2015 WSOP Day 21: Madsen Wins No. 4; Will Luca Become Argentina's 1st Bracelet Winner?
Day 21 of the 2015 World Series of Poker was a busy one with seven events playing out at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Just one of them reached a winner, but it was a big one as Jeff Madsen captured the fourth bracelet of his career. Meanwhile, the popular Monster Stack reached it's final table.
Check out those stories and more in our daily WSOP recap.
Brazil's Fernando Konishi Leads Final Table of the Monster Stack
Day 4 of Event #28: Monster Stack $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, a tournament that attracted 7,192 players and created a prize pool of $9,702,000, saw 29 players return to action, but in short order 20 hit the rail to establish the final table of nine.
Leading the way is Brazil's Fernando Konishi, who bagged up 20.8 million and has his eyes firmly fixed on the $1,286,942 first-place prize. Among those standing in his way are two-time WSOP bracelet winner Hoyt Corkins and 2014 WSOP bracelet winner Asi Moshe.
The Monster Stack Final Table
| Seat | Player | Hometown | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perry Shiao | Pembroke Pines, FL | 10,600,000 |
| 2 | Fernando Konishi | Brazil | 16,000,000 |
| 3 | Asi Moshe | Tel Aviv, Israel | 16,000,000 |
| 4 | Hoyt Corkins | Glenwood, AL | 13,100,000 |
| 5 | Caio Toledoq | Campinas, Brazil | 6,200,000 |
| 6 | Christian Rodriguez | Boynton Beach, FL | 11,400,000 |
| 7 | Eric Place | Willington, NS, Canada | 11,700,000 |
| 8 | Kevin Kung | Newport Beach, CA | 11,700,000 |
| 9 | Joshua Wallace | Massachusetts | 7,100,000 |
Among those to take their leave on Day 4 were Ted Leahy (29th - $36,700), Jake Bazeley (22nd - $45,633), Maurice Hawkins ($45,633), James Rann (18th - $57,187), Cary Moomjian (14th - $72,139), and Jeff Kaplan (10th - $91,557), who bubbled the final table when his K♦10♦ failed to improve against Konishi's A♦K♥ after the board ran out A♣7♥K♣4♥7♠.
The final nine players will return at 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday to play down to a winner.
For a more thorough look at the final table, click here.
Argentina vs. Czech Republic: Down to Ivan Luca and Artur Rudziankov for the Bracelet
Event #30: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em originally began with 2,150 runners – which created a $1,935,900 prize pool – but now just two remain in Argentina's Ivan Luca and the Czech Republic's Artur Rudziankov.
When an impromptu Day 4 begins on Wednesday, Luca, who hopes to become the first Argentinean to ever win a WSOP gold bracelet (Rudziankov would become the second Czech to win after Tomas Junek), will begin heads-up play with 7.78 million in chips to Rudziankov's 2.985 million. Whoever wins will take home $353,391 while the runner-up will have to settle for $219,976.
Day 3 began with 21 players, but the eliminations came fast and furious. Among those to fall short of the final table were Jordan Young (19th - $10,434), Antonio Esfandiari (18th - $12,893), Jason Koon (17th - $12,893), Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (11th - $20,423), and Chris Moorman (10th - $20,423).
Here's a look at those who managed to make the final table but ended up falling before the end of the night:
Final Table Results Thus Far
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD | - | $353,391 |
| 2 | TBD | - | $219,976 |
| 3 | Travis Case | Los Angeles, CA | $152,907 |
| 4 | Pierre Horaud | Pointe-A-Pitre, France | $110,123 |
| 5 | Bruce Angeski | Sacramento, CA | $80,485 |
| 6 | David Chase | Alameda, CA | $59,538 |
| 7 | Viliyan Petleshkov | Bulgaria | $44,622 |
| 8 | Kai Yang | Plano, TX | $33,868 |
| 9 | Omri Sabach | Tel Aviv, Israel | $26,008 |
The final two players will return at 1 p.m. local time Wednesday to play to a winner.
