WSOP 2021: Poker World Celebrates Koray Aldemir’s Main Event Title, Two More WSOP Bracelets Won
WSOP 2021: Poker World Celebrates Koray Aldemir’s Main Event Title, Two More WSOP Bracelets Won

Koray Aldemir, the 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event world champion, sits on top of the poker world this morning after the result of his career saw him win the $8 million top prize in the Las Vegas spectacular earlier today.

Aldemir’s The New Main Event Champ

Since the moment Aldemir beat George Holmes in a stunning hand that you can read all about here, the poker world has reacted with overwhelming positivity to one of the most liked and well-respected poker peers in the game.

The final three kicked off with Aldemir in a large amount of control, of course, but the focus wasn’t all on the players. Many observers felt that the final table chips being colored up so regularly denied everyone watching on TV the chance to see players push huge piles of the fun discs over the line. What’s the solution to the situation that has irked so many?

As yesterday’s final nine departed the Thunderdome, each one of them was naturally disappointed. A day on, each might have been reflecting on what winnings they have made rather than any imagine extra, and Chase Bianchi, who busted in ninth place for $1 million will have a fun callback to make to his landlord.

As happens every year, when it gets down to the equity of a poker hand being worth millions, the final three players do slow down. Hey, every decision they make is priceless. Scott Seiver, an advocate on speeding up play in virtually every other event, came to the trio’s defense.

Sam Greenwood had to tip Aldemir for glory before the final table began, but wanted to make it clart ere was no comeback if it all went wrong.

Erik Seidel also knows the winner of the Main, apparently for the first time in a long time.

Phil Hellmuth was on his way to making the final day of the $10,000 Razz Championship, but still had time for a Sit ‘N’ Go with Vince Vaugh and a few friends.

Finally, Patrick Leonard is on WhatsApp terms with the new world champion and somehow managed to avoid a side bet on the Main Event. That’s why they call ‘Pads’ the sharpest tool in any box.

When the event was concluded, Aldemir’s dramatic win lived long in the memory of viewers worldwide as the German won $8 million for taking down the title and busting George Holmes heads-up after Jack Oliver had departed in third.

WSOP 2021 Event #67 Main Event Final Table Results:

  1. Koray Aldemir – $8,000,000
  2. George Holmes – $4,300,000
  3. Jack Oliver – $3,000,000
  4. Joshua Remitio – $2,300,000
  5. Ozgur Secilmis – $1,800,000
  6. Hye Park – $1,400,000
  7. Alejandro Lococo – $1,225,000
  8. Jareth East – $1,100,000
  9. Chase Bianchi – $1,000,000

Himmelspach Takes $1,500 Freezeout

The next bracelet winner on a busy day at the Rio felt was Chad Himmelspach, who won the $1,500-entry Event #75 Freezeout tournament after a heads-up victory against German player Stefan Reiser.

It was when six players were left that Himmelspach started to make moves up the leaderboard, with a massive five-bet pre-flop leading to his eventual heads-up opponent Reiser open-folding pocket tens. When he eliminated Tarun Gulati in sixth place for $50,021 with his own ThTc holding against Gulati’s As9s, Himmelspach approached the top of the counts with 9.6 million chips.

With the bust-out of Ori Hasson in fifth place for $66,447, Kaue De Souza vaulted himself up the leaderboard, AcKs able to get there against the Israeli player’s 7d7d across the 4s3d2dKhJd board. The Brazilian, however, was the very next player to bust, dropping down the pecking order before a shove with Ad9s against overnight leader Renmui Liu’s Ac2h fell to a deuce on the river.

Liu himself was out in third place for $121, 580, the first six-figure score of the tournament, when his short-stack shove with QdJd was called by Himmelspach with 5c5d which held. That pot was a small one, but the eventual winner had built a healthy lead at the right time. With almost three times Reiser’s chips, Himmelspach saw the chip sway this way and that for over two hours until he was finally in a similar position of control.

Himmelspach called his opponent’s shove, holding 8c8d and looking pleased to see Reiser had been shoving light with 9d3h. The board of ThTc4sTsAd saw the event end in the American’s favor, winning him a debut bracelet and the top prize of over a quarter of a million dollars in stunning fashion.

WSOP 2021 Event #75 $1,500 Freezeout Final Table Results:

  1. Chad Himmelspach – $270,877
  2. Stefan Reiser – $167,418
  3. Renmei Liu – $121,580
  4. Kaue De Souza – $89,344
  5. Ori Hasson – $66,447
  6. Tarun Gulati – $50,021
  7. Nicholas Hubers – $38,121
  8. Seth Evans – $29,416
  9. Louison Vincent – $22,986

Joanello Scores First Bracelet In Fifty Stack

The third and final bracelet of the day to be won came in the Fifty Stack finale in a more secluded corner of the Rio, where Paulo Joanello of Brazil won his first-ever bracelet and $321,917 in the process.

