2018 WSOP Event 25: Benjamin Dobson Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
After 33 hours of play, Benjamin Dobson is feeling good about his Stud game after winning his first World Series of Poker bracelet in Event #25: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better for his biggest live cash of $173,528.
“I’m on top of the world right now,” Dobson said after his win.
While Stud 8 is one of his favorite games to play, he simply doesn’t get to play it too often in Europe and the majority of his more than $1 million in live tournament earnings have come in no-limit hold’em events.
After scooping Mike Matusow in a big pot on Day 2 with boat over boat to take the chip lead, Dobson led for the majority of the final couple days of play. He was able to hold on, despite plenty of high-level competition in two-time bracelet winner Jesse Martin who busted in third, and runner-up Tim Finne, who took fourth in this event last year. After closing it out, Dobson felt relieved.
"I managed to hold my own and ran good in some of the crucial parts, so I feel great.”
“I kind of had high expectations for myself, but it was also really tough because Timothy and Jesse are both probably better than me at Stud 8 so I felt like I was a bit of an underdog. But I managed to hold my own and ran good in some of the crucial parts, so I feel great.”
Even holding the chip lead, as the blinds got so big on Day 3 and into the final day, Dobson knew that if he got scooped in a couple pots, he would lose the lead and easily become the short stack.
“While I was playing quite loose on third street, I was making sure that I wasn't trying to overcommit on fifth, sixth, seventh, like chasing stuff which you know might cost me a large percentage of my stack. But I managed to just kind of stay afloat with small pots and then obviously running good in some of the big ones to scoop. And that's the key: Just don't brick on 7th street,” Dobson said with a chuckle.
The event drew 596 runners to generate a prize pool of $804,600, of which 90 players got a piece. After bagging big on Day 2, three-time bracelet winner Barry Greenstein hit the rail in 18th place for $4,899 and another three-time champ, Eli Elezra, fell a bit short of the final table in 12th for a payout of $9,165.
Official Event #25 Final Table Payouts
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benjamin Dobson | England | $173,528 |
| 2 | Tim Finne | United States | $107,243 |
| 3 | Jesse Martin | United States | $74,324 |
| 4 | Richard Monroe | United States | $52,359 |
| 5 | Tom McCormick | United States | $37,504 |
| 6 | James Nelson | United States | $27,321 |
| 7 | Georgios Sotiropoulos | Greece | $20,248 |
| 8 | Peter Brownstein | United States | $15,271 |
Final Table Action
With the elimination of PJ Cha in ninth ($11,724), the official final table was set. Peter Brownstein was the first casualty of the final table, followed by bracelet winner Georgios Sotiropoulos in seventh and James Nelson in sixth.
Next to go was Tom McCormick, who was playing at his 15th WSOP/WSOP-C final table. He added his 72nd WSOP cash with his fifth-place finish for $37,504. Richard Monroe would be the last one out before the final three bagged up to return for an unscheduled Day 4.
The final three returned on Thursday with Dobson holding almost 60 percent of the chips in play, Martin with the shortest stack and only 24 big bets in play. Martin saw his stack fluctuate a good amount, but he eventually got down under two big bets and got it in with a pair of aces on fourth street against Dobson’s 8-7 low draw. Both players bricked their lows, but Dobson ended up with sevens up, good enough for the scoop to send Martin out short of a third bracelet.
Heads-up didn’t last long. Dobson started out with a nearly 3-1 chip lead over Finne and pretty soon, Dobson scooped Finne when he made a flush on seventh street, knocking Finne down under three big bets.
The blinds went up and Finne committed the rest of his stack on fourth street. He was drawing dead on sixth as his board ran out A♦7♣/2♦7♦4♥10♣/8♣ against Dobson’s 4♣3♥/6♠5♦2♥3♦/5♥ that made a 6-5 low and a straight on fifth street, good for the scoop and the win.
"That's the key: Just don't brick on 7th street."
With his wife flying into town tomorrow, Dobson will take a few days off and probably do a bit of shopping. After that though, it’s back to the WSOP grind, armed with a bankroll and confidence boost.
“I'll be playing some more events. I might try the 10k Stud 8 now that I feel confident. I'm probably a loser in that field, but I’ll go give it a go.”
That marks the conclusion of Event #25, but there's still plenty of World Series of Poker action to follow as the PokerNews live reporting team continues to bring live updates from the tournament floors of the Rio.
