WSOP 2017: Strong Team India Storms Main Event; Chris Klodnicki, James Calderaro, Harrison Gimbel, Jason Gola, Heidi May & Mike Wattel Win Bracelets

WSOP 2017
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  • PG News July 11, 2017
  • 4 Minutes Read

It’s that time of the year again when after the flurry of back-to-back events, the focus settles on the $10,000 Main Event No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and all eyes are glued to the Team India.

Team India once again stormed the Main Event and a number of our challengers have made Day 2. Rahul Byrraju entered the Day 1A and bagged a massive stack of 186,100. Satchit Kapur too entered the first starting flight and bagged 99,000 in chips.

The other Day 2 qualifiers include Navkiran Singh (66,700), Akshit Madan (47,400) and Om Gahlot (29,900). The two popular lady pros from India – Nikita Luther and Muskan Sethi joined the action on Day 1B and incidentally both bagged 30,000 each.

In other side events,Satchit Kapur scored his first cash this summer with a 39th place finish in Event 68 for $13,129. Nikita Luther continued to impress with another deep run and finished 71st for $8,173 while Amit Jain banked $4,496 from his 189th place finish in the event.

India’s first bracelet winner Aditya Sushant was busy hunting his second piece of gold in Event #66: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em but exited just a few places shy of the title at eighth place. Sushant was fifth in chips at the end of Day 2 with 23 survivors remaining and stormed into the final table as the chip leader. However, a few big pots didn`t exactly go his way and he hit the rail at eighth place.

Apoorva Goel also managed to cash in Event 66 finishing 125th for $3,213. Akshay Nasa picked up his first score at the series finishing 206th in the same event for $2,679.

 

Event #66: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em

The $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event attracted a total of 1,956 entrants and what was scheduled to be a three-day tournament, turned into a four-day long affair as the final two players I.e. Emile Schiff and Chris Klodnicki decided to resume play on an impromptu fourth day.

And after 61 hands it was, Klodnicki who came out on top.

Aditya Sushant was also in thick of action at the event and but exited just a few places shy of the title at eighth place.

Apoorva Goel also managed to cash in the event finishing 125th for $3,213. Akshay Nasa picked up his first score at the series finishing 206th for $2,679.

 

Final Table Recap

23 survivors returned to play down to a winner on Day 3 and the field quickly dwindled down to just 18 players.

Dylan Hortin (ninth place) was taken out by Klodnicki and after the dinner break, the only Indian player on the table Aditya Sushant fell in eighth place after running his ace-king into the pocket aces of Schiff.

Aditya Sushant
Aditya Sushant

Kenny Hallaert took the seventh place followed by Darren Elias who exited in sixth place

Ulrich Schnetter stayed quiet for most of the night and eventually fell in fifth place with Ben Zamani joining him at the rails shortly thereafter in fourth place.

Then there was Thornton who hit the rail in third place that led to the heads-up match between Schiff and Klodnicki.

After playing for a while, both players were presented with the option to play an extra level, or call it a day and return the next day. Both players unanimously chose to come back the next day.

On the final day Klodnicki won a big pot with ace-king against Schiff’s ace-ten to double up and the former stayed on top from there on out. Soon the shove fest started and initially the all-ins went uncalled, but eventually, Klodnicki called with pocket threes. Schiff had nine-seven off and didn’t improve.

Chris Klodnicki
Chris Klodnicki

Final Table Results

1. Chris Klodnicki – $428,423

2. Emile Schiff – $264,692

3. Schuyler Thornton – $191,453

4. Ben Zamani – $139,896

5. Ulrich Schnetter – $103,281

6. Darren Elias – $77,047

7. Kenny Hallaert – $58,083

8. Aditya Sushant – $44,255

9. Dylan Hortin – $34,083

 

Event #67: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller

The third largest buy-in event this series attracted a total of 205 runners and besting them all was James Calderaro who pocketed a massive $1,289,074 in prize money.

Some who fell without cashing in the event included Sam Trickett, David Williams, Bryn Kenney, Daniel Cates, Eric Wasserson, Brian Rast, Roberto Romanello, Jason Mercier, Phil Galfond, Chris Ferguson, and JC Tran.

A number of notable players managed to make in the money including John Beauprez (31st place – $37,776), Jason Gray (27th place – $37,776), and Max Silver (22nd place – $42,393).

Calderaro was sixth in chips after Day 1, second in chips after Day 2, and was among the top stacks on Day 3 too. Not long after play began on the final day, Calderaro climbed right on top after raking in a massive hand against chip leader Iraj Parvzizi to get over 30% of the chips in play with 14 players remaining.Calderaro went on to the final table as the chip leader.

 

Final Table Recap

Ben Tollerene was the first to fall and was followed by Dan Smith who took the seventh place.

