Farzad Bonyadi Wins Event #49: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship! ($297,051)
Farzad Bonyadi emerged victorious in Event #49: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship to take home his fourth gold bracelet and the $297,051 first-place place prize. Bonyadi overcame a 122-player field, which actually eclipsed the 91-player field from the same event in 2019 – a first thus far for the 2021 World Series of Poker.
Bonyadi, an Iranian-born poker professional based in California, has amassed more than $4 million in live tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob. Today’s victory ends a 16-year gap between bracelets for Bonyadi, who won his last WSOP gold bracelet back in 2005 in a $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em event for nearly $600,000. Bonyadi now sits alongside four-time bracelet winners Joe Cada, Brian Hastings, Mike Matusow and Huck Seed, to name a few.
"It's good to have the fourth one," Bonyadi said. "This was my first tournament this year. I'm happy."
Bonyadi overcame a star-studded final table that included bracelet winners Benny Glaser, Julien Martini, Johannes Becker, and Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu. A feat made all the more impressive given that Bonyadi said he hasn't played any poker in two years.
"I think I played a good game, I really do. I bluffed when I had to. I caught good cards too, but I think I played a good game. It feels good to know you're not that rusty."
Bonyadi said the game has changed over the course of his 20-plus year poker career, but that he enjoys it.
"We used to play this game 20 years ago and there was no drawing to the ten or jack. Like any other game, the young blood is changing this game too. I kinda like it. I used to play the same way 20 years ago. You can say I'm an action player. I'm definitely not tight. Maybe they think I'm old and that I can't play [aggressively]. I'm very satisfied with the way I played."
Event #49: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farzad Bonyadi | United States | $297,051 |
| 2 | Johannes Becker | Germany | $183,591 |
| 3 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | $132,685 |
| 4 | Dustin Dirksen | United States | $97,199 |
| 5 | Jake Schwartz | United States | $72,185 |
| 6 | Julien Martini | France | $54,359 |
| 7 | Ben Diebold | United States | $41,515 |
| 8 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | $32,162 |
Final Table Action
Negreanu entered the final table with a middling stack, but the six-time bracelet winner was the first to bust after getting all-in pre-draw against Dustin Dirksen and drawing to a pair of fours. Ben Diebold and Martini were also unable to build any momentum with their short stacks and busted shortly thereafter.
It was the fifth final table of the series for Jake Schwartz, who nursed a short stack for some time until falling to Becker in fifth place. Schwartz is currently a strong contender for WSOP Player of The Year honors – having jumped to second place just below Phil Hellmuth following today’s result.
Four-handed play lasted for two entire levels without a player gaining any serious momentum until Dustin Dirksen shoved pre-draw and ran into the pat jack of Farzad Bonyadi. Dirksen drew to an ace-low and was eliminated. Bonyadi would continue to build on that momentum by doubling through Glaser with a pat ten in a massive pot and then eliminating him shortly after.
Heads-up play began with Bonyadi enjoying a nearly 2:1 chip advantage over Becker. Bonyadi held onto that advantage and managed to whittle Becker’s stack down over a series of small pots until Becker shoved over a three-bet by Bonyadi, who held a pat nine and called. Becker drew to a jack — ending the tournament and sealing Bonyadi's victory.