Darius Samual's 50% Bankroll Risk Pays Off in WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship
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For poker players, there's taking a shot, and then there's taking a shot — and that's exactly what Darius Samual did after risking half his bankroll to compete in the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.
The gamble paid off in spades, as Samual emerged victorious in the event by besting six opponents in a row in the finals to earn his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet along with the $500,000 first-place prize here inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Samual's victory was all the more impressive considering he had to overcome a slew of poker juggernauts, including fan-favorite John Smith, Russian poker phenom Artur Martirosian, and Faraz Jaka, who has multiple poker titles to his name across various series.
"The match with John Smith, I think was [my favorite]," Samual explained. "His small ball style was a lot of fun and it lasted a long time."
Samual, who said he only started playing "big tournaments" within the past six months, explained he doesn't specialize in any particular poker format but was eager to take a shot.
"I don't have an exact area, I just play for fun and making some money," Samual told PokerNews. "I basically put 50 percent of my bankroll on one tournament. I really wanted to go for it and this payout is like 95 percent of my poker money now. I took a shot!
"I think I was the only one who didn't care about the bracelet. I only cared about the money," added the property businessman.
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Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship Final Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Darius Samual | United Kingdom | $500,000 |
| 2nd | Faraz Jaka | United States | $300,000 |
| 3rd | Nikolai Mamut | United Kingdom | $180,000 |
| 4th | Artur Martirosian | Russian Federation | $180,000 |
| 5th | John Smith | United States | $86,000 |
| 6th | Marko Grujic | Serbia | $86,000 |
| 7th | Owen Messere | United Kingdom | $86,000 |
| 8th | Patrick Kennedy | United Kingdom | $86,000 |
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Semifinal Action
Martirosian was arguably the man to beat today as he already had two WSOP bracelets to his name — one of which was from a $10,000 heads-up championship event online last year. Martirosian started the match off strong, using well-timed aggression and benefitting from an ill-timed bluff from Samual to pull out to an early lead.
Martirosian managed to build a 2:1 chip lead over Samual within the first few levels of play, but Samual's fortunes began to change once they were sent the the feature table. Shortly after being seated, Martirosian ran a multi-street bluff with ace-jack after flopping a gutshot draw, but Samual hung tough after flopping a pair of queens to flatten Matirosian's lead. Not long after, Samual took over the chip lead after flopping a pair of aces and getting three streets of value from Martirosian.
After a bit of back-and-forth, the final hand occurred after Martirosian got all in preflop with ace-ten against Samual's ace-king in a bit of a preflop cooler. The flop came king-high and ran out clean for Samual to earn his spot in the finals.
Across the room, Jaka got off to a bit of a rough start against Mamut after getting creative with ten-six suited, but he quickly rebounded by making a nice call facing a river three-bet bluff from Mamut. It was all Jaka from that point on, with several large pots ending in a fold by Mamut as the cards did not seem to go his way.
Mamut did manage to find a much-needed double-up after spiking two pair on the river against Jaka's single pair, but the momentum was short-lived. Several hands later, Mamut shoved preflop with king-queen and ran into Jaka's ace-jack. The board ran out clean for Jaka, which set the stage for the final match.
Heads-up Finale
Samual jumped out to an early lead by making several strong hands against Jaka, who was largely card-dead and unable to connect with any flops. The pain continued for Jaka for several levels, including a hand where he semi-bluff raised with a pair and a straight draw and was forced to fold facing a shove from Samual.
Not long after, the rest of Jaka's chips went into the middle in a classic preflop race, with Jaka holding ace-king and Samual holding pocket queens. Jaka flopped two pair and held, and just like that, he was back to even.
Samual wouldn't be denied, however, and he quickly re-established the lead after pulling off a savage triple-barrel bluff with queen-high. With escalating blinds forcing the action, Jaka decided to make a stand with ace-six suited facing a preflop three-bet shove from Samaul, who held king-queen. Despite getting it in as a slight favorite, Samual flopped two pair, and Jaka was unable to catch up, securing Samual's victory.