The next casualty was Italian pro Dario Sammartino with Bryce Yockey relegated to the rail next at fifth place.

After Artem Babakhanyan got eliminated in fourth place, the tumultuous three-handed battle began and saw Esther Taylor battle valiantly with a much shorter stack than her two opponents, but ultimately, exited the event in third place. Calderaro began heads-up play as about a 2:1 underdog, but soon took the lead and ultimately the bracelet!

James Calderaro
James Calderaro

Final Table Results

1. James Calderaro – $1,289,074

2. Alexey Rybin – $796,706

3. Esther Taylor – $543,713

4. Artem Babakhanyan – $379,128

5. Bryce Yockey – $270,242

6. Dario Sammartino – $197,007

7. Dan Smith – $146,961

8. Ben Tollerene – $112,239

 

Event #68: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em

The $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em is now in the books and was a historic event as it crowned a new Triple Crown champion. Harrison Gimbel returned on Day 3 as the second shortest stack among t37 survivors and after 14 hours of grueling action came out on top.

Gimbel defeated Chance Kornuth in the heads-up battle to claim his first bracelet along with $645,922 but most importantly, the last missing piece of poker’s triple crown.

Satchit Kapur too scored his first cash this summer and that too a fantastic one. He finished 39th in Event 68 for $13,129. Nikita Luther continued to impress with another deep run and finished 71st for $8,173 while Amit Jain banked $4,496 from his 189th place finish in the event.

 

Final Day Recap

Entering the day at the bottom of the leaderboard, the eventual champion found aces early on to double through Konstaninos Nanos and doubled up yet again shortly thereafter, this time through Matt Salsberg.

Gimbel then leaped up the board with a massive pot against Jia Liu making a miracle straight to take the chip lead.

Many notables fell without making the final table including Ryan Laplante (32nd – $15,806), Daniel Negreanu (29th – $15,806), Kevin Saul (28th – $15,806), Nanos (15th – $29,878) and Salsberg (13th – $29,878).

Before the official final table could even be set, two players got eliminated in the same hand, courtesy John Griffin i.e. Florentino Coalla and James Gilbert. In just the second hand, Kris Homerding fell at eighth place.

The next two eliminations were of the only Brazilians at the table – Vinicius De Silva and Enio Bozzano in sixth place who was busted by Gimbel. The eventual champion then went on to eliminate the next player Christopher Farmer in fifth place.

John Griffin had the chip lead at one point but unfortunately was the next to go.

Ryan Van Sanford was the last player to be eliminated before the short heads-up battle between Gimber and Chance Kornuth began that lasted for only seven hands. Gimbel doubled up on the third hand of the battle to be equal in stacks and a few hands won the title.

Harrison Gimbel
Harrison Gimbel

Final Table Results

1. Harrison Gimbel – $645,922

2. Chance Kornuth – $399,132

3. Ryan Van Sanford – $285,148

4. John Griffin – $206,119

5. Christopher Farmer – $150,772

6. Enio Bozzano – $111,619

7. Vinicius De Silva – $83,644

8. Kris Homerding – $63,457

9. James Gilbert – $48,745

 

Event #69 $1,500 Razz

The $1,500 Razz event drew a total of 419 players creating a prize pool of $565,650. After a monster six-hour heads-up battle Jason Gola defeated David “ODB” Baker to win his first bracelet, walking away with $132,957 for his victory.

Gola was all-in for his tournament life for just one big blind at a point and from there he mounted his heroic comeback to eventually take down the title.

 

Final Day Recap

Ten players returned on Day 2 led by Baker and it didn’t take long for the first elimination of the day in Grzegorz Wyraz.

With the unofficial final table confirmed, Yordan Petrov (9th place), Jim Schaaf (8th place) and Gerard Rechnitzer (7th place) all departed in quick succession.

Phil Hellmuth was chasing his 15th WSOP gold bracelet but unfortunately got coolered in a hand against Baker and was eliminated at sixth place.

Three-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser was looking for his fourth piece of gold too but sadly fell short in fifth place followed by Wendy Freedma.

Brad Ruben left the table in third place to set up the heads-up match between Gola and Baker. Baker held the lead coming into the final faceoff and after an intense match claimed his second WSOP bracelet.

Jason Gola
Jason Gola

Final Table Results

1. Jason Gola – $132,957

2. David “ODB” Baker – $82,174

3. Brad Ruben – $55,958

4. Wendy Freedman – $38,847

5. Benny Glaser – $27,503

6. Phil Hellmuth – $19,865

7. Gerard Rechnitzer – $14,645

8. Jim Schaaf – $11,024

 

Event #70: $10,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship

The $10,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship event attracted a total of 718 entries and outlasting them all was Australia’s Heidi May, who locked up the title and her biggest career cash worth $135,098.

