Val Vornicu Goes Back-to-Back to Win Record-Extending 12th WSOPC Ring
One day after winning his record 11th World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring, which broke a tie with Maurice Hawkins, Valentin Vornicu extended his lead by going back-to-back and shipping ring No. 12.
Vornicu topped a field of 349 entries to win the Harrah��s New Orleans Event #3: $365 Single Day NLH Re-Entry for $24,084. That followed his victory over a 1,340-entry field in Event #1: $365 NLH Re-Entry for $64,205.
��What is there to say?�� Vornicu said after the win. ��Right now, I��m just super tired and super happy. Also, is this real? Is this real?��
I��ve never won back-to-back tournaments. Definitely not live. Maybe online, but usually after I win a tournament live, the next one I play I just bust before the first break.
Because of his Event #1 win, Vornicu late registered the single-day tournament.
��I came in with like one level to go,�� he said. ��One bullet again and quickly rose my stack. In one level I think I had four times the average. I think I had close to that the whole tournament.��
Vornicu began the final table as the chip leader but hit some roadblocks. He doubled up four opponents and found himself as a short stack. Fortunately for him, he rebounded when he made the nut flush with a suited ace against Joshua Lowing, who had the second nut flush.
With two wins, the 34-year-old Vornicu is now a favorite to win the Harrah��s New Orleans Casino Championship title, which comes with a seat into the 2018 Global Casino Championship. Vornicu already has enough points on the leaderboard to secure a seat in that tournament, so for him, it��s now about the bragging rights.
��I think every grinder is rooting for me to win Casino Champion because then there is another spot opening up for points [in the 2018 GCC],�� said Vornicu. ��And the last five years, I usually get in by winning a Main Event or Casino Champion. Only once I got in with points.��
Others to cash the tournament were WSOPC Horseshoe Baltimore High Roller champ Blake Whittington (15th - $1,502), 2013 WSOP National Championship winner Jonathan Hilton (16th - $1,249) and Ricky Meyers (24th - $898).
Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentin Vornicu | San Diego, CA | $24,084 |
| 2 | Joshua Lowing | Pensacola, FL | $14,887 |
| 3 | Andrew Mousmoules | Chapel Hill, NC | $10,861 |
| 4 | Kien Tran | N/A | $8,056 |
| 5 | [Removed:321] Shahlaei | New Orleans, LA | $6,068 |
| 6 | Michael Horchoff | River Ridge, LA | $4,641 |
| 7 | Jerry Monroe | Columbus, GA | $3,602 |
| 8 | Sley Sanchez | New Orleans, LA | $2,835 |
| 9 | Justin Brassieur | Lake Charles, LA | $2,264 |
Lead photo courtesy of WSOP Circuit live updates
