 $500 No-Limit Hold’em, was awarded 50 points on the National Championship leaderboard for his latest victory, giving him 95 total and putting him in strong contention for a seat into the National Championship.
“The people in [Colorado] are really nice,” Kessler concluded. “[Tournament director [B]Dennis Jones[/B]] and his staff are really nice… $20,000 isn’t going to make or break my life. I just enjoy coming to the tournaments and playing and seeing all the people I know.”
Event #11 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Kessler | Huntingdon Valley, PA | $20,859 |
| 2 | Brian Green | Chico, TX | $12,893 |
| 3 | Adam Zschau | Bloomington, IL | $9,307 |
| 4 | Kyle Smith | Lafayette, CO | $6,838 |
| 5 | Ronald Segni | El Cajon, CA | $5,112 |
| 6 | Krzystof Stybaniewicz | Lakewood, CO | $3,887 |
| 7 | Jonathan Alfonso | Pflugerville, TX | $3,005 |
| 8 | Timothy Campbell | Peyton, CO | $2,360 |
| 9 | Paul Tyree | Arvada, CO | $1,884 |
Photo courtesy of the WSOP.
Kessler's win comes just one week after he was announced as the latest addition to IveyPoker's Team Ivey, bringing the total team to 30 members, not including Phil Ivey.
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