In this Series
- 1 Dong Meng Wins Second Bracelet & $200,000 in WSOP Tournament of Champions
- 2 Jose Garcia Wins Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em for $79,134
- 3 Asher Conniff Wins First Bracelet in Event 1: $5,000 Champions Reunion for $408,468
- 4 Daniel Willis Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #3: $500 Kickoff NLHE
- 5 James Chen Wins WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo ($209,350)
- 6 Darius Samual's 50% Bankroll Risk Pays Off in WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship
- 7 Mixed Game Legend John Hennigan Wins Seventh Bracelet at 2024 WSOP
- 8 Bryce Yockey BLASTS 25K Fantasy Draft Price After $5K PLO Bracelet Win
- 9 "I'm Only Here to Win Bracelets," says Nick Guagenti as He Captures His Second
- 10 Malcolm Trayner Made a Millionaire in WSOP Mystery Millions
- 11 Great Scott! Seiver Adds to Legacy with Fifth WSOP Bracelet
- 12 David Prociak Conquers The $1,500 Badugi for His Second Bracelet and $129,676
- 13 Simeon Spasov Wins $1,500 6-Max to Claim Second Bracelet for $439,815!
- 14 Robert Mizrachi Joins Brother on Five WSOP Bracelets After $10,000 Dealer's Choice Victory
- 15 20 Years in the Making: TJ Murphy Becomes a WSOP Champion
- 16 Caleb Furth Captures Maiden Bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better for $265,361
- 17 Dylan Weisman Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 18 Brent Hart Rises From Pack to Win Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em
- 19 John Racener Spins Shortest Stack Up to WSOP Gold in LHE Championship
- 20 Aaron Cummings Wins His First Bracelet In Lowball Triple Draw Event
- 21 "Feeling Vindicated": Brek Schutten Wins WSOP $25,000 High Roller for $1,405,641
- 22 Sean Troha Completes Hat Trick in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
- 23 Huge Comeback Inspires Daniel Sepiol to First Bracelet in $1,500 Shootout
- 24 Daniel Vampan Claims First Bracelet and $148,635 in $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Max
- 25 Stephen Winters Defeats 20,647 Players to Win $300 Gladiators of Poker ($401,210)
- 26 Nick Schulman Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $25K High Roller ($1,667,842)
- 27 Gruneberg & Bonnacci Capture First WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelets of the Summer
- 28 Evan Benton Goes From Poker Beginner to WSOP Bracelet Winner
- 29 Michael Christ "Gets Lucky" On His Way to Winning Event #27: $1,500 Big O
- 30 Alen Bakovic Laughs His Way to the WSOP Event #30 $600 PLO/NLH Mix Title
- 31 Nicholas Seward Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in $3,000 6-Handed for $516,135
- 32 Phil Ivey Wins His 11th WSOP Bracelet in $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
- 33 Richard Ashby Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Same Stud Event
- 34 Alex Manzano Ascends to Win Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha DeepStack
- 35 Antonio Galiana’s Big Bluff Propels Him To First Bracelet in Event #34
- 36 Another Comeback, Another Bracelet For Phillip Hui In $1.5k H.O.R.S.E.
- 37 Timur Margolin Wins Third Bracelet in Event #36: $800 NLHE Deepstack for $342,551
- 38 John Fauver Wins The First Ever $10k Big O Championship For $681,998
- 39 Sergio Aido Wins 2024 WSOP $50,000 NLHE High Roller ($2,026,506)
- 40 Two Bracelets in Two Weeks: Scott Seiver Wins Sixth WSOP Gold in $1,500 Razz
- 41 James Obst Captures Second WSOP Bracelet in $10K Stud
- 42 Xixiang Luo Wins First-Ever WSOP NLHE/PLO Bomb Pot Mix Event
- 43 Magnus Edengren Gets His Crowning Moment in $1,500 Mixed Omaha
- 44 Kingery's Ransom: Longshoreman Ships $2K No-Limit Hold’em for $410,359
- 45 "It Was My Time": Chris Hunichen Captures First Bracelet & $2.8M in $100K High Roller
- 46 Peter Park Wins First Bracelet and $240,724 in Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty!
