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Saturday, June 20, 2015 8:27 PM Local Time
EVENT #36: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha
ENTRIES: 978
PRIZE POOL: $1,320,300
FIRST PLACE PRIZE: $267,435
PLACES PAID: 117
CORRIE WUNSTEL GOES MARCHING IN
Baton Rouge Circuit Grinder Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in Pot-Limit Omaha, Collects $267,435
Tournament Extends into Fourth Day, as Wunstel Defeats Kevin Saul Heads-Up
MEET THE LATEST WSOP GOLD BRACELET CHAMPION
Name: Corrie Wunstel
Current Residence: Baton Rouge, LA
Number of WSOP Cashes: 6
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances: 1
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories: 1
Best Previous WSOP Finish: 20th (2015 $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em)
Total WSOP Earnings: $393,595
Personal Fact: Wunstel has 23 WSOP Circuit cashes including a WSOP Circuit gold ring, won back in 2010.
[Note: All statistics above include the results of this tournament]
Corrie Wunstel defeated a field
of 978 players to win the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament
(Event #36) at the 2015 World Series of Poker. He earned first-place
prize money of $267,435 and the first gold bracelet of his career as a
longtime poker grinder.
Wunstel
survived a wild final table that had numerous ups and downs. During
five-handed play, the tournament hit a lull where the shortest stacks
continued to double-up time after time. Five-handed play was grueling
for all of the players and lasted nearly three hours long. Eventually
Matthew Colvin bowed out in fifth place when he flopped a pair of kings,
but ran into Saul's pocket aces in the hole. The pace of the
tournament then picked back up with Peter Levine (finishing 4th) and Jim
Karambinis (finishing 3rd) following Colvin out the door just a short
time later. The heads-up match was then suspended, and was forced into
an unscheduled fourth day of action, which was won by Wunstel, who
started the final session with nearly a 2 to 1 chip advantage, although
he lost his lead at one point and was forced to make a major comeback.
Indeed,
Saul won a series of key hands which hurt Wunstel, and flip flopped the
chip lead. Wunstel seemed to be getting just strong enough cards to be
forced into making calls, which were marginally below the strength of
Saul’s cards. However, the turning point of the match came when Saul
had Wunstel all in and covered with a made straight, only to see Wunstel
hit a full house on the river and the board paired. That swung the
tournament back in Wunstel’s favor and he won the victory a short time
later.
Afterwards, Wunstel shied away
from interviews and didn’t have much to say on his own behalf. He did
wish to say the following: “I became a Christian a few months ago.
This victory is all for him and his glory. I had nothing to do with
it. This victory really means nothing to me without him and his
blessing.”
The final table
did not feature any gold bracelet winners, but did have three WSOP
Circuit gold ring winners in Wunstel (1 win), Saul (1 win), and Colvin
(2 wins). It was the largest WSOP related financial score for every
final table participant, except for Kevin Allen and Kevin Saul.
Pot-Limit
Omaha has become a game of preference all over the world as a popular
alternative to No-Limit Hold’em, and it continues to grow here at the
World Series of Poker. Just last week, the $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event
broke the record for the largest live non-hold'em event ever. The
tournament, which was won by Aaron Wallace, drew a staggering 1,293
entries. There are three Pot-Limit Omaha events remaining on the 2015
schedule -- including the $3,000 PLO 6-handed event, the $10,000 PLO
Championship, and the highly anticipated $25,000 High Roller PLO event.
Following Wunstel’s finish in the top spot, the descending order of results was as follows:
Second Place:
Kevin Saul now has 19 WSOP cashes with his 2nd-place finish. He
collected $165,147. Saul won a WSOP Circuit gold ring at Foxwoods a few
years ago. His first WSOP cash was back in 2007.
Third Place: Jim Karambinis,
from Chicago, Illinois. This marks his second cash of the series and
third overall. Karambinis recorded his first career cash in 2013, which
was also a Pot-Limit Omaha event. He earns the third place money of
$103,537 for his third place finish.
Fourth Place: Peter Levine, a
marketing executive from Woodland Hills, California finished in fourth
place. This marks Levine's eighth WSOP cash and is his first final
table. This is Levine's first cash in Pot-Limit Omaha, but he has
recorded five cashes in Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better with the other two
cashes coming in No-Limit Hold'em.
Fifth Place: Matthew Colvin,
from Dallas, Texas finished inf fifth place. He is a two-time WSOP
Circuit gold ring winner. This marks Colvin's 27th related WSOP cash, 25
which have come on the Circuit. This cash of $55,479 is his largest and
pushes his total WSOP tournament earnings into six figures.
Sixth Place: Markus Cara
finished in sixth place. Kara is a financial analyst from Toronto,
Canada. This is the 27-year-olds second career cash, both coming this
year.
Seventh Place: Bryce Fox, a
41-year-old from Pittsburgh, PA cashed for the first time at the WSOP.
He has one Circuit cash to his name, which also happens to be seventh
place finish. Fox is a professional poker who previously worked as a
personal trainer.
Eighth Place: Kevin Allen,
from Romford, England, cashed in 8th place. This is the seventh time
Allen has cashed as the WSOP, all which have come the past three years.
He finished 222nd in the 2013 Main Event for just over $40,000.
Ninth Place:
Ke Chao Ni, not only does this mark Ni's first ever WSOP final table,
but it is also his first WSOP cash. Ni was born in China and now resides
here in the United States.
OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS:
Aside
from the final table finishers, other notable players who cashed
included – Jonathan Little (25th place), Max Pescatori (45th), Noah
Schwartz (54th), Thor Hansen and Tom Schneider (57th).
EVENT DIRECT LINKS:
For this event’s results, visit:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/results.asp?grid=1136&tid=14236
For Corrie Wunstel's official player profile page, visit:
http://www.wsop.com/players/playerprofile.asp?playerID=23119
For the Live Reporting Log for this event, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/updates.asp?grid=1136&tid=14236
For photos from this event, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/photos.asp?grid=1136&tid=14236
For the live stream archive of this event, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/videos/
(Note: Will appear 48 hours after event concludes)
Saturday, June 20, 2015 3:46 PM Local Time
Corrie Wunstel wins the $1,500 PLO Bracelet
Corrie Wunstel limps from the button, and Kevin Saul checks his option.
The flop is , and both players check. The falls on the turn, and Saul checks again. Wunstel bets 265,000, and Saul check-raises all in. Wunstel quickly calls. "Do you have Queen-Ten?" Saul asks. Wunstel nods as he tables for a queen-high straight. Saul turns over for a jack-high straight.
The river is the , and Wunstel wins the pot and the tournament.
Kevin Saul is eliminated in 2nd place, earning $165,147.
Corrie Wunstel is the latest WSOP champion, and winner of the Event #36: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha bracelet. He earns $266,874 for his first WSOP victory.
Saturday, June 20, 2015 3:39 PM Local Time
No raises preflop and the two players see the dealer fan . Both players check and on the turn card Kevin Saul bets 175,000 and Corrie Wunstel calls.
The river is the and Saul bets 275,000. Wunstel calls and Saul says, "Deuce."
Wunstel turns over and Saul's stack shrinks to a critical stage.
Saturday, June 20, 2015 3:23 PM Local Time
Level:32Blinds:80,000/160,000Saturday, June 20, 2015 3:20 PM Local Time
Kevin Saul raises to 360,000 on the button, and Corrie Wunstel calls from the big blind.
The flop is , and Wunstel leads for a pot-sized bet of 720,000. Saul raises all in for 975,000, and Wunstel calls.
Saul:
Wunstel:
The turn is the , and river is the . Saul doubles up with his pair of tens.
Kevin Saul - 2,670,000
Corrie Wunstel - 4,665,000
Saturday, June 20, 2015 3:11 PM Local Time
Kevin Saul opens on the button for 250,000 and Corrie Wunstel calls. The flop is . Wunstel checks, Saul bets 350,000 and Wunstel check-raises to 1,100,000.
Saul thinks about it for some time before calling. The turn is the Wunstel moves all in. Saul quickly calls.
Saul has for a straight and Wunstel tables .
The river is the pairing the board and giving Wunstel a full house, the double up and the chip lead.
Corrie Wunstel - 5,500,000
Kevin Saul - 1,800,000
Saturday, June 20, 2015 2:58 PM Local Time
Corrie Wunstel limps from the button, and Kevin Saul checks his option. The flop is , and both players check. They check again on the turn, and the river is the . Saul bets 180,000, and Wunstel quickly calls.
Saul shows for queens and tens, and Wunstel mucks his hand.
Kevin Saul - 4,850,000
Corrie Wunstel - 2,485,000
Saturday, June 20, 2015 2:51 PM Local Time
Both players are continuing to limp preflop as has been their consistent
strategy since getting heads up. Kevin Saul seems to have been getting the better of it so far today as his bets on the flop have meet little resistance as Corrie Wunstel lays it down and Saul accumulates a number of small pots.
Kevin Saul - 4,435,000
Corrie Wunstel - 2,900,000
Saturday, June 20, 2015 2:31 PM Local Time
Corrie Wunstel limps from the button, and Kevin Saul checks his option. The flop comes , and both players check. The falls on the turn, and Kevin Saul leads out for 150,000.
The river is the , and Saul bets again, this time for 420,000. Wunstel calls, and Saul turns over for nut straight. Wunstel shows only two cards, the and the for a lower straight.
Kevin Saul - 4,000,000
Corrie Wunstel - 3,335,000
Saturday, June 20, 2015 2:26 PM Local Time
Kevin Saul limps the button and Corrie Wunstel checks.
The flop is and Wunstel check-calls a 140,000 bet. The turn is the and this time a bet of 300,000 from Saul is called by Wunstel. The river is the and both players check.
Wunstel shows but is behind to the flopped set of Saul
Kevin Saul - 3,345,000
Corrie Wunstel - 3,999,000
Saturday, June 20, 2015 2:17 PM Local Time
After a short delay, cards are in the air and the final day is officially underway.
Saturday, June 20, 2015 2:16 PM Local Time
Level:31Blinds:60,000/120,000Saturday, June 20, 2015 12:54 PM Local Time
Corrie Wunstel Enters Day 4 with the Chip Lead
Today is the fourth and final day of Event #36: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha. This tournament was originally scheduled to end yesterday, but deep stacks forced the addition of an extra day.
There are two players remaining: Corrie Wunstel and Kevin Saul. Wunstel returns with the chip lead with 4,550,000 to Saul's 2,785,000. Play resumes at Level 31, with blinds at 60,000/120,000.
The eventual winner will earn $266,874, while the second-place finisher will walk away with $165,147. Complete results so far can be found in the "Results" tab, above.
Cards go in the air at 2 p.m., and play won't conclude until the next WSOP bracelet winner has been determined.