Congratulations to Nick Binger, Event #57 $5,000 PLO Hi-low Split-8 of Better Champion ($397,073)
Day 3 of Event #57, the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better, saw the final 25 players of a 352-player field return for their shot at the last non-Main Event bracelet up for grabs at the 2011 World Series of Poker. After 12 intense hours, play came to an end with only two players remaining: David Bach vs. Nick Binger.
The duo returned on Friday for Day 4 to play out the tournament, and in the end it was Binger who emerged victorious to win his first bracelet and the $397,073 first-place prize.
Binger’s path to victory did not come easy. On Day 3, he had to play his way through 23 tough competitors, many who fell long before the final table. Some of the notable players who fell on the road to the final table were Padraig Parkinson, Lee Watkinson, Grayson Nichols, David “Doc” Sands, and Kirill Rabtsov. Here is a full account of the payouts leading up to the final table:
Day 3 Eliminations
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Joseph Marchal | $12,623 |
| 24 | Padraig Parkinson | $12,623 |
| 23 | Raymond Dehkarghani | $12,623 |
| 22 | Fabrizio Gonzalez | $12,623 |
| 21 | Lee Watkinson | $12,623 |
| 20 | Tobias Hausen | $12,623 |
| 19 | Marcelo Costa | $12,623 |
| 18 | Grayson Nichols | $15,915 |
| 17 | Anders Taylor | $15,915 |
| 16 | Igor Sharaskin | $15,915 |
| 15 | Alexander Dovzhenko | $20,299 |
| 14 | David “Doc” Sands | $20,299 |
| 13 | Peter Levine | $20,299 |
| 12 | Austin Marks | $25,874 |
| 11 | Kirill Rabtsov | $25,874 |
| 10 | Brent Wheeler | $25,874 |
Brent Wheeler’s elimination shortly after the dinner break left just nine players in the field, which comprised the official final that looked a little bit like this:
Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Laak | 801,000 |
| 2 | Nick Binger | 936,000 |
| 3 | Bryce Yockey | 1,140,000 |
| 4 | Allen Kessler | 143,000 |
| 5 | Nick Schulman | 632,000 |
| 6 | Trevor Reader | 309,000 |
| 7 | Peter Charalambous | 145,000 |
| 8 | David Bach | 862,000 |
| 9 | Bjorn Verbakel | 312,000 |
It didn’t take long for things to heat up at the final table; in fact, a big pot developed when Phil Laak was on the button and potted to 52,000, which Bryce Yockey called from the big blind. It was heads up to the 
flop, which saw Yockey check-call a bet of 48,000. When the 
was put out on the turn, Yockey check-called another bet, this time 174,000.
The 
completed the board and Yockey checked one last time. Laak thought for a few moments before sliding in the remainder of his stack . . . 527,000! Yockey snap-called only to muck when Laak rolled over 
for trip threes with the nut low. With that, Laak takes a commanding chip lead while Yockey was reduced to just 328,000.
The first elimination happened a short time later when Allen Kessler got all in preflop holding 
and was up against the 
of Laak. The board ran out 
and Kessler was sent to the rail in ninth place for $33,352. The next few eliminations took awhile to develop, but ultimately saw Bjorn Verbakel, Nick Schulman, and Peter Charalambous sent to the rail in eighth, seventh, and sixth places respectively.
After Trevor Reader made his exit in fifth place, the fan favorite fell. It happened after Laak, who couldn’t capitalize on the early chip lead and grew short stacked, raised to 80,000 under the gun, which David Bach called from the big blind. Both players checked the 
flop, leading to the 
on the turn. Bach checked for a second time, and after a moment's thought, Laak fired out 150,000. Bach thought for a bit and then check-raised enough to put Laak all in. A call was made and the cards were turned up:
Laak: 
Bach: 
The 
river didn't change a thing and Laak became the fourth-place finisher, worth $133,377.
Not long after, Yockey was sent packing in third place after failing to mount a comeback. That left Bach (3,010,000) to do heads-up battle against Binger (2,270,000). The latter was supported by a cheerful rail that included Michael Binger, Liv Boeree, James Dempsey, Darryll Fish, Matt Waxman, Xuan Liu, Dan Shak, Gloria Balding, Kevin MacPhee, and Jeff Madsen.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Nick Binger | $397,073 |
| 2nd | David Bach | $245,314 |
| 3rd | Bryce Yockey | $180,180 |
| 4th | Phil Laak | $133,377 |
| 5th | Trevor Reader | $99,512 |
| 6th | Peter Charalambous | $74,845 |
| 7th | Nick Schulman | $56,729 |
| 8th | Bjorn Verbakel | $43,328 |
| 9th | Allen Kessler | $33,352 |
Congratulations to Nick Binger on winning his first WSOP bracelet!
That does it for our coverage from Event #57 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better; in fact, this will be the last recap resulting in a bracelet winner until November when the Main Event concludes. With 57 events down, be sure to follow along with our extensive coverage on the Main Event which will be running between now and July 19th.