Chance Kornuth Flips his Way to Fourth Bracelet in Event #85: $1,000 Flip & Go No-Limit Hold'em
After 1,088 hopeful flippers made their way to the Paris Convention Center yesterday, just one remains after the tournament portion on Day 2, and his name is Chance Kornuth, winner of Event #85: $1,000 Flip & Go No-Limit Hold'em.
A total of 136 fortunate players won the flip portion of the tournament yesterday, which consists of a Crazy Pineapple style eight-person flip where only one person advances. These players advanced to Day 2 in which they were already in the money, where they began with 160,000 chips and 80 big blinds. These 136 were guaranteed the minimum cash of $2,200, but only one would claim the coveted WSOP gold bracelet and the first place prize of $155,446.
The 2024 edition of the Flip & Go tournament attracted 1,088 entries, narrowly edging out the 1,022 who tried their luck in 2023. This is the third edition of the tournament which debuted in 2022.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chance Kornuth | United States | $155,446 |
| 2 | Kannapong Thanarattrakul | Thailand | $103,633 |
| 3 | Mike Leah | Canada | $74,062 |
| 4 | Sean Whelan | United States | $53,662 |
| 5 | Xiaoyao Ma | United States | $39,428 |
| 6 | Filipp Khavin | United States | $29,382 |
| 7 | Ian Hamilton | United Kingdom | $22,213 |
| 8 | John Armbrust | United States | $17,039 |
| 9 | Takashi Ogura | Japan | $13,265 |
Winner’s Reaction
After a summer full of deep runs, Chance Kornuth could not cross the finish line. After a second place finish in the $50,000 High Roller, he knew that a bracelet was within reach this summer.
"I've made a pile of final tables without a ‘W’. So even though it's a smaller one, it feels incredible."
Kornuth commented on playing a different format, "I think it's fun, but a little bit gimmicky at the same time." He was in for three bullets, several less than some of his fellow professionals.
Kornuth won a massive pot with tens against the ace-queen of Punnat Punsri all-in preflop earlier in the day. Wielding a large stack typically provides benefits, but today was different.
"Normally, it helps a ton [having a big stack], but I made a bunch of mistakes and got all the way down to 20 bigs."
However, Kornuth stayed composed and did not allow the swings of a turbo structure to get in his way.
"I just kept hanging around and then went on a heater and had above average at the final table and won a bunch of pots. I think that's just kind of an experience thing. Perspective and framing are really important."
When asked if the nose-tape rungood is real, Kornuth responded, "Maybe, I don't know. Only one way to find out!"
The Day’s Action
Several notable players hit the rail early in Day 2, including Galen Hall, Andrew Kelsall, Michael Moncek, and Jared Bleznick, all of whom received the minimum cash of $2,200.
The turbo structure of the tournament meant that action was seen from the very first shuffle. Within just four hours of play, well over half of the starting field was gone. Some of the highlight eliminations from the second frame of play included Scott Seiver (86th-$2,400), Mike Watson (81st-$2,400), Toby Lewis (65th-$2,818), and Chris Brewer (59th-$3,135).
At the end of Level 15, the three-table redraw was reached and the action moved from the Paris Convention Center to the Horseshoe Event Center, where the final 24 players reconvened to play down to a winner.
The first thirty minutes were slow, but after the break, there was a flurry of eliminations as the blind levels increased. Some of the notable eliminations during this period included Brad Owen (21st-$6,855), Danny Wong (18th-$6,855), and Shaun Deeb (14th-$8,412).
Shortly after, the eight-handed official final table was reached.
Final Table Action
Mike Leah entered the final table with a commanding chip lead as he held about half of the chips in play, which made for a particularly cagey affair with most players having shallow stacks.
The first casualty at the final table was John Armbrust. He jammed his final 13 big blinds into the middle with pocket eights and was looked up by Kornuth in the small blind who held ace-queen. Kornuth hit an ace on the flop, and Armbrust did not improve as he hit the rail in eighth place.
The next to fall in seventh place was Ian Hamilton. Xiaoyao Ma jammed for seven big blinds effective and Hamilton snapped it off with king-jack suited. However, Ma’s nine-eight made middle pair on the flop, and Hamilton did not improve as he exited the tournament.
In sixth place was Filipp Khavin, who entered the official final table second in chips. He four-bet all in for 14 big blinds with ace-queen but he ran into the ace-king of chipleader Leah. The runout did not improve Khavin as he hit the rail in sixth place.
The next casualty was Ma in fifth place. He jammed his last eight big blinds with king-jack and was tank-called by the king-ten of Leah in the big blind. Unfortunately for Ma, Leah paired his ten on the turn and he stayed ahead on the river as he eliminated another player. The fresh University of Southern California graduate had to settle for fifth place.
The remaining four players traded chips for more than 90 minutes before the next elimination occurred. Sean Whelan jammed his last 16 big blinds with king-jack only to be met with a snap-call from the ace-ten of Kornuth. The ace-high board kept Kornuth ahead as Whelan hit the rail in fourth place, which set up an evenly distributed three-handed match.
Leah was the next to fall in third place. He four-bet jammed pocket fours over a Kornuth three-bet and was snapped off by the ace-queen of Kornuth. The flop was safe for Leah, but a queen landed on the turn to vault Kornuth into the lead, and it stayed that way on the river as the former commanding chipleader exited in third place.
The heads-up match between Kornuth and Kannapong Thanarattrakul lasted just one hand. Kornuth limped the button, and Thanarattrakul jammed ace-four suited for just under 6,000,000 from the big blind. Kornuth deliberated for around a minute before he stuck in the call with queen-jack. Luckily for him, a jack peeled off on the turn and Kornuth stayed in front as he improved to a full house on the river to win the bracelet.
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