The WSOP 2013

[Steve Swift]

Timing Steve, well done sir, No 1 brought home, flood gates open now.

[cambridgealex]

Someone convert these!

[Tal]

Genius. Literally just turned up at Rio and everyone's leaving.

Supreme performance by Barney by the sound it, tho.

Thank goodness there's a British bracelet winner.

[TightEnd]

Some images from facebook and twitter of Barny's win

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[TightEnd]

stocking up for the rail

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[TightEnd]

https://vine.co/v/ha171jUr06M

https://vine.co/v/ha1Z3tFeQrX

[TightEnd]

Click to see full-size image.

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[Tractor]

One for team Woodsey!

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[Tonji]

Nice 1 

[TightEnd]

It was a storybook ending for UK-based writer Barny Boatman in Event 49, a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament, early Sunday morning at the 44th Annual World Series of Poker.

Boatman has been coming to the WSOP for years, recording his first cash in 2000 and recording numerous cashes since -- 25 to be exact. Boatman had success, sure, but his results were not indicative of the years he had put in on the WSOP felt.

Sunday morning, though, his hard work paid off as he bested Brian O'Donoghue to win his first gold bracelet and $546,080. The victory came in his fourth final table appearance at the WSOP and moved him just shy of the $1 million mark in career earnings.

O'Donoghue, a two-time WSOP Circuit champion, was sent home with a $338,745 consolation prize.

This $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event drew 2,247 players, generating a prize pool of $3,033,450. The top 243 finishers in the large field each collected a payday of $2,730. Some of the notables who earned a payday were hockey player Philip Kessel (230th), Faraz Jaka (127th), two-time bracelet winner Michael Gathy (60th), Erica Schoenberg (38th), Jamie Kerstetter (32nd), and Kevin MacPhee (21st).

The then-three-time WSOP final tablist Boatman headlined the final table line-up, which included no prior gold bracelet winners. While none of the final nine had a bracelet, there were two players with Circuit Ring victories on their poker resume, Aditya Prasetyo and two-time Circuit winner O’Donoghue.

Here are the final table results from the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Event 49:

1st: Barny Boatman - $546,080
2nd: Brian O'Donoghue - $338,745
3rd: Van Tran - $239,339
4th: Tara Kripps - $172,087
5th: Aditya Prasetyo - $125,372
6th: Robin Ylitalo - $92,550
7th: Paul Dasilva - $69,192
8th: Noah Sandler - $52,387
9th: Roger Lussier - $40,162

[TightEnd]

Brandon Wong was so close to a bracelet this past April at the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific he could taste it. Wong outlasted a stacked field in a $2,200 Mixed event and found himself at the final table with the current WSOP Player of the Year points leader Daniel Negreanu and nine-time gold bracelet champion Phil Ivey.

Negreanu hit the rail, but Wong couldn't best Ivey, who sent him home in second place, just shy of his first gold bracelet.

Wong headed back to the states and came to the 44th Annual World Series of Poker more determined than ever. He got himself in position again, first working his way through the start-studded field of Event 50, a $2,500 10-Game Mix Six-Handed tournament, then outlasting player after player at the final table until he was heads-up with England's Sebastian Saffari.

Saffari didn't get the best of him, and Wong won the prestigious event, earning $220,061 and finally claiming the elusive gold bracelet. He is a 38-year-old poker professional from Fresno, Calif.

The 10-Game Mix Six-Handed tournament (Event 50) drew 372 entrants generating a prize pool of $846,300. Each of the top 42 in-the-money finishers received a pay day of at least $4,189. Gold bracelet winners Scott Fischman (38th), Freddy Deeb (31st), Gavin Smith (28th), Scotty Nguyen (21st), Konstantin Puchkob (18th), Robert Williamson III (17th) and Greg Raymer (11th) were among those to finish in the money.

Others to cash, but fall short of the final table include Dan O'Brien (36th), Marcel Luske (30th) and Shawn Buchanan (25th). The defending champion, Vanessa Selbst, was unable to repeat as victor, finishing short of the money.