The heads-up battle was, once again, an intriguing one as both Joanello and his opponent, Toby Price, were locked in battle for some time, before the former’s overpair survived the all-in on the flop by top pair holder Price. At a fast final table, perhaps the two biggest challengers in terms of know-how were Elio Fox and Scott Hall, but the pair bust in seventh and ninth place respectively.

In the end, it was the Brazilian rail who celebrated, and wildly so, as the Rio erupted with a sound worthy of its namesake’s carnival attendees thousands of miles south of the world-famous poker venue in which their latest celebrated son won gold.

WSOP 2021 Event #77 $1,500 Fifty Stack Final Table Results:

  1. Paulo Joanello – $321,917
  2. Toby Price – $198,970
  3. Martin Bicanik – $146,061
  4. Ron Moisescu – $108,349
  5. Roongsak Griffeth – $81,228
  6. Axel Hallay – $61,550
  7. Elio Fox – $47,145
  8. David Morel – $36,508
  9. Scott Hall – $28,585

Dzivielevski Leads $10K Razz Final Table

The final day of the $10,000 Razz Championship is sure to be a thrilling one, with Yuri Dzivielevski (1,126,000) the chip leader and both Erik Seidel (227,000) and Phil Hellmuth (133,000) in the mix, albeit short-stacked. With the Brazilian chip leader’s closest challengers being Yehuda Buchalte (874,000) and John Monnette (861,000) there is class everywhere among the final 13 players.

With Hellmuth firing for his 17th bracelet, an amount that would extend the Poker Brat’s current record amount of 16 wins, and Erik Seidel aiming to win his 10th bracelet, anything could happen on what is sure to be a tense and exciting final day.

WSOP 2021 Event #78 $10,000 Razz Championship Final Day Chipcounts:

  1. Yuri Dzivielevski – 1,126,000
  2. Yehuda Buchalte – 874,000
  3. John Monnette – 861,000
  4. Erik Sagstrom – 845,000
  5. Roland Israelashvili – 647,000
  6. Benny Glaser – 552,000
  7. Shirley Rosario – 398,000
  8. Brad Ruben – 316,000
  9. Carlos Villamarin – 299,000
  10. Everett Carlton – 231,000
  11. Erik Seidel – 227,000
  12. Phil Hellmuth – 133,000
  13. Matt Vengrin – 54,000

Bounty Hunters Invade Poker Hall of Fame

In the unique Event #79, the $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty event, just 71 players of the 469 who entered made the money places, with 63 staying through the end of the day. Top of the shop after Day 1 is Marc Rivera, with the Philippines player bagging up 721,000 chips by the end of the night.

Elsewhere in the top 10 chip counts, Jerry Wong was second in chips (700,000), while Christian Pham sneaked into 10th place with 402,000. Other star names such as Maria Lampropulos (383,000), Ole Schemion (333,000), and Joao Vieira (75,000) all made the next day’s play, with plenty of bounties and big names missing out, as WSOP Master of Ceremonies Vince Vaughn – costing a $10,000 bounty – as well as Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, Barbara Enright, Linda Johnson, Tom McEvoy, Jack McClelland, Phil Hellmuth, and Eli Elezra, the latest Hall of Famer from 2021, made their exits.

WSOP 2021 Event #79 $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty Top 10 Chipcounts:

  1. Marc Rivera – 721,000
  2. Jerry Wong – 700,000
  3. Payam Karami – 630,000
  4. Eder Murata – 560,000
  5. Laurent Polito – 486,000
  6. Phil Scaletta – 462,000
  7. Abhinav Iyer – 442,000
  8. Sonia Shashikhina – 425,000
  9. Michael Acevedo – 419,000
  10. Christian Pham – 402,000

Chino Rheem In Top 5 of $3K Six Max

Finally, Event #80 saw 10 hours of play conclude with just 122 players in seats and Ruslan Nazarenko in the lead with 616,500 chips. Closing in on the leader were Chino Rheem (500,000) and Maxx Coleman (496,000), with Uri Reichenstein (357,500) also making the top 10.

With others such as Anatolii Zyrin (280,500) and Ali Imsirovic (268,500) both making the cut, others missed out, with Craig Varnell, David Williams, Chance Kornuth, Shaun Deeb, and 2019 champion from the event Alan Sternberg all hitting the rail.

WSOP 2021 Event #80 $3,000 Six-Max PLO Top 10 Chipcounts:

  1. Ruslan Nazarenko – 616,500
  2. Chino Rheem – 500,000
  3. Maxx Coleman – 496,000
  4. Steven Forman – 460,000
  5. Michael Moncek – 445,500
  6. James Mordue – 419,000
  7. Joseph Haug – 358,500
  8. Uri Reichenstein – 357,500
  9. Michael Hudson – 334,500
  10. Robert Emmerson – 316,500

And finally, as the World Series of Poker winds to a close over the next few days, players will be returning to countries all over the world to explain to friends, family, and complete strangers what it is they did all October and November. Good luck, all.