WSOP 2021: Lara Eisenberg Wins Ladies Championship
WSOP 2021: Lara Eisenberg Wins Ladies Championship

Two new WSOP bracelet winners were crowned as Lara Eisenberg won the Ladies Championship and Dalibor Dula won a $1,000 Freezeout event, with more gold grabbed by first-timers in both cases.

Eisenberg Stages Epic Comeback to Triumph

Lara Eisenberg won the Ladies Event final table as she triumphed as an against-the-odds short stack to defeat Debora Brooke heads-up for the title. The final day began with just five players remaining, but JJ Liu left the action early. Liu moved all-in on the turn of a board showing 8s6d5hJc with QhJs but was called by Brooke with KhJd and the Th river couldn’t save her, leaving Liu to collect her $26,458 prize.

Diane Cooley busted in fourth place for $36,269 after her shove on the turn ended in failure to double. The board was Ah5s4s6s when Cooley pushed all-in with QsQh, but Lara Eisenberg had turned the flush with 9s8s and after the 4c river, held the chip lead.

In the commentary booth, WSOP legend Lon McEachern shared the mike with Jamie Kerstetter and Hollywood actress Jennifer Tilly, who also knows a thing or two about winning at poker.

Next to go was the overnight chip leader Mikiyo Aoki, who had doubled up Eisenberg when her ace-queen was shot down by the eventual winner’s ace-king. Aoki was on the rial in third place for $50,525 when her shove with Qs8c was called by Eisenberg with KdQd and the board played out Td6h5cJhTh.

Heads-up, Eisenberg had almost double her opponent’s chips, and gradually increased her lead until Brooke had just 1.8 million to the leader’s 11.1 million. At that point, Eisenberg shoved on a board of KcJd2s7dTc with Brooke calling and showing down Ks8d. Eisenberg had KhQd, however, and that kicker played to leave Brooke with the runner-up prize of $71,507 and Eisenberg holding the bracelet and winning the top prize of $115,694.

WSOP 2021 Event #22 Ladies Championship Final Table Results:

  1. Lara Eisenberg – $115,694
  2. Debora Brooke – $71,507
  3. Mikiyo Aoki – $50,525
  4. Diana Cooley – $36,269
  5. JJ Liu- $26,458
  6. Qing Lu – $19,619
  7. Marle Cordeiro – $14,791
  8. Cherish Andrews – $11,341
  9. Tiffany Lee – $8,847
  10. Thi Nguyen – $7,023

Dalibor Dula Wins Against All-American Opponents

Just one player wasn’t American who reached the final table of Event #26, the $1,000-entry freezeout, but that player – Dalibor Dula from the Czech Republic – won the bracelet and $199,227.

With only nine players making the final table, Maurice Hawkins and Levi Klump were both eliminated in the same hand as Hawkins shoved for less than a big blind with JhJd, Maxx Coleman re-shoved with KdJs and Levi Klump called off his stack with AsQh.

The flop of Ks8c5h immediately put Coleman into the lead and it stayed that way through the 7h turn and 5s river, seeing Hawkins win $17,270 and Klump claim $22,080 for making it one rung higher up the ladder.

Just a couple of minutes later, Nicolo Audannio was on the rail in seventh place for $28,565. Audannio moved all-in pre-flop for eight big blinds with Ad8c and was called by the initial raiser in the hand, Cole Ferraro with JcJd. The board of Kd6c5h4s9d provided no salvation for Audannio and he left as play went six-handed.

Anthony Askey was busted in sixth place for $37,393 when his QsQc were up against Edward Welch’s KhJh and saw a flop of two kings and a jack decimate his stack. In the next hand, Askey’s few remaining chips went in with KcTc and lost to Cole Ferraro’s Qh4h.

It was high roller Maxx Coleman who busted in fifth place for $49,519 when his KhTh was shot down by Ferraro’s QcJc on a board of 7s7c2c6c5d which gave the latter a flush on the turn, while Guowei Zhang busted in fourth for $66,335 when he lost tow coinflips in a row to depart, with Dula winning the first and most valuable one wit AsKs hitting against Zhang’s QhQs.

Three-handed play saw Welch eliminated with his Ad2d dominated and defeated by Ferraro’s AcTs, with the board of KsJc2cThTc cruelly offering Welch hope on the flop then denying him on 4th and 5th streets.

Both men held the lead during a rollercoaster heads-up battle, but eventually, Dula led and Ferraro and he were both under 20 big blinds. When Dula moved all-in with Kd3d, Ferraro called it off with just Jc8c, but couldn’t get lucky on the As6s4dQcQc board.

WSOP 2021 Event #26 $1,000 NLHE Freezeout Final Table Results:

  1. Dalibor Dula – $199,227
  2. Cole Ferraro – $123,142
  3. Edward Welch – $89,875
  4. Guowei Zhang – $66,335
  5. Maxx Coleman – $49,519
  6. Anthony Askey – $37,393
  7. Nicolo Audannio – $28,565
  8. Levi Klump – $22,080
  9. Maurice Hawkins – $17,270

Jaffe, Racener, Hall Make $5K Six-Max Final Table

The final table of the $5,000-entry Six-Handed Event #25 has been reached and after a day of drama, it was Eric Tsai (8,040,000) who grabbed the chip lead by the close of play. Tsai finished just a short distance ahead of Scott Ball, who bagged up 7,820,000, with Jonathan Jaffe coming into the final third in chips with 6,170,000. Bin Weng (3,980,000), Galen Hall (2,245,000), and John Racener are all a little shorter-stacked, but all have a wealth of experience to draw on as the final six race to a winner on Friday.

