WSOPE: Moshe Gunning for Second Bracelet in €1,650 6-Max
In two days, a field of 221 players in Event #2: €1,650 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Deepstack has been whittled down to the final six in a quest to capture WSOP glory. Each of the six remaining players has at least €10,852 locked up for their efforts, but all eyes are set on the first place prize of €82,280 and the WSOP bracelet that awaits the winner on Tuesday.
While several players brought attention on themselves today, there was one man that was at the center of the spotlights: Asi Moshe. If there's ever such a thing as a perfect day at the tables, Moshe wasn't far off it. The Israeli finds himself in top contention after a day where he seemingly could do nothing wrong.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Schulz | Germany | 709,000 |
| 2 | Asi Moshe | Israel | 2,095,000 |
| 3 | James Bullimore | United Kingdom | 1,822,000 |
| 4 | Giuliano Bendinelli | Italy | 999,000 |
| 5 | Viktor Katzenberger | Hungary | 574,000 |
| 6 | Van Tiep Nguyen | Czech Republic | 430,000 |
After starting the day off in the middle of the pack, Moshe quickly doubled up with ace-queen against the ace-jack of Chen Wei Lim.
In 2014, Moshe made a grand entrance into the world of poker and captured his maiden bracelet in a $1,500 event at the WSOP in Las Vegas, his first recorded cash on The Hendon Mob. PokerNews' Sarah Herring (back then still Sarah Grant) spoke with Moshe after his bracelet win.
Now, four years later, Moshe has proven he's far from a one-day fly, as he has racked up over $2,000,000 in lifetime winnings since his fairytale debut. He showed some of his poker prowess after running what seemingly was a big bluff on Viktor Katzenberger at the unofficial final table. Moshe ended the day with 2,095,000 in chips to claim the end of day lead.
The only one close to Moshe is UK's James Bullimore, who sits in second with 1,822,000 in chips. Bullimore has a story of his own: on Day 1, he became the first player to bust out a mere fifteen minutes into the day. Bullimore's choice to reenter was a fruitful one. The Brit busted Day 1 chipleader Milad Oghabian in the final hand of the night with jacks against king-queen and has a solid stack to work with on the final day.
Rounding out the international final table are Giuliano Bendinelli (999,000) of Italy, German grinder Robert Schulz (709,000), Hungary's Viktor Katzenberger (574,000), and Van Tiep Nguyen (430,000) from the Czech Republic. Nguyen held the chip lead throughout the first portion of the day, but a late night slump relegated the hometown player to the shortest stack in the pack.
| Position | Prize in € | Prize in $ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | €82,280 | $95,365 |
| 2 | €50,842 | $58,927 |
| 3 | €33,149 | $38,420 |
| 4 | €22,210 | $25,742 |
| 5 | €15,303 | $17,736 |
| 6 | €10,852 | $12,579 |
Prize in $ via XE.com
Event #2: €1,650 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Deepstack Day 2 Action
At 2 p.m. local time, 39 out of 221 players returned to first get themselves a money finish. Five players needed to be shed before the money was reached and Gianluca Speranza gained the dubious honor of becoming the bubble boy. Speranza showed a flush draw with overcards on the turn against Nguyen, but the latter called the shove with top pair top kicker. A blank rolled off on the river to secure all other players of at least €2,371.
Once the money has been reached, players such as Jessica Pilkington, Rex Clinkscales, Roland Israelashvili, Daniel Rezaei, and Jerome Sgorrano went home with a small cash as a consolation price. Chris Ferguson finished in 17th place after shoving ace-king into the kings of Katzenberger. While Ferguson flopped an ace, Katzenberger made a four-flush with the king of diamonds to send "Jesus" to the rail.
It took a brutal beat to end Malaysian sensation Michael Soyza's run in 14th place. Soyza got it in with aces against the pocket nines of Viliyan Petleshkov, but a nine of the river spelled disaster for Soyza, who busted shortly after.
Shaun Deeb has traveled to Rozvadov to become the WSOP Player of the Year, and while Deeb will certainly not be all smiles after busting out in 11th (queen-jack against Moshe's ace-king), the American did rack up some important points to extend his lead in the race.
Petleshkov wasn't able to reach the final table with Soyza's chips, eventually busting out in 9th. After Petleshkov's exit, eight players went on dinner break, and it was Maria Lampropulus who busted directly upon returning. Holding ace-jack against the pocket tens of Giuliano Bendinelli, she lost the flip to end her bracelet bid. Bendinelli also pulled the trigger on Milad Oghabian an hour later, once again by landing on the right side of a flip as Bendanelli's pocket jacks held up against Oghabian's king-queen to decide the final six.
Cards will be back in the air at 3 p.m. local time and levels will be 60 minutes up until the end, so make sure to tune in to the PokerNews WSOPE Live Reporting, watch the stream and follow along with the live updates as a new WSOP gold bracelet winner is crowned.
