July 12, 2019 (Las Vegas) - James Anderson is the winner of the $1,111 Little One for One Drop. He topped a field of 6,248 players to claim the World Series of Poker gold bracelet and $690,686.
This is his first WSOP bracelet and 15th cash. Anderson managed to close out the tournament making his first final table appearance and now has $830,970 in WSOP tournament winnings.
The 33-year-old lives in Pittsburgh, PA and the $600,000 score is the biggest of his career. Although he has three six-figure scores before this one, this is the first in the last six years. Anderson took a break from poker after grinding pretty hard for a while.
“I just started playing again a couple months ago so this one definitely feels good,” he said.
“I wanted to get away from the game for a little bit. I was grinding really hard and wanted to take a little break from it. I feel good now. My mind is a lot fresher now, I have a different perspective, and hopefully it continues. It’s a good start.”
Anderson has spent the past six weeks at the WSOP and he says he’s ready to be home. It was a return to the grind of the past, but Anderson isn’t sure what he’s going to do next.
“I’m ready to get home and take a little break and we’ll see what goes from there,” he said.
A lot of the reason for the break seems tied to his mental well being and overall outlook. It might not be the only reason for his success in the Little One, but it seems to have played a role in his return to tournament poker.
That said, he knows it will be a long journey and that confidence is not easy to come by when it comes to tournament poker.
“It’s just good to come in with a fresh mind. You really lose perspective when you’re just playing tournaments all the time, everyday. You can lose confidence very easily. I can go and play the next tournament and lose and I’ll think I’m the worst player in the world even after I win this.”
“You just have to really keep that in mind, you’re going to gain and lose confidence everytime you play.”
The players returned today with five left after starting the final table Thursday evening. Kenneth Golden was eliminated in tenth place, sending the final nine players to the final table. It was Shalom Elharar who busted Golden and took the chip lead into the final nine.
Bob Mather hit the rail shortly after the final table began when he lost a flip to Marco Guibert. Mather took home $61,238. This put Mather over the $100,000 mark for WSOP tournament winnings and this was his first final table appearance.
It didn’t take too long for Elharar to bust out Ying Fu in eighth place. Fu won $79,029 and added to his table-leading stack. Elharar extended his lead seven-handed.
Liran Betito sent Mark Strodl home in seventh place later in the evening. Both players flopped top pair, but Betito held the better kicker. This was Strodl’s third WSOP cash and all of them were from this summer. He cashed for less than $1,000 in two different events before final tabling the Little One Drop and earnings $102,757.
Betito took the chip lead with that elimination.
Fernando Karam won a flip to eliminated Nils Tolpingrud. Tolpingrud finished in sixth place and took home $134,608. Karam rode the momentum from this elimination and took the chip lead about 12 hands later.
It was James Anderson who now held the short stack and Karam would bag a pretty hefty chip lead of almost 40-million.
The final five players returned at noon and there were several all ins within the first few hands. No one was eliminated during that flurry, and Karam managed to hold onto his lead.
Anderson doubled and then overtook the chip lead. Once Guibert eliminated Elharar, Anderson had a two-to-one chip lead with four remaining. Karam was the shorty.
Betito fell at the hands of Anderson and Karam managed to ladder up. Betito got it in with the best hand from the big blind after Anderson shoved from the small. However, Anderson turned the best hand and eliminated Betito, leaving him with a $236,151 consolation prize -- fourth place money.
Guibert made the move from shortest stack earlier in the day, to chip leader after Anderson shoved ace-high from the small blind into Guibert’s big blind. He had kings.
Guibert managed to find his way out in third place after Karam reclaimed the chip lead and crossed the 100-million chip mark.
Anderson quickly doubled to gain control heads up. He then picked up kings and gained some more ground. He now held an almost three-to-one chip lead. However, his lead was short lived and the two players passed the lead back and forth.
Anderson was at risk and rivered a flush to retake the lead and the heads up match continued.
Anderson took a huge lead and Karam held on for as long as he could, but eventually, he would fall in second place. Claiming his first WSOP cash ever for $426,543.
Anderson closed out the tournament and won his first bracelet along with $690,686.
Final table payouts: (Click here for the complete results)
1) James Anderson ($690,686)
2) Fernando Karam ($426,543)
3) Marco Guibert ($316,233)
4) Liran Betito ($236,151)
5) Shalom Elharar ($177,639)
6) Nils Tolpingrud ($134,608)
7) Mark Strodl ($102,757)
8) Ying Fu ($79,029)
9) Bob Mather ($61,238)