Congratulations to Matt Matros, Event #16 $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed Champion ($454,835)
It has been a wild, action packed three days here at the Rio, and the sun has set on Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Six-Handed. An incredible 1,604 players brought in for this tournament, but there could only be one victor. That man is Matt Matros. He took home his third gold bracelet in as many years, and oh yeah, also won $454,835 to boot.
We started Day 3 with just nine players, and we quickly got down to our final table within the first level. The first victim of the day was Jonathan Currle. He got caught four bet shoving with 
. He ran into the 
of Matros, and he wasn’t able to catch any miracles.
Mike Matusow entered today with high hopes, starting off today third in chips. Matusow was looking for bracelet #4, but those chances took a big hit early when his queens lost to the ace-king of Ramey Shaio. He was eliminated a few hands later, when his 
could not beat Robert Muzzatti’s 
. Matusow’s elimination got us down to our unofficial final table, and this is how the stacks looked as we entered it.
| Table | Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Gordon Vayo | 460,000 |
| 1 | 2 | Matt Matros | 1,400,000 |
| 1 | 3 | Ramey Shaio | 1,000,000 |
| 1 | 4 | Robert Muzzatti | 1,420,000 |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Darner | 730,000 |
| 1 | 6 | Matt Glantz | 600,000 |
| 1 | 7 | Mark Radoja | 750,000 |
It took just one hand for us to lose our first player, and that was arguably the most notable player left in the field, Matt Glantz. It was another race that decided this huge pot, as Glantz held against the 
of Ramey Shaio. A queen on the flop virtually ended the hand, and Glantz went home in a disappointing 7th.
We played six handed for about two hours without losing anybody, or even coming close really. The action was very slow, with the hands rarely getting to showdown. Then, in a flash, we lost three players in six hands!
On the first hand, Matt Matros four bet shoved on Mark Darner, who made the call with 
. Matros had him dominated with 
. It stayed that way on the 
flop, but Darner shot ahead when the 
hit the turn. It wasn’t meant to be for Darner though, as the 
hit the river, giving Matros a winning straight. On the very next hand, Matros played executioner again. This time his victim was Robert Muzzatti, who held 
. Matros showed , and the board ran down 
, giving Matros the knockout.
Just a few hands later, Gordon Vayo too met his end. He got it in preflop holding 
, and it looked like it would be a chop, as he was up against Mark Radoja’s . However, the flop came down 
, giving Radoja a freeroll for the win. The 
on the turn was a blank, but the 
on the river was anything but that, giving Radoja the win, brutally knocking out Vayo.
Another hour passed before we lost Ramey Shaio. He was all in with 
and he was in a race with Radoja, who held 
. Radoja flopped a ten, and despite hitting a four outer earlier to survive, Shaio couldn’t find a miracle three to come back.
The two remaining players were bracelet winners: Matt Matros and Mark Radoja. These two players started today with the second and third shortest stacks, so they both had quite an impressive journey to heads up play. Matros was looking to become just the third player in the last 30 years to win a WSOP bracelet in three consecutive years, while Radoja was looking to make it two years in a row with a WSOP win. It turned out that the former would be making history today.
The two were dead even as we started heads up play, but Radoja took a big lead early. However, it took about an hour for Matros to climb back, and the tide turned when Matros turned two pair, and got paid off after a big bet on the river after Radoja tanked for five minutes. About twenty minutes later, the bracelet belonged to Matros. He shoved on the turn of a 
board, and was snap called by Radoja, who had a straight. Matros held just 
, but destiny was on his side, as the 
hit the river, completing his flush, and giving Matros his third bracelet.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matt Matros | $454,835 |
| 2nd | Mark Radoja | $281,502 |
| 3rd | Ramey Shaio | $182,521 |
| 4th | Gordon Vayo | $121,262 |
| 5th | Robert Muzzatti | $81,202 |
| 6th | Mark Darner | $56,300 |
| 7th | Matt Glantz | $40,059 |
| 8th | Mike Matusow | $40,059 |
| 9th | Jonathan Currle | $29,665 |
That wraps it up for us here! We hope you enjoyed the coverage all day! Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews, as we are bringing you action from all over the Rio! For now, good night from Las Vegas!