2016 WSOP Day 6: Mizrachi and Julius Win Gold, Ferguson Gets First Cash Since 2010
The 2016 World Series of Poker moved forward with more action from inside the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Monday. Event #2: $565 Colossus II played down to a final table, two gold bracelets were won, and Event #5: $1,500 Six-Handed Dealer's Choice ended the day with just nine players left.
Plus, two other events kicked off in the form of Event #6: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em and Event #7: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw.
All summer long, PokerNews.com will be bringing you daily coverage of the 2016 WSOP, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.
A Colossal Final Table
The biggest event of the summer is without a doubt Colossus II, and the 21,613-entry field became nine after Monday's Day 3. Leading the charge into Tuesday's final table with a $1 million first-place prize on the line was the Czech Republic's Jiri Horak with 25.425 million in chips.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marek Ohnisko | 10,550,000 |
| 2 | Alex Benjamen | 14,275,000 |
| 3 | Jiri Horak | 25,425,000 |
| 4 | Benjamin Keeline | 19,900,000 |
| 5 | Jonathan Borenstein | 7,400,000 |
| 6 | Christopher Renaudette | 4,250,000 |
| 7 | Xiu Deng | 6,000,000 |
| 8 | Farhad Davoudzadeh | 5,925,000 |
| 9 | Richard Carr | 14,400,000 |
Day 3 witnessed 77 players return. One by one they began to hit the rail, with notables Ben Heath (77th - $11,792), David "ODB" Baker (66th - $12,452), Marco Johnson (47th - $18,592), Jeff Fielder (41st - $22,939), Amir Lehavot (36th - $28,479), and Vincent Moscati (19th - $35,584) all hitting the rail en route to the final table.
When 10-handed play was reached, one more player needed to go before the official final table was set. That turned out to be Hayden Glassman when he fell at the hands of Alex Benjamen and earned a $72,054 payday.
The final nine are guaranteed at least $92,291 and the top eight will receive six-figure paydays. Day 4 will kick off at 2 p.m. PT and you can stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com to see who wins the Colossus II gold bracelet and a cool $1 million.
Julius Scores First Live Win and First Gold Bracelet
Kyle Julius has never won a WSOP gold bracelet, nor has he won a live poker tournament. He accomplished both of those feats on Monday afternoon when he took down Event #4: $1,000 Top-Up Turbo No-Limit Hold'em for $142,972.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Julius | $142,972 |
| 2 | Bart Lybaert | $88,328 |
| 3 | Ben Yu | $61,137 |
| 4 | Karl Held | $43,001 |
| 5 | Hugo Perez | $30,742 |
| 6 | Christian Blech | $22,345 |
| 7 | Nitis Udornpim | $16,518 |
| 8 | George Dolofan | $12,422 |
| 9 | Vinny Pahuja | $9,506 |
The final table was a fast one, and Vinny Pahuja was quickly bounced in ninth place on the very first hand. On Hand #13, Julius started his upward trend with a double up through Ben Yu, who was at the final table searching for his second WSOP gold bracelet.
Karl Held had the chip lead coming into the final table, but his run ended in fourth place when he busted to Yu for a score of $43,001. That was on Hand #53, and then on Hand #57 Julius found another double through Yu to take a commanding chip lead.
As if things couldn't go fast enough, Julius finished Yu off on Hand #66 when his K♦J♣ prevailed against the Q♠10♣.
Heads-up play lasted just one hand, but what an exciting one it was. Julius was all in with Bart Lybaert in a flip the could end the tournament. Julius had the 4♠4♥, and Lybaert had the K♣9♥. The K♦10♣2♣ flop vaulted Lybaert into the lead, and the A♦ kept him there, but the 4♣ on the river nailed Julius with a winning set of fours to give him the gold bracelet.
Julius, who is expecting a baby girl with his fiancé at the end of July, cited a little added incentive to get the win.
"We've been arguing about names, and she was like, 'All right, how about this? If you go out and win a bracelet, then you can name the kid,'" he said. "It's still going to be mutual, and we're still going to make the decision together, but I think I have a little bit more say now. It's pretty cool."
Click here to read more about Julius' big win.
Fourth Gold Bracelet for Mizrachi
Robert Mizrachi, the oldest of the Mizrachi brothers, captured his family-leading fourth gold bracelet on Monday, winning Event #3: $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship for $242,662.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Mizrachi | $242,662 |
| 2 | Matt Grapenthien | $149,976 |
| 3 | George Danzer | $103,230 |
| 4 | Ted Forrest | $72,971 |
| 5 | Steve Weiss | $53,012 |
| 6 | David Benyamine | $39,611 |
| 7 | Bill Chen | $30,466 |
| 8 | Calvin Anderson | $24,142 |
Mizrachi came into the final day first in chips with six players remaining. He eliminated Steve Weiss in fifth place, Ted Forrest in fourth, George Danzer in third, and Matt Grapenthien in second to claim another piece of gold for the Mizrachi family. Robert had been tied with his brother Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi with three bracelets apiece, but now stands one up.