- 47 Dominant Performance: Pedro Neves Crushes On Way to WSOP Monster Stack Bracelet
- 48 Extra Special Day for Christopher Vitch As He Wins Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 49 Mostafa Haidary Tears Through the Final Four to Win Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
- 50 Third Time's the Charm: Patrick Moulder Captures First Bracelet and $177,045 in $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw
- 51 Frank Funaro Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10k Super Turbo Bounty
- 52 Dario Sammartino Wins First Bracelet in Event #61: $2,500 Stud 8/Omaha 8 for $222,703
- 53 Sean Jazayeri Claims First Bracelet in Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em
- 54 We Want the Funk! David Funkhouser Wins First Bracelet in $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball
- 55 Paolo Boi Stages Impressive Comeback to Win Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($676,900)
- 56 Daniel Negreanu Wins 7th WSOP Bracelet in $50,000 Poker Players Championship
- 57 Ben Collins' All Ins Were Unbeatable in Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors
- 58 Heads-Up Masterclass Propels Elie Nakache to $10K PLO Championship Title
- 59 Determined Scott Seiver Captures 3rd 2024 Bracelet by Winning $10k No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 60 Runner-Up No More: Shiina Okamoto Wins Ladies' Event With Fierce Determination and Confidence
- 61 WPT Announcer Tony Dunst Wins Third World Series of Poker Bracelet
- 62 David Eldridge Overcomes the Odds to Claim Second Bracelet in $25k PLO High Roller ($2,246,728)
- 63 VAMOS! Martin Alcaide Claims First Bracelet and $501,250 in Event #70: $400 Colossus
- 64 Matthew Lambrecht Wins $10,000 Mystery Bounty for First WSOP Bracelet
- 65 Team Setna is "On Cloud 9" as the Duo Take Down Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No Limit Hold’em
- 66 Wing Po Liu Flies High To Win Second Bracelet for $209,942
- 67 Nine Years After Near Tragedy, Arash Ghaneian Wins Second Bracelet in $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship
- 68 First Cash, First Bracelet as Daniel Perkusic Dominates $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
- 69 Georgios Skarparis Wins Mini Main Event After a Promise to His Student ($554,925)
- 70 Francis Anderson Wins 2024 WSOP $800 Independence Day Celebration ($501,040)
- 71 Dominating Final Table Performance Sees Aditya Agarwal Take Down Event #82: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($189,661)
- 72 Chance Kornuth Flips His Way to Fourth Bracelet in Event #85: $1,000 Flip & Go No-Limit Hold'em
- 73 Matthew Alsante Triumphs Over the Pros in $5K 8-Handed No Limit Hold'em ($785,486)
- 74 It’s a Poker Fairytale For Carsten Heidemann, Winner of Event #84: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em
- 75 2024 WSOP Online: Watson Becomes Poker's 10th Triple Crown Winner; Prociak Claims Third Bracelet
- 76 Sascha Wilhelm Scores Biggest Career Win in $1k Mystery Bounty PLO
- 77 “This Bracelet is Worth Three”: Calvin Anderson Joins Five-Timer Club
- 78 Joseph Sanders Claims First Bracelet and $269,530 in $1.5k 6-Max PLO
- 79 Jared Bleznick Captures First Bracelet in $50k No-Limit Hold'em High Roller
- 80 Career-Best Score and First WSOP Bracelet for $3K HORSE Winner Gary Bolden
- 81 Inaugural $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship A Huge Success as Clement Richez Wins $1,041,989
- 82 Michael Rocco Caps Off Career Summer by Capturing First Bracelet
- 83 Xixiang Luo Doubles Up with Second Bracelet of the Summer in Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E.
- 84 Michael Liang Turns the Tables in Heads-Up to Win $777 Lucky 7's for $777,777
- 85 Summer Saved! Alex Livingston Claims Second Bracelet and $390,621 in Event #97: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed!
- 86 Jonathan Tamayo Wins Record-Breaking 2024 WSOP Main Event ($10,000,000)
- 87 Aneris Adomkevicius Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #99: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em
- 88 Ching Da Wu Conquers The $1,500 Closer at the 2024 WSOP
- 89 Kyle “BluffNTuff” Lorenz & William “mortyc137” Nunley Win Final WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelets
