WSOP 2021: Brian Rast Wins Fifth Career Bracelet in $3K Six-Max for $474K
WSOP 2021: Brian Rast Wins Fifth Career Bracelet in $3K Six-Max for $474K

Brian Rast claimed a fifth WSOP bracelet as the modern poker legend bagged the win in the $3,000-entry Six-Max No Limit Hold’em Event #51. Rast won a top prize of $474,102 after ousting John Gallaher heads-up in a thrilling conclusion to a great final table in the Thunderdome at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Brian Rast Makes It Five

The final six players were reached when Matas Cimbolas bubbled the final table, winning $53,946 in the process. At that stage, Rast sat at the top of the leaderboard with 13.7 million chips, easily clear of his nearest challenger in Nick Yunis. It would be Uruguay’s Francisco Benitez who would bust the final table first, exiting in sixth for $73,107 when his AsQs was unable to hold against Rast’s [7d6d. After Benitez shoved when short, the board of Jh7c5h3hKs paid off Rast and made him even more powerful with four opponents between him and victory.

Next to go was Japanese Day 1 chip leader Jun Obara, who entered the play with the most chips but left in fifth place for $100,827. Yunis’ call for his chips with Jc9h on a flop of JsTd6s was correct as Obara showed only 7s5s and after missing flush and running straight outs on the Qh turn and Kd river, Obara was on the rail.

It was Yunis himself who busted in fourth place when his shove from under the gun with Ah5h met with defeat to Rast’s Ad4d, the board of Ts7c4h3h8c ending the chances of Yunis, sending him home with $141,478 and further boosting Rast’s stack.

Three became two when Rast, who now had seven times the chips of each of his opponents, busted Tuan Phan in third for $210,913. Rast raised all-in from the small blind with just 5c4d, Phan calling off just four big blinds from the big blind with QhJd and failing to hold across the board of Jh8d6c5h7c.

Heads-up was a one-way encounter, with the dominant Rast immediately ending the event, all-in with the dominating KsTd against John Gallaher’s QdTh, with a board of JsJc6hTs3d giving Gallaher the runner-up prize of $293,009 and Rast the victory and his fifth WSOP bracelet.

WSOP 2021 Event #51 $3,000 Six-Max Final Table Results:

  1. Brian Rast – $474,102
  2. John Gallaher – $293,009
  3. Tuan Phan – $210,913
  4. Nick Yunis – $141,478
  5. Jun Obara – $100,827
  6. Francisco Benitez – $73,107

Distenfeld Wins Shootout For First Gold Bracelet

Event #48 saw the gregarious and generous to a fault Gershon Distenfeld win his first-ever WSOP bracelet and pledge to give his entire $204,063 winnings to charity after an epic comeback heads-up win against Johan Schumacher saw a popular winner take gold.

Ten players took to the table who had each won two single-table ‘Shootout’ tables to reach that point, and the action was quality from the off. It was Craig Trost who busted first for $16,197 when just a short while after play began, his day slid away. With all ten players starting virtually level in chips, it took a massive cooler for such an early exit and Trost’s KhKd were shot down by Distenfeld’s AhAc as the eventual winner immediately put himself in a great position to take the title when the ten-high board played out.

Ap Garza busted in ninth place for $20,208 when his all-in with Ad2d was mis-timed, David Tran’s AhKd cruising to victory after all the chips went in pre-flop with two kings on the flop. Garza was followed from the felt by Thomas Boivin in eighth place for $25,473 when the Belgian was eliminated by countryman Schumacher. Boivin’s 8c8d was no good against Schumacher’s AdQh when the board saw a queen hit the turn on 6s6h2sQd7s.

In seventh place, it was the turn of two-time 2021 WSOP event winner Ari Engel to depart, with the Canadian cashing for $32,439 when his ThTd couldn’t overtake Distenfeld’s JdJc, a jack coming on the flop for good measure. When Sohale Khalili was gone in sixth for $41,728, pocket fours losing to Jonathan Betancur’s Js9s with two nines coming on the flop, there were just five in the hunt for gold.

Tran was busted in fifth place for $54,217 when his shove with Ac5d was looked up by Orson Young with KcQh. The board of KsQcTsTd4c sent Tran home after a sweat, but four became three when Young himself busted for $71,142 with As8s overtaken by Schumacher’s call pre-flop with QsJh, a queen on the flop doing the fatal damage.

Three-handed, an all-America heads-up was prevented by Schumacher’s KdKh which held through a nine-high board against Betancur’s shove with 5d5c. That gave Schumacher a 2:1 chip lead but that was all to change after an epic heads-up battle.

In a duel that had everything, it took a bad beat to end what was a mammoth three-hour encounter. Betancur called off his stack with the best hand by far, holding QdTc against Distenfeld’s Qc4s. But a board of QhQs7s4hKs saw drama on the turn lead to wild cheers after 4th and 5th street from Disteneld’s rail as the first bracelet in his career landed at the expense of another debut hopeful in the gallant Schumacher.

WSOP 2021 Event #48 $1,500 Shootout Final Table Results:

  1. Gershon Distenfeld – $204,063
  2. Johan Schumacher – $126,133
  3. Jonathan Betancur – $94,270
  4. Orson Young – $71,142
  5. David Tran – $54,217
  6. Sohale Khalili – $41,728
  7. Ari Engel – $32,439
  8. Thomas Boivin – $25,473
  9. Ap Garza – $20,208
  10. Craig Trost – $16,197

Bonyadi Scores Fourth Career WSOP Title

Event #49 concluded with another multiple bracelet winner left celebrating, as Farzad Bonyadi won $297,051 and the title of No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Championship winner, as he beat Johannes Becker, who earned $183,591 for finishing second, heads-up.

