2022 WSOP Online

Event #23: $1,500 NLH
Day: 1
Event Info

2022 WSOP Online

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
88
Prize
$68,005
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$335,500
Entries
244
Players Info - Day 1
Entries
244
Players Left
1

Event #23: $1,500 NLH

Day 1 Completed

Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo Wins Second WSOP Bracelet In Event #23: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout ($68,005)

WSOP Bracelet
WSOP Bracelet

On Sunday night, the 2022 World Series of Poker Online Event #23: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout attracted 244 players to generate a $335,500 prize pool. After eight and a half hours of play, Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo came out on top to win a $68,005 first-place prize and his second career gold bracelet.

Prior to this victory, Mercaldo had $71,221 in live earnings according to The Hendon Mob with his biggest score being in a WSOP.com bracelet event last year when he took down the $777 No Limit Hold'em Lucky Sevens for $123,574.

Many notables joined the virtual felt and some who made a deep run but came up short of a final table finish included high-stakes regular and bracelet winner Alex "OrcinusOrca" Foxen (27th - $2,449), PokerGo commentator Jeff "mavsusc" Platt (20th - $2,482), and UK’s own Toby "DustPistons" Lewis (9th - $5,401).

WSOP Online Bracelet Event #23 Final Table Results

PlaceNameCountryPrize
1Michael "stiltwalk" MercaldoUnited States$68,005
2Joseph "ShoeGoat" WaltersUnited States$49,150
3Evan "ballz222" SandbergUnited States$35,730
4Matthew "booyastink" WantmanUnited States$25,867
5Will "JonSnow14" ClarkeUnited States$18,754
6Orson "borgatcha" YoungUnited States$13,688
7Austin "Shady_1" RobertsUnited States$9,997
8Jesse "Patient0" YaginumaUnited States$7,347

Final Table Action

The eight-handed final table got off to a slow start with action going back and forth for over 30 minutes. With the blinds increasing and stacks becoming shorter, Jesse "Patient0" Yaginuma moved all in with ace-jack and was called by Evan "ballz222" Sandberg with pocket queens. The board didn’t improve Yaginuma and they were out in eighth place.

A short while later Austin "Shady_1" Roberts had all their chips in the middle with ace-seven and was up against the ace-king for Matthew "booyastink" Wantman. The board ran out ten-high and Roberts was eliminated in seventh place.

On the next hand Orson "borgatcha" Young moved all in with pocket jacks and was called by Sandberg with ace-eight. The flop fanned out an ace and Young was sent to the rail in sixth place. Will "JonSnow14" Clarke was the next casualty when his ace-nine fell to the ace-king for Mercaldo and Clarke was out in fifth place.

Wantman moved all in with king-queen and was called by Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters with ace-ten. The board didn’t improve Wantman and he was eliminated in fourth place.

Sandberg got in a flip situation when his ace-king was up against the pocket fours for Mercaldo. The flop fanned out a four and the rest didn’t help Sandberg as he was sent to the rail in third place.

Heads-up play started very close in chips between Mercaldo and Walters. After close to ten minutes Walters picked up pocket sevens and found himself all in against the pocket eights for Mercaldo. The board ran out queen-high and Walters was forced to settle for runner-up position. Mercaldo won the event and his second career WSOP bracelet.

That's a wrap here at 2022 WSOP Online Event #23: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout. Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you full coverage of this series on WSOP.com!

Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters Eliminated In 2nd Place ($49,150)

Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo

Blinds: 25,000/50,000/5,000

Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo opened the button to 100,000 and Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters moved all in for 1,300,000, which Mercaldo quickly called.

Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters: {7-Spades}{7-Hearts}
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo: {8-Diamonds}{8-Spades}

It was a cooler for Walters running into the bigger pair for Mercaldo. The board ran out {q-Diamonds}{9-Spades}{3-Diamonds}{5-Clubs}{10-Clubs} and the pocket eights held up to eliminate Walters in second place. Mercaldo won the tournament and his second career WSOP bracelet.

A full recap will be available shortly.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo us
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo
4,880,000
2,566,348
2,566,348
Profile photo of Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters us
Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters
Busted

Evan "ballz222" Sandberg Eliminated In 3rd Place ($35,730)

Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo

Blinds: 20,000/40,000/4,000

Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo opened to 80,000 on the button and Evan "ballz222" Sandberg moved all in for close to 800,000 in the big blind, which Mercaldo called.