May defeated a worthy competitor in Deborah “Debs the Destroyer” Worley-Roberts, with both players having extremely vocal and supportive rails.

Some of the players that were unable to get anything going in this event included Kristen Bicknell, Jessica Dawley, Karina Jett, Loni Harwood, Fatima Moreira de Melo, Safiya Umerova, Jess Welman, Liv Boeree, Melissa Gillett, Annette Obrestad, Jackie Glazier, Jennifer Shahade, Ebony Kenney, Cindy Kerslake, Melanie Weisner, Celina Lin, Brittany Paige, Marsha Wolack, Linglin Zeng, Gaelle Baumann, Jamie Kerstetter, Ruth Hall, Molly Mossey, Natalia Breviglieri, Kelly Minkin, Sofia Lovgren, and Kitty Kuo.

Many notable ladies finished in the money in this event, including Allison Schultz (10th – $7,066), Wendy Weissman (20th – $3,710), Fatima Nanji (23rd – $3,710), Amanda Sizemore (24th – $3,710), Lexy Gavin (28th – $3,104), Amanda Baker (43rd – $2,647), Lynn Gilmartin (49th – $2,301), Vanessa Selbst (56th – $2,040), Kimberly Mcclymont (60th – $2,040), Julie Cornelius (77th – $1,703) and Mina Greco (99th – $1,545).

 

Final Table Action

The first casualty at the final table was Allison Schultz who busted in tenth and next to fall was Karen Hodge.

Meg Zampino took the eighth spot and the next one out was Tiffany Lee.

Alexis Sterner was the last elimination of the evening with the final five returning the next day to play down to a winner.

Katie Ansorge came into the day as the shortest stack and ended up falling first in fifth place with Julie Dang going out next.

De la Cerra`s exit in third place set up the heads-up battle which lasted for 43 hands. Deborah Worley-Roberts had little option but to move all-in every hand after May chipped away and eventually lost out on the title.

Heidi May
Heidi May

Final Table Results

1. Heidi May – $135,098

2. Deborah Worley-Roberts – $83,459

3. Jana de la Cerra – $57,930

4. Julie Dang – $40,843

5. Katherine Ansorge – $29,256

6. Alexis Sterner – $21,298

7. Tiffany Lee – $15,760

8. Meg Zampino – $11,858

9. Karen Hodge – $9,075

 

Event #72: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship

The $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship attracted a total of 88 runners and outlasting them all was Mike Wattel who claimed his second WSOP gold bracelet along with the $245,451 in prize money.

Wattel hit a flush on Seventh Street that left his opponent Chris Ferguson with less than one big bet. Ferguson was chasing his second bracelet and also needed a win to take over the top spot in the WSOP Player of the Year race but unfortunately finished one place short.

 

Final Table Recap

David Benyamine was the first elimination of followed by the short-stacked Shaun Deeb.

Bryce Yockey was the next to go and soon to join him was John Monnette.

Sean Mirrasouli busted in fourth place, courtesy the eventual champion and the next to hit the rail was the start of day chip leader Perry Friedman.

Heads up play lasted longer than the rest of the final day up to that point, but when all was said and done it was Mike Wattel who added another WSOP gold bracelet to his impressive resume.

Mike Wattel
Mike Wattel

Final Table Results

1. Mike Wattel – $245,451

2. Chris Ferguson – $151,700

3. Perry Friedman – $104,416

4. Sean Mirrasouli – $73,810

5. John Monnette – $53,621

6. Bryce Yockey – $40,066

7. Shaun Deeb – $30,817

8. David Benyamine – $24,419

 

Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em MAIN EVENT – World Championship

After a long, grueling summer featuring dozens of exciting events and millions of dollars in prize money awarded, the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event is under way at last.

Day 1A saw the biggest participation the event has seen since 2013 and attracted a total of 795 players. One of the top stacks at the end of the day was Indian player Rahul Byrraju who bagged 186,100 chips. Satchit Kapur too entered the first starting flight of and made day 2 with 99,000 in chips.

Rahul Byrraju
Rahul Byrraju

Day 1B attracted a total of 2,164 entrants making it the biggest Day 1B field in six years and with that the Main Event field size grew to 2,959.

Navkiran Singh bagged 66,700, Akshit Madan made day two bagging 47,400 while Two Indian female pros Nikita Luther and Muskan Sethi bagged 30,000 in chips each. Om Gahlot was the other Indian who made it through with 29,900 in chips.

Navkiran Singh
Navkiran Singh

Day 1C of the Main Event also got underway and many notable pros and join the action including Team PokerStars Pro Aditya Agarwal who will be chasing his fifth straight WSOP Main Event cash.

Keep following the latest updates from WSOP 2017 right here on PokerGuru!

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