The tournament was decided over a 10-game mix of No-Limit Hold'em, Razz, Limit Hold'em, Badugi, Stud, No-Limit 2-7 Draw, Omaha 8, Pot-Limit Omaha, 2-7 Triple Draw and Stud 8.

The lack of bracelet winners at the final table wasn't telling of the talent to comprise the late stages of play. Of the last six players, four boasted WSOP earnings of more than $300,000. Most notably, the $644,794 of Scott Abrams and the $493,361 of Wong. Christopher George became the 29th player to make multiple final table appearances at the 2013 WSOP, finishing fourth.

Here's a look at the final table results from the six-handed event:

1st: Brandon Wong - $220,061
2nd: Sebastian Saffari - $135,932
3rd: Philip Sternheimer - $87,397
4th: Christian George - $57,954
5th: Scott Abrams - $39,564
6th: Loren Klein - $27,792

Well done to Londoner Seb Saffari for his result here.....

[TightEnd]

When Greg Merson made his incredible run to a Main Event victory last year, Anthony Gregg was the best friend he could’ve asked for. The Maryland-based poker pro was at every rail, traveled with his friend to Europe, and helped keep Merson focused on poker, friendship, family, and the important things in life. He was a supportive friend while Merson had his moment in the spotlight.

Today, it is Anthony Gregg’s turn to shine though. The 26-year-old from Columbia, Maryland trumped one of the toughest fields of the year to win the $111,111 One Drop High Roller event, his first bracelet, and a massive payday of $4,830,619. The mild-mannered pro certainly kept his cool during this time of high stress for most any other player. In fact, he was so calm, cool, and collected during the late stages of play, he even registered the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event and multi-tabled.

He will have plenty of time to play the $25,000 event’s Day 2 today, as he plowed through the final four players in the span of just 90-minutes en route to the marquee victory. He defeated fellow East Coast poker pro Chris Klodnicki heads-up for the bracelet shortly before 2:30pm PT. When asked if he had anything to say about the win, he simply shrugged, suggesting, “What is there to say?”

In the case of Anthony Gregg, his actions today certainly speak louder than any words could.

The final four of this $111,111 One Drop High Roller Event rivaled the star power of any basketball tournament. From a field of 166 top pros, businessmen, poker enthusiasts, and philanthropists, the four players who returned for the fourth and final day of play were all familiar faces to poker fans.

Perhaps the most familiar face of all was that of Antonio Esfandiari, who was looking to make it back-to-back One Drop bracelet victories after winning a record $18 million in last year’s Big One for One Drop Event. As Esfandiari joked on Twitter the night before, he was hoping to make it “One more time”, but it was not to be. He exited on just the fifth hand of the day when Klodnicki spiked a dramatic ace on the river to best Esfandiari’s pocket pair and send him to the rail in fourth place.

It took just four more hands to see another reversal of fortune at the final table, as Anthony Gregg doubled through the start of day chip leader Bill Perkins, leaving Perkins short on chips. The lone amateur in the line-up got it all-in just four hands later, with Gregg’s playing card: Asplaying card: besting Perkins’ playing card: Acplaying card: to eliminate him in third place. The venture capitalist and film investor collected $1,965,163 for his efforts.

That left the two young East Coast poker pros heads-up for the bracelet and the $4.8 million payday. It is a career-high payday for both players. The top five finishers in this event also join Benny Chen on the list of players with seven-figure WSOP paydays this year.

Klodnicki finished as runner-up in this event at his second final table of the summer. The finish puts him in the top five of the WSOP Player of the Year race. It also marks the second time the Philadelphia-area poker pro has been heads-up in a WSOP bracelet event. He finished second to Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi in last year’s $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

Here are the final table results from the $111,111 One Drop High Rollers Event:

1st: Anthony Gregg - $4,830,619
2nd: Chris Klodnicki - $2,985,495
3rd: William Perkins - $1,965,163
4th: Antonio Esfandiari - $1,433,438
5th: Richard Fullerton - $1,066,491
6th: Martin Jacobson - $807,427
7th: Brandon Steven - $621,180
8th: Nick Schulman - $485,029