Elsewhere in the event, players such as Yuri Dzivielevski (30th for $17,995), Frank Kassela (25th for $17,995), Daniel Negreanu (22nd for $21,838) and Nick Petrangelo (13th for $27,150) all made the money but not the business end of the event.

WSOP 2021 Event #25 $5,000 Six-Handed NLHE Final Table Chipcounts:

  1. Eric Tsai – 8,040,000
  2. Scott Ball – 7,820,000
  3. Jonathan Jaffe – 6,170,000
  4. Bin Weng – 3,980,000
  5. Galen Hall – 2,245,000
  6. John Racener – 1,950,000

Anthony Zinno Leads $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.

On Day 2 of the $1,500-entry H.O.R.S.E. Event #27, Anthony Zinno performed at a high level to dominate the day at the felt. Zinno built a massive chip lead with 18 players remaining, with 2,565,000 chips putting him in a commanding lead at the end of the day’s play. At one point, Zinno had twice his nearest challenger’s chips, but Kao Saechao caught up a little to end the day second in chips on 1,495,000, while others to make the top half of the chip counts included Randy Ohel (1,040,000) and Max Pescatori (850,000).

With players such as former WSOP Main Event winner Joe McKeehen (835,000) and Ari Engel (300,000) both on Pescatori’s table on Day 3, the action will be intense as players battle towards the top prize of $160,636.

With the bubble bursting on Day 2, some players weren’t lucky enough to make any profit or claim vital WSOP Player of the Year points, with Phil Hellmuth, Chino Rheem and Barry Greenstein all finishing outside the money. Others, such as Shaun Deeb, Brian Hastings, Jason Somerville, and Allen Kessler all made the money places but failed to reach the final day.

WSOP 2021 Event #27 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Top 10 Chipcounts:

  1. Anthony Zinno – 2,565,000
  2. Kao Saechao – 1,495,000
  3. Curtis Phelps – 1,355,000
  4. Darren Kennedy – 1,330,000
  5. Paul Holder – 1,160,000
  6. Randy Ohel – 1,040,000
  7. Michael Rosenberg – 930,000
  8. Christopher Adams – 920,000
  9. Max Pescatori – 850,000
  10. Joe McKeehen – 835,000

$1K PLO Gets Underway

Two more events took place at the Rio on Day 15, with Event #28, the $1,000 PLO 8-Handed tournament seeing 14 hours of gameplay across a mammoth Day 1. With 1,069 total entries, just 59 players ended the night with chips after over 94% of the field fell by the wayside.

Ryan Gibson grabbed the chip lead and will go into the second and final day with high hopes of winning the bracelet, piling up 1,940,000 chips as the leader. Alex Yen is Gibson’s closest challenger on 1,314,000 chips, with Jonathan Therme (1,033,000) third in chips.

With such a fast-paced day, a lot of players busted before the 161st place player began to earn money. Luminaries such as Daniel Negreanu, Tom McEvoy, Ryan Laplante, Dylan Linde and Sam Razavi all cashed, but missed out on the second day.

WSOP 2021 Event #28 $1,000 PLO 8-Handed Top 10 Chipcounts:

  1. Ryan Gibson – 1,940,000
  2. Alexander Yen – 1,314,000
  3. Jonathan Therme – 1,033,000
  4. Dylan Weisman – 937,000
  5. Michael Perrone – 750,000
  6. Casey Carroll – 680,000
  7. Craig Chait – 664,000
  8. Tegnear Butler – 553,000
  9. Gabe Ramos – 550,000
  10. Youness Barakat – 539,000

Kornuth, Koon Make $10K Short Deck Day 2

Ye Shen bagged the chip lead with 361,400 chips after eight levels of play on the first day of Event #29, with players such as Dan Shak (320,500), Chance Kornuth (262,000), and Jason Koon (235,400) all making the top 10 chip counts on a busy Day 1 in Event #29.

With 59 entries being reduced to just 19 players, there are five former WSOP bracelet winners in the hunt for another, with Joao Vieira (199,100), Dan Zack (125,800), Stephen Chidwick (119,500) Daniel Negreanu (95,000), and Ben Yu (73,000) all hoping to go for gold again.

WSOP 2021 Event #29 $10,000 Short Deck Top 10 Chipcounts:

  1. Ye Shen – 361,400
  2. Young Ko – 340,000
  3. Chad Campbell – 326,300
  4. Dan Shak – 320,500
  5. Chance Kornuth – 262,000
  6. Moshe Gabay – 251,100
  7. Jason Koon – 235,400
  8. Thomas Kysar – 231,000
  9. Joao Vieira – 199,100
  10. Daniel Zack – 125,800

Finally, players of all levels meet and greet at the 2021 World Series of Poker and to prove it, Kid Poker himself, Daniel Negreanu, showed what happens when you meet someone with a common interest.