Evan "ballz222" Sandberg: {a-Hearts}{k-Clubs}
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo: {4-Spades}{4-Diamonds}

The board ran out {9-Diamonds}{5-Clubs}{4-Clubs}{7-Diamonds}{k-Hearts} and the flopped set for Mercaldo sent Sandberg out in third place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo us
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo
2,313,652
953,013
953,013
Profile photo of Evan "ballz222" Sandberg us
Evan "ballz222" Sandberg
Busted
WSOP 2X Winner

Matthew "booyastink" Wantman Eliminated In 4th Place ($25,867)

Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters
Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters

Blinds: 20,000/40,000/4,000

Matthew "booyastink" Wantman moved all in on the button for close to 500,000 and was called by Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters in the big blind.

Matthew "booyastink" Wantman: {k-Spades}{q-Spades}
Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters: {a-Hearts}{10-Hearts}

The board ran out {j-Spades}{6-Hearts}{5-Diamonds}{3-Diamonds}{a-Spades} and the ace-ten for Walters held up to send Wantman out in fourth place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters us
Joseph "ShoeGoat" Walters
2,522,348
2,436,264
2,436,264
Profile photo of Matthew "booyastink" Wantman us
Matthew "booyastink" Wantman
Busted

Will "JonSnow14" Clarke Eliminated In 5th Place ($18,754)

Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo

Blinds: 17,000/34,000/3,400

Will "JonSnow14" Clarke moved all in from under the gun for roughly 600,000 and was called by Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo on the button.

Will "JonSnow14" Clarke: {a-Clubs}{9-Clubs}
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo: {a-Hearts}{k-Clubs}

The board ran out {k-Spades}{5-Hearts}{3-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{7-Clubs} and the pair of kings sent Clarke to the exit in fifth place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo us
Michael "stiltwalk" Mercaldo
1,360,639
220,872
220,872
Profile photo of Will "JonSnow14" Clarke us
Will "JonSnow14" Clarke
Busted

Orson "borgatcha" Young Eliminated In 6th Place ($13,688)

Evan "ballz222" Sandberg
Evan "ballz222" Sandberg

Blinds: 17,000/34,000/3,400

Orson "borgatcha" Young was all in and at risk against the bigger stack of Evan "ballz222" Sandberg.

Orson "borgatcha" Young: {j-Spades}{j-Diamonds}
Evan "ballz222" Sandberg: {a-Hearts}{8-Diamonds}

Young got it in well ahead but when the board ran out {a-Spades}{4-Spades}{4-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds}{k-Diamonds}, it was the pair of aces for Sandberg that scored the pot and eliminated Young in sixth place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Evan "ballz222" Sandberg us
Evan "ballz222" Sandberg
1,411,513
232,040
232,040
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Orson "borgatcha" Young us
Orson "borgatcha" Young
Busted

Austin "Shady_1" Roberts Eliminated In 7th Place ($9,997)

Matthew "booyastink" Wantman
Matthew "booyastink" Wantman

Blinds: 17,000/34,000/3,400

Austin "Shady_1" Roberts moved all in from early position and was called by the bigger stack of Matthew "booyastink" Wantman in the big blind.

Austin "Shady_1" Roberts: {a-Clubs}{7-Clubs}
Matthew "booyastink" Wantman: {a-Diamonds}{k-Hearts}

The board ran out {10-Diamonds}{8-Hearts}{5-Diamonds}{4-Spades}{2-Hearts} and the ace-king held to send Roberts to the rail in seventh place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Matthew "booyastink" Wantman us
Matthew "booyastink" Wantman
968,733
519,263
519,263
Profile photo of Austin "Shady_1" Roberts us
Austin "Shady_1" Roberts
Busted

Jesse "Patient0" Yaginuma Eliminated In 8th Place ($7,347)

Evan "ballz222" Sandberg
Evan "ballz222" Sandberg

Blinds: 17,000/34,000/3,400

Jesse "Patient0" Yaginuma moved all in for 338,000 in middle position and was called by Evan "ballz222" Sandberg in the small blind.

Jesse "Patient0" Yaginuma: {a-Hearts}{j-Diamonds}
Evan "ballz222" Sandberg: {q-Spades}{q-Hearts}

The board ran out {9-Clubs}{9-Spades}{7-Spades}{2-Hearts}{10-Diamonds} and the pocket queens for Sandberg held to eliminate Yaginuma in eighth place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Evan "ballz222" Sandberg us
Evan "ballz222" Sandberg
1,179,473
114,341
114,341
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Jesse "Patient0" Yaginuma us
Jesse "Patient0" Yaginuma
Busted