Ylon Schwartz Wins His First Bracelet! ($267,081)
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For the past four days, Event #27 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. of the 2012 World Series of Poker unfolded as a starting field of 889 players played down until just one remained. That man was Ylon Schwartz, who outlasted 17 other players on Day 3 to capture his first gold bracelet and the $267,081 first-place prize.
Day 3 was the scheduled final day, and it began with some stiff competition in the form of Michael Chow, Bryce Yockey, Cliff Josephy, Zimnan Ziyard, Allen Cunningham, Rep Porter and Brandon Guss. Unfortunately for them, none of those players managed to make the final table., including Guss, who began the day second in chips.
His demise came in Omaha Hi/Lo when, on a 
flop, Marlon Milne lead out with a bet and Guss called for most of his remaining stack. He got the rest in on the 
turn, and was in a bad spot.
Milne: 
Guss: 
Guss' pair of sevens had him drawing from behind for his tournament life, and the river 
was a blank. That locked up the pot and the knockout for Milne, and Guss was dispatched in 11th place.
Pre-Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 9th | Sanjay Pandya | $17,150 |
| 10th | Allen Cunningham | $17,150 |
| 11th | Brandon Guss | $13,405 |
| 12th | Zimnan Ziyard | $13,405 |
| 13th | Bryce Guss | $10,669 |
| 14th | Rep Porter | $10,669 |
| 15th | Benjamin Lukas | $8,641 |
| 16th | Cliff Josephy | $8,641 |
| 17th | Charlie Ng | $7,116 |
| 18th | Michael Chow | $7,116 |
Robby Rasmussen began the final table as the chip leader with 1.25 million, nearly 500,000 more than the next closest competitor. It didn��t take long for the first elimination of the final table to occur, and it happened in Stud Hi/Lo when short-stacked Marlon Milne squared off against Ylon Schwartz.
Milne: 
/ 
/ (x)
Schwartz: / 
/ (x)
The chips got in on fourth street in heaving raising action, and Milne's two pair had to fade Schwartz's flush draw. It was Milne who drew the clubs on fifth and sixth, and he had the only low draw with one to come.
Schwartz rolled his river over first, though, and the 
was a disaster for Milne. His two pair were suddenly in a big hole, and a blank river would mean his elimination. The 
was one of those blanks, and that's the one Milne received on seventh, much to his chagrin.
The next elimination came in Omaha Hi/Lo when action folded around to Elior Sion in the cutoff and he put in a raise. Jason Brown then moved all in from the small blind for 60,000 total, and Chidwick three-bet from the big blind. Sion not only called the raise, but proceeded to call bets on the 
flop and 
turn before folding the 
river.
Chidwick revealed 
for aces and jacks, which bested his opponent's 
. Brown shook hands with the remaining players before taking his leave in seventh place.
In the last level before the dinner break, Schwartz completed in Stud with the 
and was raised by David Rogers, who was showing the 
. The two raised back and forth until Rogers was all in for 146,000 total, and he was in bad shape.
Rogers: / 
/
Schwartz: / 
/
While Rogers caught a little help on the turn, he would receive no more as the board ran out dry. Schwartz's kings held up to take down the pot, dispatching Rogers in sixth place for $40,169.
When players returned from dinner, it took a two hours for the next elimination to occur. It finally happened in Stud with the limits at 50,000/100,000 when Sion completed with the only to have Rasmussen raise with the . Sion made the call and then led out on the turn. Rasmussen made the call and then raised Scion's bet on fifth street. Sion then three-bet his last 90,000 and Rasmussen made the call.
Sion: 
/ 
/
Rasmussen: 
/ 
/
Rasmussen turned two pair and was in the lead, but Sion held kings and had plenty of outs. Unfortunately for him, none would be delivered and he was felled in fifth place for $55,422.