In this Series
- 1 2018 WSOP Event 1: Jordan Hufty Wins First WSOP Gold in $565 Casino Employees
- 2 2018 WSOP Event 2: Elio Fox Wins First Ever WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for $393,693
- 3 2018 WSOP Event 3: Joe Cada Wins 2018 WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em SHOOTOUT for $226,218
- 4 2018 WSOP Event 4: Julien Martini Wins $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better ($239,771)
- 5 2018 WSOP Event 5: Nick Petrangelo Wins WSOP $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller ($2,910,227)
- 6 2018 WSOP Event 6: Jeremy Perrin Wins The GIANT Turning $365 Into $250,966
- 7 2018 WSOP Event 7: Roberly Felicio Wins the 2018 WSOP COLOSSUS for $1,000,000
- 8 2018 WSOP Event 8: Johannes Becker Wins $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball ($180,455)
- 9 2018 WSOP Event 9: Paul Volpe Wins Third WSOP Bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
- 10 2018 WSOP Event 10: William ‘Twooopair’ Reymond Wins $365 WSOP.com ONLINE Event ($154,996)
- 11 2018 WSOP Event 11: Tim Andrew Triumphs in the $365 PLO GIANT for $116,015, Mizrachi Fifth
- 12 2018 WSOP Event 12: Jeremy Harkin Wins $1,500 Dealer's Choice for $129,882
- 13 2018 WSOP Event 13: Benjamin Moon Wins $1,500 Big Blind Antes for $315,346
- 14 2018 WSOP Event 14: Daniel Ospina Wins First Bracelet for Colombia in 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 15 2018 WSOP Event 15: Andrey Zhigalov Wins $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. for $202,787
- 16 2018 WSOP Event 16: Justin Bonomo Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10K Heads-Up Championship
- 17 2018 WSOP Event 17: Ognyan Dimov Wins Third Bracelet for Bulgaria in Event #17 ($378,743)
- 18 2018 WSOP Event 18: Adam Friedman Wins Second Bracelet in $10K Dealer's Choice
- 19 2018 WSOP Event 19: Craig Varnell Wins $565 Pot-Limit Omaha ($181,790)
- 20 2018 WSOP Event 20: Jeremy Wien Conquers $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $537,710
- 21 2018 WSOP Event 21: Arne Kern Wins $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em MILLIONAIRE MAKER ($1,173,223)
- 22 2018 WSOP Event 22: Philip Long Wins $1,500 Eight Game Mix ($147,348)
- 23 2018 WSOP Event 23: Brian Rast Wins Fourth Bracelet in 2-7 Lowball Championship, Brunson 6th
- 24 2018 WSOP Event 24: Michael Addamo Wins Event #24: $2,620 MARATHON No-Limit Hold'em
- 25 2018 WSOP Event 25: Benjamin Dobson Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- 26 2018 WSOP Event 26: Filippos Stavrakis Dedicates WSOP PLO Bracelet ($169,842) to His Brother
- 27 2018 WSOP Event 27: John Hennigan Wins 2018 WSOP $10K HORSE for Fifth Bracelet and $415K
- 28 2018 WSOP Event 28: Fortunate River Gives Gal Yifrach First WSOP Bracelet & $461K Prize
- 29 2018 WSOP Event 29: Hanh Tran Wins First WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw ($117,282)
- 30 2018 WSOP Event 30: Ryan Bambrick Wins First Gold Bracelet in Dominating Fashion
- 31 2018 WSOP Event 31: Steven Albini Wins $1,500 Stud to Deny Jeff Lisandro 7th Bracelet
- 32 2018 WSOP Event 32: Matthew Davis Tops Biggest Seniors Event Ever to Win $662,983
- 33 2018 WSOP Event 33: Michael Mizrachi Wins His Third Poker Players Championship Title
- 34 2018 WSOP Event 34: Robert Peacock Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,000 DOUBLE STACK
- 35 2018 WSOP Event 35: Yueqi Zhu Claims First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Mixed Omaha
- 36 2018 WSOP Event 36: Farhintaj Bonyadi Wins Event $1,000 Super Seniors ($311,451)
- 37 2018 WSOP Event 37: Eric Baldwin Wins Second Bracelet, Dedicates it to His Father
- 38 2018 WSOP Event 38: Yaniv Birman Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship ($236,238)
