Bonomo Wins Pair of High Rollers; Elezra and Schulman Among Five Diamond Side Event Winners

Mike Patrick
Live Reporter
4 min read
Justin Bonomo

While the $5,000,000 guaranteed Main Event is the crown jewel of the World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic festival, the multitude of side events leading up to it has also been a huge success. They've drawn some of the biggest names in poker from around the world with a variety of High Rollers, Pot Limit-Omaha, and mixed game tournaments as well.

Over $3,100,000 in prize pools were generated over the 20+ daily tournaments that began on October 8. Here’s a look at some of the winners.

Two High Rollers For Bonomo

The only player to take home two titles at this year’s Five Diamond is poker’s all-time tournament earnings leader, Justin Bonomo.

He earned his first win in Event #10, a $10,000 High Roller that saw him defeat a field of 16 players, including Stephen Chidwick heads-up to win $75,792.

Event #10: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Results

PLACENAMECOUNTRYPRIZE
1Justin BonomoUnited States$75,792
2Stephen ChidwickUnited Kingdom$58,608
3Yasuhiro WakiJapan$25,600

Bonomo then picked up his second High Roller title of the festival in Event #22, a $25,000 buy-in event that drew 17 runners.

Bonomo defeated Sam Soverel heads-up to claim that title and $229,500, with Chidwick finishing third.

Event #22: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Results

PLACENAMECOUNTRYPRIZE
1Justin BonomoUnited States$229,500
2Sam SoverelUnited States$127,500
3Stephen ChidwickUnited Kingdom$68,000

Bonomo also picked up a third-place finish in Event #6, a $10,000 High Roller with 15 entries won by Nick Schulman, with Sean Winter finishing second.

Nick Schulman
Nick Schulman

Event #6: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Results

PLACENAMECOUNTRYPRIZE
1Nick SchulmanUnited States$81,000
2Sean WinterUnited States$45,000
3Justin BonomoUnited States$24,000

Kempton Wins Highest of PLO High Rollers

Pot-Limit Omaha was also represented in the High Roller streets, with Michael Duek ($105,800) and Ronald Keijzer ($108,000) taking home $10,000 buy-in titles, while in Event #20: a $25,000 buy-in PLO event, it was Isaac Kempton defeating a field of 23 entries including Jeremy Ausmus heads-up to win $264,500, while Keijzer added a third place finish to his tally.

Event #20: $25,000 High Roller PLO Results

PLACENAMECOUNTRYPRIZE
1Isaac KemptonUnited States$264,500
2Jeremy AusmusUnited States$161,000
3Ronald KeijzerNetherlands$92,000
4John RiordanUnited States$57,500

Elezra and Kihara Win 8-Game Events

The mixed game community got a pair of Five Diamond titles to chase with a $10,000 High Roller and a $1,620 event also up for grabs.

Event #8: the 8-Game High Roller saw an elite field of 12 mixed gamers take their shot, with a pair of Poker Hall of Famers who are no strangers to high-stakes mixed games at Bellagio meeting heads-up for the title. It was Eli Elezra winning it, defeating Mori Eskandani to win $57,000.

Eli Elezra
Eli Elezra

Event #8: $10,000 High Roller 8-Game Mix Results

PLACENAMECOUNTRYPRIZE
1Eli ElezraIsrael$57,000
2Mori EskandaniUnited States$53,000
3Brian RastUnited States$10,000

Meanwhile in Event #3, the $1,620 8-Game event, 47 entries came out with Naoya Kihara defeating Matthew Gonzales heads-up to take home the $25,302 first prize.

Below is the complete list of Five Diamond World Poker Classic Side Event Winners.

Five Diamond Side Event Winners

EVENTENTRIESPRIZE POOLWINNERCOUNTRYPRIZE
Event #1: $560 No-Limit Hold'em138$100,000Robert GoldsteinUnited States$18,015
Event #2: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em9$225,000Steve ZolotowUnited States$135,000
Event #3: $1,620 8-Game Mix47$68,385Naoya KiharaJapan$25,302
Event #5: $1,620 6-Max No-Limit Hold'em83$124,500Breno SilvaBrazil$35,807
Event #6: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em15$150,001Nick SchulmanUnited States$81,000
Event #7: $1,100 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em91$100,000Mike MeskinUnited States$31,119
Event #8: $10,000 High Roller 8-Game Mix12$120,000Eli ElezraIsrael$57,000
Event #9: $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha56$61,600Justin LapkaUnited States$20,100
Event #10: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em16$160,000Justin BonomoUnited States$75,792
Event #11: $1,100 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em114$110,580Valentyn ShabelnykUkraine$41,583
Event #12: $10,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha23$230,000Michael DuekUnited States$105,800
Event #13: $600 No-Limit Hold'em51$26,520Jordan HelmsUnited States$9,814
Event #14: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em18$180,000Pete ChenTaiwan$97,200
Event #15: $400 No-Limit Hold'em80$26,400Richard KempermanUnited States$8,844
Event #16: $10,000 High Roler Pot-Limit Omaha20$200,000Ronald KeijzerNetherlands$108,000
Event #17: $1,600 Deepstack No-Limit Hold'em63$90,405Fikret KovacBosnia and Herzegovina$25,766
Event #18: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em4$40,000Stephen ChidwickUnited Kingdom$25,000
Event #19: $1,100 No-Limit Hold'em54$52,380Gregor SverkoCroatia$19,380
Event #20: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha23$575,000Isaac KemptonUnited States$264,500
Event #22: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em17$425,000Justin BonomoUnited States$229,500

The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic is a $10,400 buy-in, $5 million GTD tournament that runs from October 19-23. WPT Five Diamond is the longest-standing recurring WPT tournament, taking place at Bellagio since 2002. It has endured the test of time, and holds unique historical significance as the starting point for the World Poker Tour. PokerNews will be offering daily content from the event, so stay tuned for more big WPT recaps, stories, and more!

*Images courtesy of WPT/Joe Giron.

Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?

The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world's largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.

WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.

Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.

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Mike Patrick
Live Reporter

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