This marked the third year in a row that he's won a gold bracelet after winning the $1,500 Dealer's Choice event in 2014 and the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low event in 2015. Mizrachi's other bracelet of the four came in 2007 when he won the $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha event for $768,889 — still his largest score to date.
Ferguson Gets First Cash Since 2010
Speaking of dealer's choice, Event #5: $1,500 Six-Handed Dealer's Choice got down to its final nine players on Monday. Leading the way is Lawrence Berg with 836,500, and those left are gunning for the $125,466 first-place prize.
This event attracted 389 entries and the top 59 places reached the money. Falling on the bubble was Jameson Painter when he busted in a hand of pot-limit Omaha against Mikey Stotz. Stotz went on to finish in 14th place for $5,041.
Like it or not, all eyes were on Chris "Jesus" Ferguson on Day 2, especially when the event reached the money and he was still alive in the field. Ferguson had returned to the WSOP for the first time since 2010, saying he was here to "just play poker," and he finished in 19th place for a $4,069 cash.
Tuesday's Day 3 will take place at 2 p.m. local time, and joining Berg will be notables Paul Volpe, Andrew Brown, and Randy Ohel.
Rogovskyi Bags Lead in First $1,500 No-Limit Event
The first $1,500 no-limit hold'em event of the summer is always an exciting and big one. This year was no different, as 2,016 entries were tallied up in Event #6: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, creating a prize pool over $2.72 million. After Day 1, Roman Rogovskyi finished in the lead with 188,700 in chips, narrowly edging out Mark Epstein and his stack of 188,300. There were 321 players remaining.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roman Rogovskyi | 188,700 |
| 2 | Mark Epstein | 188,300 |
| 3 | Karen Sarkisyan | 160,800 |
| 4 | Michael Page | 157,700 |
| 5 | Ferenc Riech | 155,700 |
| 6 | James Ohlweiler | 145,500 |
| 7 | Steve Gross | 142,800 |
| 8 | Jeremiah Fitzpatrick | 141,400 |
| 9 | Quang Ngo | 136,500 |
| 10 | Kindah Sakkal | 134,300 |
The top 303 places were set to be paid, and the money will be reached quickly into Tuesday's Day 2. Several notables are on watch with short stacks, including Pahuja with 11,900, Melanie Weisner with 10,300, and Tyler Patterson with 3,300. The players will return with the blinds at 600/1,200 and a 200 ante.
Notables with big stacks going forward outside of the top 10 were Mohsin Charania (132,400), Bob Bounahra (105,900), Upeshka De Silva (104,100), Justin Young (93,500), and actor James Woods (84,200).
Day 2 will begin at 12 p.m. local time in Las Vegas with the goal of reaching the final table.
Grand Master Maslak Leads $1,500 2-7
Event #7: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw kicked off on Monday and a field of 279 entries was built. The prize pool of $376,650 will allow for $92,338 to go to the winner, plus the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. When the first day was all said and done, chess Grandmaster Konstantin Maslak bagged the lead with a stack of 119,800 and 52 remaining.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Konstantin Maslak | 119,800 |
| 2 | Yuval Bronshtein | 108,125 |
| 3 | Daniel Weinman | 93,950 |
| 4 | Bob Morgan | 84,800 |
| 5 | Benny Glaser | 79,725 |
| 6 | Alex Dovzhenko | 73,750 |
| 7 | John Marlowe | 65,075 |
| 8 | John Monnette | 64,725 |
| 9 | Michael Laake | 60,000 |
| 10 | Michel Leibgorin | 58,650 |
Others to do well on Day 1 included Barry Greenstein, Bernard Lee, Jen Harman, Eric Wasseron, and Eli Elezra, as they each bagged over 40,000 in chips.
The top 42 spots were set to be paid and Day 2 will kick off at 2 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
What's On Tap?
There will be lots of action inside the Rio on Tuesday. First you've got Day 3 of the $1,500 Six-Handed Dealer's Choice event. Then there is Day 2 for both the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em and the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw.
Kicking off will be Event #8: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. at 11 a.m. PT, followed by the start of the highly anticipated Event #9: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship at 3 p.m.
Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for more coverage the 2016 WSOP, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.
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