- 39 2018 WSOP Event 39: Preston Lee Captures $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout Bracelet ($236,498)
- 40 2018 WSOP Event 40: Scott Bohlman Wins WSOP $2,500 Mixed Big Bet ($122,138)
- 41 2018 WSOP Event 41: Robert Nehorayan Wins $1,500 Limit Hold'em for $173,568
- 42 2018 WSOP Event 42: Shaun Deeb Gets Revenge on Ben Yu to Win $25K PLO for $1,402,683
- 43 2018 WSOP Event 43: Timur Margolin Takes Down $2,500 NLHE for $507,274
- 44 2018 WSOP Event 44: Nicholas Seiken Wins $10k 2-7 Triple Draw Championship for $287,987
- 45 2018 WSOP Event 45: Mario Prats Garcia Wins $1,000 Big Blind NLH For $258,255
- 46 2018 WSOP Event 46: David Brookshire Wins WSOP $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 ($214,291)
- 47 2018 WSOP Event 47: Matthew 'mendey' Mendez Wins First WSOP Online PLO Bracelet ($135,077)
- 48 2018 WSOP Event 48: Tommy Nguyen Wins Monster Stack for $1,037,451
- 49 2018 WSOP Event 49: Loren Klein Wins $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $1,018,336
- 50 2018 WSOP Event 50: Jay Kwon Wins $1,500 Razz ($125,431)
- 51 2018 WSOP Event 51: Ryan Leng Ships First WSOP Gold in $1,500 BOUNTY ($272,504)
- 52 2018 WSOP Event 52: Scott Seiver Wins $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship ($296,222)
- 53 2018 WSOP Event 53: Couden Tops Elezra, Matusow, Negreanu, and Fitoussi to win $1,500 PLO8
- 54 2018 WSOP Event 54: Portugal's Diogo Veiga Wins $3K Big Blind Antes ($522,715)
- 55 2018 WSOP Event 55: Giuseppe Pantaleo and Nikita Luther Win the $1K Tag Team for $175,805!
- 56 2018 WSOP Event 56: Calvin Anderson Wins His Second Bracelet in the $10K Razz ($309,220)!
- 57 2018 WSOP Event 57: Jessica Dawley Wins the WSOP Ladies Championship for $130,230!
- 58 2018 WSOP Event 58: Tribe Has Spoken: Jean-Robert Bellande Wins First Bracelet for $616K
- 59 2018 WSOP Event 59: Mike Takayama Makes History as the First Filipino to Win a WSOP Bracelet
- 60 2018 WSOP Event 60: Galfond Wins 3rd Bracelet in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
- 61 2018 WSOP Event 61: Ryan 'Toosick' Tosoc Wins WSOP.com $1,000 Championship ($238,778)
- 62 2018 WSOP Event 62: Galen Hall Wins $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em for $888,888
- 63 2018 WSOP Event 63: Chance 'BingShui' Kornuth Wins Second Bracelet in WSOP.com Online High Roller for $341,598
- 64 2018 WSOP Event 64: Matsuzuki Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- 65 John Cynn Wins the 2018 WSOP Main Event for $8,800,000!
- 66 2018 WSOP Event 66: Longsheng Tan Wins $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em for $323,472
- 67 2018 WSOP Event 67: Anderson Ireland Wins $1,500 PLO Bounty for First Bracelet and $141K
- 68 2018 WSOP Event 68: Guoliang Wei Wins Fourth Chinese Bracelet in The Little One for One Drop ($559,332)
- 69 2018 WSOP Event 69: Ronald Keijzer Wins $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed for $475,033
- 70 2018 WSOP Event 70: Yaser Al-Keliddar Wins Event #70: $3K Limit Hold'em 6-Handed for $154K
- 71 2018 WSOP Event 71: Phil Hellmuth Wins 15th Career Bracelet in $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em!
- 72 2018 WSOP Event 72: Jordan Polk Wins $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO for $197,461
- 73 2018 WSOP Event 73: Denis Timofeev Bests Leo Margets to Win the $1,000 Double Stack Turbo
- 74 2018 WSOP Event 74: Shaun Deeb Wins Second Bracelet of the Summer in $10,000 6-Max ($814,179)
- 75 2018 WSOP Event 75: Joe Cada Wins His Fourth Career Bracelet in The Closer ($612,886)
- 76 2018 WSOP Event 76: Brian Hastings Wins the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E and 4th Bracelet
- 77 2018 WSOP Event 77: Ben Yu Wins Third Bracelet in $50,000 High Roller $1,650,773