Once again, it took awhile for the next elimination, but with the limits so high it was bound to happen, which it did in a new round of Razz. In the hand, Rasmussen completed and was called by David Chiu. Both players had the same hand on the turn, but that didn't stop Rasmussen from betting and Chiu from calling. The same action occurred on fifth street, and then Chiu bet his last 105,000 when he took the lead on sixth. Coincidentally, Rasmussen had the exact same amount and committed it to the pot.
Chiu: 
/ 
/ (x)
Rasmussen: 
/ 
/ (x)
"You probably have me," Rasmussen admitted before the cards were turned up. Sure enough, Chiu had a made eight-low and had his opponent drawing dead. Rasmussen, who began the final table as chip leader, finished in fourth place and leaves with a $78,021 consolation prize.
The three remaining players could not settle the score. Back and forth they went for hours with each of the three having their hands on the chip lead at one point or another. The pots were huge, and the games were being played at a very high level despite the dwindling average stack size.
When the tenth level of the day ended, they were still deadlocked at three. The staff presented them the choice of bagging up right then or playing one more level before calling it a night. The players chose the former, and they were given a 12-hour recess with Chiu atop the overnight counts.
Today was Day 4 of this three-day event, and the finalists returned bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Chidwick was the short stack left, and he was the first to bow out. It was Omaha Hi/Lo when he fell, going to war with Schwartz on a 
board. Chidwick had already put 500,000 of his chips into the pot, leaving just 135,000 back. Schwartz made the river bet, and Chidwick tanked for ages before committing himself. The cards were turned up, and it was bad news for the one at-risk.
Chidwick:
Schwartz:
The straight for Schwartz was the winner, and that left he and Chiu heads-up for the bracelet. Chiu was facing a chip deficit to start the duel, but he wasted no time drawing the match nearly square.
Nearly was as close as he'd get though. Chiu lost a monster pot during the Stud round to all but end the match. Here are the boards the two players went with on the deciding hand:
Chiu: (x-x) / / (x)
Schwartz: (x-x) / 
/ (x)
Schwartz called bets on fourth and fifth, but he raised on sixth. Chiu reraised, but Schwartz came right back with the fourth bet, drawing a curious look from his opponent. Chiu flatted that bet and another one on sixth. On seventh, Schwartz got in a sneaky check-raise, and when Chiu called, he revealed in the hole. Quads!
Chiu was reduced to just 200,000 chips �� one big bet �� and the match was over within minutes.
Event 27 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ylon Schwartz | $267,081 |
| 2nd | David Chiu | $164,960 |
| 3rd | Stephen Chidwick | $112,106 |
| 4th | Robby Rasmussen | $78,021 |
| 5th | Elior Sion | $55,422 |
| 6th | David Rogers | $40,169 |
| 7th | Jason Brown | $29,679 |
| 8th | Marlon Milne | $22,358 |
Congratulations to Ylon Schwartz on his fantastic run here in the H.O.R.S.E. race.
Post 2004 H.O.R.S.E. Winners
| Year | Winner | Entrants | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Ylon Schwartz | 889 | $267,081 |
| 2011 | Aaron Steury | 963 | $289,283 |
| 2010 | Konstantin Puchkov | 828 | $256,820 |
| 2009** | Zachary Fellows | 452 | $311,899 |
| 2009 | James Van Alstyne | 770 | $247,033 |
| 2008** | Jens Voertmann | 414 | $298,253 |
| 2008 | James Schaaf | 803 | $256,412 |
| 2007*** | James Richberg | 382 | $238,881 |
| 2007**** | Ralph Schwartz | 192 | $275,683 |
| 2004* | Scott Fischman | 166 | $100,200 |
*Featured $2,000 buy-in.
**Featured $3,000 buy-in.
***Featured $2,500 buy-in.
****Featured $5,000 buy-in.
That does it for our coverage from Event #27 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Be sure to visit our live reporting section to follow along with all the 2012 WSOP events throughout the summer.