The action rolls on at the World Series of Poker and some non-US based players continue to score well. A few players have notched bracelet wins over the last couple weeks including two players from Israel facing off heads-up for a title.
The last week has also seen a Lithuanian win a bracelet in a live WSOP event for the first time. Michael Addamo also continues to impress with another massive win as well. Here’s a look at some of the recent action in Las Vegas.
Czech player scores first bracelet
The Czech Republic’s Dalibor Dula scored a nice win in Event 26: $1,000 Freezeout No Limit Hold’em. He topped a field of 1,358 entries for his first bracelet and $199,227. This marked Dula’s first trip to the WSOP and certainly came with some nice results.
“It hasn’t set in for me yet,” he told WSOP.com afterward. “I think in a week or so I will feel happy, right now I just feel shocked.”
The tournament attracted a $1.2 million prize pool with Cole Ferraro finishing second for $123,142. Dula now plans to play the rest of the WSOP as well as the WSOP Europe back in his home country in November.
Israelis finish 1st, 2nd; Lithuanian takes down Deepstack
The big finishes by Israeli players continued with two finishing in the top two spots in Event 33: $800 Eight-Handed NLHE Deepstack. Ran Koller took this title for his first bracelet and $269,478.
Another player from the country, Ran Ilani, took the runner-up position for $166,552. It’s believed to be the first time two players from Israel have played heads-up for a WSOP bracelet.
Some other players also fared well in this event with France’s Florian Guimond taking third for $124,671. Russian Oleg Titov finished fourth for $94,028 and Canada’s Kris Steinbach took fifth for $71,457.
In Event 37: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty, Lithuania’s Karolis Sereika won his first bracelet for $195,310. The win came in a fast-moving tournament that brought in 1,441 entries for a prize pool of $1.2 million.
He becomes the first Lithuanian player to win a bracelet in a live event. Sereika was active at the final table, knocking all but one player on his way to the title.
Addamo does it again
Michael Addamo (pictured in lead image) may be one of the hottest players on the high roller scene. After winning the Super High Roller Bowl in September for $5.4 million, he now adds another major score to his poker record.
The Australian won Event 38: $50,000 High Roller for another $1.1 million and his third bracelet. Being considered one of the best in the game keeps him motivated to continue working on his skills.
“It does put some pressure, because if you internalize and believe that, you can become complacent, and sometimes that might make you study less,” Addamo told PokerGO about being regarded by peers as one of the best players right now. “I just try and keep humble and try not to let it get to my head and just keep working and studying hard.”
Justin Bonomo finished in second for $700,228, just short of adding a fourth bracelet. The event brought in 81 entries for a $3.9 million prize pool.
Other players securing nice finishes
Beyond these winners, a few other players have made impressive finishes. In Event 25: $5,000 Six-Handed NLHE, Taiwan’s Tingyi Tsai took fourth for $161,756 in an event that featured 604 entries for a $2.7 million prize pool.
In Event 30: $1,500 Monster Stack, several players found big finishes for some nice prize money. Brazil’s Rafael Reis finished third for $288,101 with Sweden’s Christopher Andler taking fourth for $221,289.
Israel’s Mordechai Hazan took sixth for $132,812 and Belgian Johan Schumacher took eighth for $81,573.
In Event 29: $10,000 Short Deck Israel’s Moshe Gabay took fourth for $58,601. Portugal’s Joao Vieira finished one spot behind him for $42,885.
* Lead image courtesy PokerGO