2015 WSOP Day 25: Brian Hastings Wins 2nd Bracelet in 10 Days

Corrie Wunstel Wins First Bracelet in $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha

In another event that needed a day more than was planned for on the schedule, Kevin Saul and Corrie Wunstel returned for heads-up play in Event #36: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha on Saturday.

Wunstel came back to the table with a chip lead of 4,550,000 to Saul’s 2,785,000. In the hour and a half of play before the champion was crowned, Saul crept up until the chip lead was reversed, but then Wunstel doubled up when he called all in on the turn with a set to Saul’s straight. A lucky board-pairing king hit the river to give Wunstel a full house, and he surged back in the chip lead.

Wunstel held his lead from there until the end. The tournament was decided when Wunstel limped the button and the two players went to a flop of . They both checked and the hit the turn. Saul checked again and Wunstel bet, which led to Saul raising all in. When the two hands were tabled, both players held a straight but Wuntel held a queen and a ten compared to Saul’s ten and seven to create a better straight. The hit the river and Wunstel scooped up all the chips, earning his first WSOP gold bracelet and $266,874.

Jesse Sylvia Headlines International Final Table in $3K Hold’em

With 48 players returning for Day 3 of Event #38: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em, none had more chips than Canadian Jean-Pascal Savard. He led the field with 1,066,000 to begin the day and was the only Canadian remaining.

Originally scheduled to conclude on Saturday, they couldn’t quite get the job done, and five players will return for an extra day. Along the way, our sole Canadian lost his stack, cashing in 11th place for $30,833.

Jean-Pascal Savard opened to 100,000 from the button with the blinds at 20,000/40,000 with an ante of 5,000. Sotirios Koutoupas three-bet shoved from the big blind with a dominating stack and Savard snap-called for more than 700,000, turning over . Koutoupas revealed . The board ran out before an unfortunate hit the turn. The river was the and Savard was eliminated.

Saturday was also the end of the road for some well-known players like Chris Moorman (32nd — $13,796) and Ryan Riess (19th — $16,523).

When the final five return on Sunday, it will be an international final table with five countries represented. Leading the way is Brazil’s Thiago Nishijima with 4,510,000 chips, followed by American Jesse Sylvia with 4,080,000. Samad Razavi from the U.K. will return with 2,675,000, along with Yun Fan from Taiwan with 2,090,000. At the bottom of the counts is Greece’s Sotirios Koutoupas with 1,495,000.

Regardless who wins, it will be their first WSOP bracelet. Play resumes on Sunday at 1 p.m. Pacific time and will play until the $546,843 top prize is won.

Brian Hastings Wins 10-Game Bracelet 10 Days After Previous Bracelet

The collective Canadian gaze was on Mike Watson as he returned for the final day of Event #39: $1,500 Ten-Game Mix with just nine players remaining. Watson is possibly the best Canadian poker player who doesn’t have a WSOP bracelet, perhaps only competing with Sorel Mizzi for the title.

Saturday was not the day Watson would finally collect his gold. In a hand of no-limit hold’em, Watson three-bet shoved from the small blind to Todd Brunson’s under-the-gun open, and Brunson made the call. They were off to the races with Watson holding the slim edge with to Brunson’s . The flop of spelled impending doom, and the and on the turn and river sealed Watson’s fate. He was eliminated in sixth place for $16,846.

It all came down to a heads-up match between Brian Hastings and Rostislav Tsodikov, and all the chips went in preflop in a hand of limit hold’em after Tsodikov called all in to Hastings’ four-bet. Tsodikov held the better hand with to Hastings’ , but the board ran out in Hastings’ favour with hitting the felt, eliminating Tsodikov.

The victory marked Brian Hastings’ third bracelet and his second of the summer, coming just 10 days after his last bracelet, putting him in real contention for the WSOP Player of the Year race. His win earned him $133,403, topping up his career WSOP earnings to $1.27 million.

The Seniors Play Deep Into the Money on Day 2; 65 Players Remain

It was moving day in Event #40: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em with 566 players 50 years old or better returning to the tables for Day 2. With 423 players scheduled to collect a prize, the money bubble wasn’t too far off, and the eliminations were sure to come quick once it was reached.

As expected, the field was dramatically reduced on Day 2. Only 65 players remained to bag a stack for Day 3, which is on the schedule as the final day but will almost certainly not be enough time to play to a winner.

Just three Canadians will return on Sunday. Leon Chambers will be back with 461,000 chips, followed by Douglas Vollman with 379,000 and Salvador Villaluz with 289,000. Daniel Lamb was the top Canadian stack coming into the day, and he recorded the best finish so far, collecting $5,509 for 76th place. Another 21 Canadians collected a payout on Saturday.

The 65 remaining players will be back at 11 a.m. and we’ll be watching our Canadian contenders as they play deeper into the money.

Daniel Negreanu Eyes Final Table as Stephen Chidwick Leads $10K Stud Hi-Lo

Day 2 of Event #41: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship saw 64 players come back from the 111 field to play for the $292,158 first prize. The top 16 finishers would walk away with at least a min-cash of $18,426.

Three Canadians started the day with chips as Mike Leah had 70,000, Daniel Negreanu had 65,600, and Jonathan Duhamel had 51,500. It was not Duhamel’s day, though, as he fell short of the money.

Leah made a good run late into the day but was eliminated in 14th place for $21,181 when he was knocked out by end-of-day chip leader Stephen Chidwick. Chidwick went on a run late and finished the day as the overwhelming chip leader with 808,000.

Eleven players survived the day including Canada’s Daniel Negreanu who was able to run up his starting stack to 252,000, which gives him a top-five stack for the final day.

The following players finished in the money but were unable to survive the day:

The remaining 11 players will be back at the Rio on Sunday to play to a winner.

$1,500 Extended Play Kicks Off as New Event; April Facey Bags Top-10 Stack

A new addition to this year's schedule kicked off yesterday as the 12 p.m.-start Event #42: $1,500 Extended Play No-Limit Hold’em Day 1 began. There were 1,914 participants who took their seats at the Rio with a 7,500-chip starting stack in the tournament featuring 90-minute levels rather than the standard 60-minute levels. $2,583,900 was generated for the overall prizepool and the winner will walk away with a cool $478,102 and a coveted WSOP gold bracelet.

The seven-level day saw 543 players survive and, of those, April Facey was the top Canadian, bagging 74,725 which was good enough for a top-10 stack to finish the day. Thomas Taylor also had himself a good day on the felt, taking 35,825 with him into Sunday. Some high-profile Canadians also survived the day as Justin Oliver bagged 25,375, Samuel Chartier ended the day with 14,850, Mark Radoja 12,500, and Terrence Chan finished the day with 11,150.

Play resumes on Sunday as the remaining players will start the day at 250/500/50 and play another seven levels.

All 26 Canadian players who survived the day are listed below:

_{Details and photo courtesy of the WSOP Live Blog.}

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