Madsen Takes Down Event #31 $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo for 4th Bracelet
Jeff Madsen burst onto the poker consciousness at the 2006 World Series of Poker, winning two bracelets and more than $1.3 million en route Player of the Year honors at the tender age of 21. Madsen has since proven he is no flash in the pan, and he claimed his fourth bracelet by winning Event #31: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.
He topped a field of 480 runners and took $301,413 in prize money, but Madsen said the money is secondary to him.
“I think the competition has always been more important to me,” he said. “Money is a part of poker, obviously, but I like tournaments for the thrill of competition, and bracelets and cashes show the record of your career. I'm just fortunate to be in this spot.”
Madsen had to contend with an unofficial final table that included Rami Boukai (third place), John O'Shea (sixth), David “ODB” Baker (eighth), and Mike Gracz (10th). Heads up, Madsen faced off with Frenchman Jeanmarc Thomas, with Madsen beginning play up almost 2-1 on Thomas, which he increased to a 5-1 lead eventually.
However, Thomas was able to double up twice to give Madsen a sweat, the second one coming when he got a set of jacks in on a K♠J♥10♥ flop against Madsen's A♦Q♦8♥6♥ and hit runner aces to make a boat. Madsen was finally able to end things with a preflop all in holding A♠10♥9♣6♣ against A♣9♣2♠2♥ when he flopped trip sixes and held against the nut low draw.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Madsen | Los Angeles, CA | $301,413 |
| 2 | Jeanmarc Thomas | France | $186,548 |
| 3 | Rami Boukai | San Diego, CA | $123,976 |
| 4 | Richard Tucker | Charlotte, NC | $92,003 |
| 5 | Sun Kwak | Hicksville, NY | $69,044 |
| 6 | Josh O'Shea | Churchtown, Ireland | $52,324 |
| 7 | Huarong Ma | Palatine, IL | $40,006 |
| 8 | David “ODB” Baker | Katy, TX | $30,883 |
| 9 | Spencer Chen | West Hollywood, CA | $23,941 |
For more on Madsen's win, click here.
Day 2 of Event #32: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Down to Final 20
Day 2 of Event #32: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed – a tournament that originally attracted 550 runners and created a prize pool of $2,585,000 – began with 190 players, but after 10 levels of play, just 20 remained in contention for the $633,357 first-place prize.
The man best positioned to make a run at it is James Obst, who finished atop the chip counts with a stack of 1.971 million. Others who'll return for Day 3 are Day 1 chip leader Simon Deadman (1.02 million), Nacho Barbero (1.037 million), Tuan Le (800,000), Jennifer Tilly (715,000), Mike Gorodinsky (437,000), and Jason Mercier (328,000).
Top 10 Day 2 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Obst | 1,971,000 |
| 2 | Nacho Barbero | 1,037,000 |
| 3 | Simon Deadman | 1,020,000 |
| 4 | Olaoluwa Okelola | 996,000 |
| 5 | Pierre Milan | 914,000 |
| 6 | Tuan Le | 800,000 |
| 7 | Pablo Fernandez | 767,000 |
| 8 | Maxx Coleman | 736,000 |
| 9 | Jennifer Tilly | 715,000 |
| 10 | Alberto Fonseca | 605,000 |
With just 60 players slated to get paid, 130 had to leave empty handed. They included Eric Baldwin, JC Tran, Daniel Colman, Joe Cada, and Mike Leah. After Mark Dube fell on the money bubble, the remaining players were guaranteed $8,892, though the eliminations did not stop.
Among those to bust in the money were Jason Somerville (60th - $8,892), Jesse Sylvia (37th - $11,916), John Gale (33rd - $13,855), Fernando Viana (22nd - $20,059), and Martins Adeniya (21st - $20,059).
The final 20 players will return to action at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and will look to either play 10 levels or to a winner, whichever comes first.
Mulloy Leads Final 16 in Event #33: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
Event #33: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball – a tournament that attracted 388 players and created a prize pool of $523,800 – saw the field play down from 121 to the final 16 on Day 2. During that time the money bubble burst at the top 42, assuring those who cashed a minimum payday of $2,592, though the eventual winner will take home much more than that — $136,215!
