2016 WSOP Day 8: D'Angelo Wins, Busquet, Luneau Headline Heads Up
Day 8 of the 2016 World Series of Poker was a bit quieter than the night before, with just one bracelet handed out, but still loud enough to damage a few eardrums.
The first $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event of the summer played down to four remaining and the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. played down to 20.
In the meantime, the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship played to it's final four and two new events kicked off.
All summer long, PokerNews.com will be bringing you daily coverage of the 2016 WSOP, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.
D'Angelo Crowned $1,500 Lowball King
Long-time online and live No-Limit Hold'em specialist Ryan D'Angelo took down the 2016 WSOP Event #7: $1500 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit) for $92,338 on Wednesday.
D'Angelo said he loves playing games at the WSOP he doesn't get the chance to elsewhere and cruised to victory coming into the final day of the event with the chip lead and extending it three-handed to capture the title without much of the sweat. More on his first WSOP bracelet win can be found right here.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan D'Angelo | $92,338 |
| 2 | John Monnette | $57,061 |
| 3 | Tom Franklin | $38,582 |
| 4 | Dan Kelly | $26,632 |
| 5 | Konstantin Maslak | $18,775 |
| 6 | Todd Barlow | $13,524 |
Down to Four in the $1500 NLHE
The third day of the 2016 WSOP Event #6: $1500 No-Limit Hold'em started with 36 players and ended with just four remaining in the hunt for a $438,417 first-place prize and a WSOP bracelet.
Players like Matt Berkey and Justin Young dusted off big stacks well before the final table was set with Michael Addamo leading. Anthony Zinno made his first final table of the 2016 WSOP after five final tables and a bracelet win last year, but Zinno fizzled and finished eighth.
Addamo held kept the sizable lead until play went four-handed and they bagged up for the night. 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener will ultimately make his 37th career WSOP cash in this event, but for now, still retains a shot at his first bracelet, as he will come into the event's fourth day, fourth of four in chips.
Peter Eichhardt and Davis Aalvik will round out the final four when play resumes at 12 p.m. local time Thursday. Each player is guaranteed at least $143,563.
Final Table Chip Counts/Results
| Place | Player | Chips/Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Addamo | 6,595,000 |
| 2 | Davis Aalvik | 3,630,000 |
| 3 | Peter Eichhardt | 2,640,000 |
| 4 | John Racener | 2,490,000 |
| 5th | Timothy Farrelly | $106,115 |
| 6th | Bruno Borges | $79,241 |
| 7th | Raymond Phu | $59,787 |
| 8th | Anthony Zinno | $45,582 |
| 9th | Richard Dubini | $35,121 |
The $1500 H.O.R.S.E. Rolls On
Day 2 of the 2016 WSOP Event #8: $1500 H.O.R.S.E. started with 201 players Wednesday, playing down to the final 20.
Recognizable names like Greg Raymer, Maria Ho, Allen Kessler and ESPN's Norman Chad busted shy of the money. In the meantime, overnight chip leader Naoya Kihara, Adam Owen, Brandon Cantu, Brian Hastings, Mike Sexton and Rep Porter all made the money, but none made Day 3.
WSOP bracelet winner Ben Ponzio will be there when play resumes at 12 p.m. local time on Thursday, and he will have the chip lead. However, top rounders including Justin Bonomo, Noah Bronstein, and Ismael Bojang are still a major threat. 1998 WSOP Main Event champ and 2008 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. winner Scotty Nguyen is also in the mix, with an eye on the WSOP bracelet and $212,604 first-place prize sitting up top.
Top Five Chip Counts
| Player | Stack |
|---|---|
| Ben Ponzio | 837,000 |
| Justin Bonomo | 559,000 |
| Noah Bronstein | 456,000 |
| Ismael Bojang | 362,000 |
| Chris Vitch | 357,000 |
The $10,000 Heads Up Final Four
The semifinals of the $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship were set at the Rio Wednesday night, and when play resumes at 12 p.m. local time in Las Vegas Thursday, the names of a one-time online heads-up sit-and-go specialist and a current online-nosebleed-stakes legend will be on the marquee.
New Yorker Olivier Busquet, who made his bones as a heads-up sit and go specialist online and has gone on to do commentary work for both the WSOP and World Poker Tour, will take on Alan Percal, a 23-year-old actuary from Miami, Florida, looking to book his largest ever tournament score.
Busquet beat Darren Elias, Ivan Luca, Chance Kornuth, Jared Jaffee, and Orlando Romero to advance to the semis, while Percal dispatched Brian Rast, Jeff Gross, Alan Wehbi, Konstantin Ramazanov, and Benjamin Geisman.
In the other semifinal, French pro Alex Luneau, a well respected mixed-game player who plays and wins in some of the biggest games online, will face John Smith, a 69-year-old highway contractor from Artesia, California and Vietnam veteran who made 16th in this event in 2014.
Luneau beat Kevin Rabichow, David Farber, Bobby Oboodi, Adrian Mateos, and Matthew Diehl to get to this point, while Smith got by Lorenz Buehler, Michael Kane, Igor Yarosheskyy, Antonio Esfandiari, and Nick Yunis.
Each of the semifinalists are guaranteed at least $123,929 coming into play Thursday, but the runner up in the final will earn $198,192 and the winner gets a WSOP bracelet and $320,574.
The $1500 6-Handed NLHE Begins
The 2016 WSOP Event #10: $1500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em drew 1,477 players on Wednesday, creating a $1,993,950 prize pool that was set to pay 222 spots. They pushed past the money bubble on the event's first day and down to 183 remaining when play wrapped up.
Daniel Strelitz grabbed the overnight lead with 888poker player Tom Cannuli building a big stack as well.
Recognizable pros like Michael Mizrachi, Fedor Holz, Matt Jarvis, and Joshua Beckley will also come into Thursday's Day 2 with a chance to run deep when play resumes at 2 p.m. local time.
The $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship Gets Going
The 2016 WSOP $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship drew 118 of the best mixed-game players in poker to the Rio Wednesday night, creating a $1,109,200 prize pool that will pay 18 spots. A min-cash is worth $15,128 while the title comes with a WSOP bracelet and $306,621.
Dealers Choice events allow players to choose one of 19 games to play for a single orbit before its the next player's turn to do the same.
They played down to a little under half the field with names like Bruno Fitoussi, Brian Hastings, Andrew Brown, Dan Smith and Frank Kassela among the leaders.
What's On Tap?
It will be another busy Day at the 2016 WSOP on Thursday with two new events starting. The 2016 WSOP Event #12: $565 Pot-Limit Omaha with unlimited reentry kicks off at 11 a.m. while the 2016 WSOP Event #13: $1500 Seven Card Razz starts at 3 p.m.
In the meantime, the final four in the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship starts at noon with the final set for 3 p.m. A possiblity that two more bracelets will also be handed out with the first $1,500 No Limit event of the summer coming back four handed and 20 left in the $1500 H.O.R.S.E., both starting back at 12 p.m.
Two Day 2s, including the $10,000 Dealers Choice and 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em also start at 2 p.m.
Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for more coverage the 2016 WSOP, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.
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