With Britain’s Benny Glaser coming into play as the chip leader and favorite, there was no fairytale ending to the tournament for him as he was eliminated in third place for $132,685. And there was another poker legend who ended up disappointed as Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu busted the event in eighth place for $32,162 as his WSOP bracelet drought goes on.

WSOP 2021 Event #49 $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Championship

  1. Farzad Bonyadi – $297,051
  2. Johannes Becker – $183,591
  3. Benny Glaser – $132,685
  4. Dustin Dirksen – $97,199
  5. Jake Schwartz – $72,185
  6. Julien Martini – $54,359
  7. Ben Diebold – $41,515
  8. Daniel Negreanu – $32,162

First WSOP Cash, First WSOP Bracelet For Wright

Event #50 provided the fourth WSOP bracelet winner of the day as Darrin Wright won the $600-entry NLHE/PLO mixed event in some style. It was a fairytale story worthy of the World Series, as Wright won the event in what was his first WSOP cash of any kind, proving that anyone can go from hopeful to hero by sitting down at the felt in Las Vegas.

At the final table, Wright led from there being six players left in the hunt for the bracelet, with Victor Paredes second in chips. That was how the tournament played out, with the two men clashing in a famous heads-up fight for the gold with big names such as Dan Zack (57th for $1,974), Mark Seif (31st for $3,717), and Justin Lapka (27th for $3,717) all busting earlier on the final day to whiff the business end of proceedings.

WSOP 2021 Event #50 $600 Mixed PLO / NLHE Final Table Results:

  1. Darrin Wright – $127,219
  2. Victor Paredes – $78,604
  3. Joshua Ray – $57,276
  4. Colten Yamagishi – $42,192
  5. Hanan Braun – $31,425
  6. Ryan Colton – $23,668
  7. John Gilchrist – $18,028
  8. Kyle Mclean – $13,889

Day 1a of the Seniors Championship took place on Day 28 of the 2021 World Series of Poker as one of the most fondly thought of events on the calendar returned after two years away. With 2,432 entries on the day, just 486 players survived to Day 2, with George Bronstein (585,000) the chip leader as chip bags were zipped shut for the night.

Behind Bronstein, a number of well-known faces flourished, with Tim Killday (433,000), three-time WSOP bracelet winner ‘Miami’ John Cernuto (355,500), David Slaughter (351,500) and Edward Zidd all making the top 10 and legends of the felt such as Jack McClelland (175,000), JJ Liu (170,000) and Eli Elezra (112,500 ) all still in their seats as the final river fell.

Big names who missed out on the next day’s play included two former WSOP Main Event winners in Robert Varkonyi and Tom MvEvoy, as well as Barry Greenstein, Rep Porter, Kathy Liebert, Ken Aldridge, Linda Johnson and Greg Raymer, as well as Barry and Allyn Shulman.

WSOP 2021 Event #52 $1,000 Seniors Championship Top 10 Chipcounts:

  1. George Bronstein – 585,000
  2. Tim Killday – 433,000
  3. John Thornton – 373,000
  4. John Cernuto – 355,500
  5. David Slaughter – 351,500
  6. Edward Zidd – 346,000
  7. Angela Jordison – 341,000
  8. Joseph Beasy – 334,000
  9. Antonin Teisseire – 331,000
  10. Giuseppe Iadisernia – 330,500

Finally, Event #53, the $25,000-entry Pot Limit Omaha High Roller tournament had, as you might expect, a stellar field in attendance, as 170 of the world’s best PLO players took to the felt on Day 1a.

Las Vegas resident Eric Kurtzman bagged the chip lead with 773,500 chips as just 107 players survived the day, with other star names such as Joseph Cheong (592,000), Yuval Bronshtein (580,000) and Shaun Deeb (566,500) all hot of Kurtzman’s heels. Other big PLO players such as Chance Kornuth(547,000), Dylan Weisman (506,500), Sam Soverel (491,000), Simon Lofberg (487,500) Scott Seiver (225,000) and Daniel Negreanu (213,000) were all well placed, while others didn’t have the same fortune.

Day 1 ended with some big names already on the rail, with Chris Brewer, Ryan Laplante, Felipe Ramos, Niklas Astedt, Sorel Mizzi, Joao Vieira, Ali Imsirovic, Jeff Gross and Randy Ohel all considering registration on Day 2, which will remain available until the opening deal.

WSOP 2021 Event #53 $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller Top 10 Chipcounts:

  1. Eric Kurtzman – 773,500
  2. Joseph Cheong – 592,000
  3. Yuval Bronshtein – 580,000
  4. Shaun Deeb – 566,500
  5. Chance Kornuth – 547,000
  6. Martin Dam – 530,500
  7. Dylan Weisman – 506,500
  8. Michael Batell – 500,000
  9. Sam Soverel – 491,000

With so many funny stories, amusing anecdotes and outrageous memes making their way around the World Series of Poker like a poker pandemic of their own, it would be easy to think it’s all about the jokes, but when poker player and brain cancer sufferer Michael Graydon tweeted that he was hoping to sell 70% of his WSOP Main Event package to play this year, ‘Poker Twitter’ was far from laughing at his plight.

In fact, it’s one of the most touching displays of poker player generosity that we’ve ever seen and if the replies to Graydon’s post don’t bring you to tears, we’ll be surprised. In one of the nicest collective gestures the game has ever seen, Graydon will be freerolling not just the Main Event this year, but his trip too, with some poker legends coming forward to help him out in his hour of need.

We’ll all be rooting for you, Michael.

Finally, far be it from us to presume that you wouldn’t want to shed some happy tears too. You’re used to a giggle at this point of our review and if Phil Hellmuth’s potential outfit for his legendary Main Event entrance doesn’t raise a smile, we’ll be surprised.
Well, he does believe he’s the ‘Greatest’…