Toby Mulloy of Belmont, Massachusetts is best positioned to make a run at it with a stack of 323,000. However, he faces some stiff competition including Phillip Hui (232,000), Jon Turner (228,000), Sergey Rybachenko (224,000), Brock Parker (202,000), Dutch Boyd (120,000), and Steve Billirakis (115,000).
Top 10 Day 2 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toby Mulloy | 323,000 |
| 2 | Benny Glaser | 259,000 |
| 3 | Phillip Hui | 232,000 |
| 4 | Jon Turner | 228,000 |
| 5 | Noah Bronstein | 226,000 |
| 6 | Sergey Rybachenko | 224,000 |
| 7 | Marc Friedman | 207,000 |
| 8 | Brock Parker | 202,000 |
| 9 | Andrew Brown | 200,000 |
| 10 | Dmitry Chop | 190,000 |
Among those to fall in the money on Day 2 were Allen Cunningham (42nd - $2,592), Vanessa Selbst (39th - $2,592), Michael Mizrachi (28th - $3,593), Chino Rheem (27th - $3,593), Brian Rast (23rd - $4,378), and the start-of-the-day chip leader Greg Raymer (21st - $4,378).
The third and final day will kick off at 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
Matt Iles Leads After Day 1 of Event #34: $1,500 Split Format Hold'em
Day 1 of Event #34: $1,500 Split Format Hold'em attracted 873 players and created a prize pool of $436,050, which will be distributed to the top 92 players. After 10 levels of play, just 159 players remained in contention for the $250,483 first-place prize.
The scheduled four-day tournament is rather unique in its format. Day 1 was played out nine handed, while Day 2 will be six handed. From there, the final 32 players will be seeded into a tournament bracket based on their stack size and play heads up down to the final eight. Those players will then combine for the final table.
The Day 1 chip leader ended up being Matt Iles, who bagged 139,200. Others who survived were Jordan Young (123,500), Erwann Pecheux (96,300), Jamie Kerstetter (52,800), Martin Jacobson (27,500), Asher Conniff (23,200), and Huck Seed (13,300).
Of course not everyone was so lucky. Among those to fall on Day 1 were Antonio Esfandiari, James Woods, Andrew Lichtenberger, George Danzer, Joe Cada, and Paul Volpe.
Top 10 Day 1 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Iles | 139,200 |
| 2 | Jordan Young | 123,500 |
| 3 | Sameer Aljanedi | 116,000 |
| 4 | Jesse Rockowitz | 114,100 |
| 5 | Michael Michnik | 112,800 |
| 6 | Eric Rappaport | 99,900 |
| 7 | Erwann Pecheux | 96,300 |
| 8 | Jordan Smith | 90,800 |
| 9 | Matheus Schell | 85,000 |
| 10 | Isaac Kawa | 84,700 |
Day 2 will kick off at 1 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
Eli Elezra Leads After Day 1 of $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.
H.O.R.S.E. events at the WSOP always bring out stacked fields, and Event #35: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E., which kicked off at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, was no different. The event drew 376 players – creating a $1,026,480 prize pool – and 224 survived.
Longtime WSOP grinder Eli Elezra finished with 69,000 to top the counts. Elezra has already collected two bracelets, with wins in a $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw tournament in 2013 and a $3,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo event in 2007.
Elezra has plenty of elite company toward the top of the counts, where he's joined by John Monnette (65,100), Chris "Fox" Wallace (56,600), Daniel Idema (55,500), Ashton Griffin (53,200), Barry Greenstein (52,900), Taylor Paur (52,100), Anthony Zinno (51,000), and Greg Mueller (50,300).
Daniel Negreanu, Adam Friedman, Scott Clements, Brian Hastings, David “ODB” Baker, Andy Black, and Brandon Shack-Harris were some of those who fell during Day 1 play.
The tournament resumes at 2 p.m. on Wednesday for another 10-level day.
Wednesday will also see the start of two new events in Event #36: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha at Noon local time and Event #37: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship at 4 p.m.
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