"I always don't close big spots; that's just what I do."
That is what Michael Rocco had to say to Jeff Platt after finishing in third place in Event #21: $25,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed earlier this summer. Fast forward a few weeks, in which Rocco took his total number of World Series of Poker final table appearances to ten, he finally captured his first bracelet in another six-max tournament, namely Event #94: $10,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold'em Championship.
Rocco was mobbed by friends who jumped over the rail to celebrate with a player who, perhaps more than any other, was due a bracelet. The high-stakes tournament regular captured the win after defeating the defending champion, Alexandre Reard, in a short-lived heads-up match. Rocco outlasted a field of 502 entrants that included a large number of the top tournament crushers in the world to claim the $924,922 first-place prize, the lion's share of the $4,668,600 prize pool.
Event #94: $10,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold'em Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Rocco | United States | $924,922 |
| 2 | Alexandre Reard | France | $610,013 |
| 3 | Aleks Dimitrov | Bulgaria | $410,657 |
| 4 | Aram Zobian | United States | $282,302 |
| 5 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | $198,261 |
| 6 | Egor Procop | Moldova | $142,316 |
When asked what was different about this final table attempt, Rocco said that it was the culmination of "playing hard this summer" and "studying ICM spots, including non-final table ones."
"I woke up at four in the morning for 98 days straight and studied for six hours daily. I feel like it helped me at this tournament. I was quite short most of the time. I think I would have played a few hands differently had I not studied. It ended up working out."
The reaction from Rocco as he achieved the goal that had taken so much dedication was as much relief as joy. Clearly, the bracelet that had been lacking from an otherwise top-notch tournament resume had at least occupied a part of his mind, perhaps more so now as Rocco plans to leave poker behind to pursue an agricultural business.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm sure I'll play here and there. But I'm really not sure how the time looks."
As a result, this will likely be the last series for a while that Rocco puts in the high volume we have seen at this year's edition. That volume and the consistently good results have put him in the running for WSOP Player of the Year with just a couple of days of action left.
"I would love to win the player of the year. I'll play whatever else they have. I guess I'll have to final table one of those or win one of those." But with the red-hot form Rocco is in, he cannot be counted out to pip current leader Scott Seiver to the title.
Some special mention should go to the runner-up. Reard topped a 550-strong field in this event last year to claim his second bracelet and came as close as he could to winning it all again. A couple of bad beats at the most critical time cost him the tournament as he sought to become the second French bracelet winner of the day. Still, he walks away with $610,013 to show for his outstanding effort.
Final Day Action
Just 28 players returned for the third and final day of play. Things got off to a quick start, with the field trimmed to the last three tables in just a couple of hours. Those who fell during the early stages of play included bracelet winner and online legend Daniel Smiljkovic (23rd - $38,326) as well as Pokerstars Team Pro Alejandro Lococo (19th - $38,326).
From there, the pace of play slowed down somewhat but eventually three tables became two and not long after Connor Rash became the final table bubble boy when he and Brad Albrinck were felled in the same hand by Reard's flopped set of kings.
Due to that last hand, Reard took a massive chip lead into the final table. He was unable to fully capitalize on the advantage, however, as the ever tricky Adrian Mateos called him down in a large pot holding a straight to snatch away the lead.
For a while, Mateos dominated play and seemed set to add to his already considerable reputation. Then, another big clash with Reard occurred, but this time, it was the Frenchman who emerged best after rivering a flush.
A little while after that hand, the first elimination came. Start of day chip leader Fahredin Mustafov had already come back from being down to just one big blind a few levels earlier to make the final table. Yet, he was unable to spin it up further, instead losing a flip in one of the more painful ways to bust in seventh place.
He was followed out the door by the table short stack Egor Procop in sixth place afer the Moldovan ran into Aleks Dimitrov's jacks. A couple of hands later, Reard completed his revenge by putting a beat on Mateos to send him to the rail in fifth place.
Aram Zobian had ridden his dwindling stack to several payjumps. Ultimately, he fell in fourth place when Reard picked up tens on the button.
Three-handed play continued right until the dying of moments of the scheduled day but with mere seconds on the clock during the last level, Dimitrov fell in 3rd place after getting into a two pair over two pair situation with Reard. That elimination set the stage for a heads-up duel between Rocco and Reard as the two were extended a single courtesy level.
Although Reard took a 3:1 chip advantage into the showdown, Rocco quickly doubled with sevens against eights after spiking a set on the flop to move into the lead. Just a couple of minutes later, Reard's demise was complete when, in another two pair versus two pair scenario, Rooco, with the inferior of the holdings, filled up on the river to win in dramatic fashion.
Reard, meanwhile, could only look on as Rocco and his rail celebrated, though he could still take solace in knowing how extraordinary a feat it is to perform so well in a tournament that demands such skill not just once but twice. That, and the combined score of nearly $1.7 million, ought to soften the blow somewhat.
At the same time, Rocco got what many in the poker world felt he had deserved for a while. His name no longer sits alongside others considered great but who have yet to win a bracelet.
This wraps up coverage of Event #94: $10,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold'em Championship at the 2024 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide coverage of tournaments around the world.
