Frank Funaro Wins First Bracelet in Event #29: $1,000 NLH Championship ($94,096)
On Sunday night, the 2022 World Series of Poker Online Event #29: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em attracted 318 players who rebought 224 times. The 542-entry field generated a $487,800 prize pool, and after just over nine hours of play, it was Frank "thewholefunk" Funaro coming out on top to win a $94,096 first-place prize and the WSOP gold bracelet.
After coming to the final table in last place, he managed to go on a tear and ended up eliminating all but two of his opponents, and eventually emerged victorious after just a few hands heads-up against John "bigtuna22" Ypma.
Funaro is a seasoned pro with just under a million in live tournament earnings with a recent win this year in the WSOP Circuit Event $ 320 No Limit Hold'em - 6-Max for $19,526 and a circuit ring. He’s had multiple 6-figure scores with the largest being in the 2020 WSOP Online Circuit Event $ 3,200 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller for $219,089. He now can add a fancy WSOP gold bracelet to pair nicely with his circuit ring.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Nationality | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank "thewholefunk" Funaro | United States | $94,096 |
| 2 | John "bigtuna22" Ypma | United States | $68,096 |
| 3 | Matthew "peepeepoopoo" Paoletti | United States | $49,560 |
| 4 | Zachary "thepepster5" Epstein | United States | $35,902 |
| 5 | Daniel "BackDoorDan" Smith | United States | $26,146 |
| 6 | Bradley "banderson0" Anderson | United States | $19,316 |
| 7 | Mike "THICC" Del Vecchio | United States | $14,194 |
| 8 | Brandon "Beeeskerz" Zuidema | United States | $10,536 |
Final Table Action
After the money bubble burst with two-time bracelet winner Nipun "javatini" Java busting out in 61st, the action was fairly fast as the field was whittled down to the final eight in just two and a half hours.
After the first casualty when Brandon "Beeeskerz" Zuidema busted out in eighth, the next to go was Mike "THICC" Del Vecchio who had flopped a pair of kings against Matthew "peepeepoopoo" Paoletti’s ace-queen, but the river gave Paoletti a straight to send Del Vecchio packing in seventh.
Then it was Bradley "banderson0" Anderson who got it in with pocket queens against Ypma's ace-queen, and with a brutal ace on the river, Anderson was eliminated in sixth place.
Daniel "BackDoorDan" Smith made a deep run but was eliminated in fifth when he shoved into Funaro with top pair on the river but Funaro had already made the nut straight on the turn and snapped it off to send the cowboy home.
The fourth and third place finishers, Zachary "thepepster5" Epstein(fourth) and Paoletti(third) also fell victim to Funaro’s run. Epstein was sent home when his ace-four was dominated by Funaro’s ace-ten and Paoletti had his ace-three beaten with Funaro’s queen-jack by hitting a running two-pair.
Once the action was heads-up, play only lasted a couple of hands before Ypma got it all in with ace-ten but found himself dominated by Funaro’s superior ace-queen. The board ran out pure for Funaro and Ypma was sent to the payout desk for the runner-up prize of $68,096 while Funaro was declared the champion of this event.
That's a wrap here at Event #29: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you full coverage of this series on WSOP.com!