Andrew Donabedian Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet and $205,605 by Beating Huge 2,577-Player Field
An extra day was needed to finish the huge Event #25: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack. The brand new event at the 2019 World Series of Poker attracted 2,577 entries and created a prize pool of $1,352,925 with a first-place prize of $205,605. Andrew Donabedian took home the grand prize and his first WSOP gold bracelet by beating Todd Dreyer heads-up who had to settle for $126,948.
When asked about the bracelet he just won Donabedian said: ''I play a lot of the circuits and I have a lot of seconds and thirds. Been saving the win for the bracelet I guess. It's pretty awesome.''
Donabedian mostly plays Omaha tournaments at the circuit events and he was surprised by the turnout in this event.
''PLO seems to be getting a lot more popular every year, I think it's great! It's a lot more fun than hold'em.''
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Donabedian | United States | $205,605 |
| 2 | Todd Dreyer | United States | $126,948 |
| 3 | Robert Valden | United States | $92,672 |
| 4 | Corey Wright | United States | $68,258 |
| 5 | Mihai Niste | Romania | $50,732 |
| 6 | Alexandru Ivan | United States | $38,051 |
| 7 | Tom Franklin | United States | $28,803 |
| 8 | Florian Fuchs | Austria | $22,006 |
| 9 | Alexander Condon | United States | $16,971 |
Final Day Action
The day started with twelve players left in the tournament. The player at the top of the leaderboard was Corey Wright, who ended Day 1 of the tournament as chip leader as well as Day 2. He had a great start of the day but the same can not be said about Cheli Lin. Lin busted in the first level of the day and had to settle for 12th place and $13,212. Others that started Day 3 but didn't make the final table include Eric Sain (11th - $13,212) and Michael Bartov (10th - $13,212).
Another player that missed the final table was Alexander Condon. Despite finishing in ninth and cashing for $16,971 he missed the final table as he busted in the same hand as Bartov, albeit on the other table.
The final table started with a lot of players doubling up their stacks. It took a little over two levels for the first player to be eliminated and that was Austria's Florian Fuchs. He started the final table second in chips but was eliminated in eighth for $22,006.
Others that didn't make it to the top three included WSOP bracelet winner "Captain" Tom Franklin. He won his first and only bracelet 20 years ago and has to wait a little longer to add a second bracelet to his prize cabinet. He finished in seventh for $28,803. Alexandru Ivan (6th - $38,051), Mihai Niste (5th - $50,732), and Wright (4th - $68,258) also didn't make it to the podium.
Todd Dreyer had an opportunity to end the tournament by eliminating both Donabedian and Robert Valden in one hand but he folded on a queen-high two-club flop with a club-flush draw. Donabedian would end up winning the hand with what turned out to be a smaller flush and Valden busted a couple of hands later in third for $92,672.
The heads-up was pulled in Donabedian's favor within a couple of minutes. The pots were kept small but Dreyer's stack kept dwindling down until he got his chips in the middle with a worse draw to an already made straight by Donabedian. The runout didn't change anything and Donabedian took down the tournament. He won the first-place prize of $205,605 and the WSOP gold bracelet. Dreyer had to settle for second and $126,948.