The curiously nicknamed Dario ‘Ryu’ Alioto of Italy yesterday became the latest player to win a WSOPE bracelet, but the first to taste Omaha gold. Following on from Thomas Bihl’s triumph in the Horse event the day prior, Alioto headed into day two second in chips, just behind chip leader John Persson but in the company of fearsome players such as Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott, Andy Bloch, Roland de Wolfe and Ted Forrest.
Unlike the Series’ opening event, the £5,000 Omaha freezeout was a two-day event, and so it was of no surprise to see it take until 5am in the morning to find a winner.
Although Tony G made the final table and was being touted as a potential winner, he would be forced to settle for a third place finish and £94,380 in prize money when his Qc-9d-8h-3s all-in on a Qh-7h-4d Flop was outdrawn by Alioto’s monster draw (Kh-7c-6s-5h) which made a straight on the River.
That left just Istvan Novak, but with a mammoth 7 to 1 chip deficit, it was always going to be an uphill struggle and one that Novak failed to climb when he pushed all-in with Ac-Qc-3c-9d. Alioto held Ad-Ks-7c-5c which, by the time the Tc-7d-6s-5s board had been dealt, was enough to cement victory, the academic Ace on the river making no difference to the outcome.
Donning his name on the back of his hoody so he were impossible to forget, Dario possesses a relatively strong record, finalling in Season 2’s Barcelona EPT and a recent Omaha Hi-Lo event at the World Series.
What his victory did denote was the second European triumph amid a sea of high quality North American players. Allen Cunningham, Johnny Chan, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, John Juanda and co were all present, but no one was able to topple Alioto who led the home continent to victory and a £234,390 payday.
With the WSOPE Main Event now in full flow, there will be a few people wondering if Europe can make it a hat-trick come next week. It’s going to be tough, but judging by current performances, there’s no reason why we can’t beat the Americans at a game, and a Series for that matter, that they have dominated for countless years.
image courtesy of devilfishpoker.com