Four Remain in $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo; Martini and Hoang in the Lead
After three days of ten hours each, four players are still vying for the coveted bracelet and the first place prize of $239,771 in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. An extra, unscheduled day is needed to decide who will be the fourth bracelet winner of the 2018 World Series of Poker.
Eight out of nine players at the final table may have been representing the United States, but the chipleader going into the final day is the lone non-American, Julien Martini from France. It's Martini's seventh cash at the World Series of Poker, and finishing third or better in this event would top his 8th place in a $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event ($53,569) from last year.
Omaha Hi-Lo is a notoriously swingy game, and while Martini bagged a substantial lead with 3,720,000, he started the final table as one of the short stacks and was at risk early. Martini was all-in with a set of fives against Hoang's straight and low draws, and the river bricked to double Martini up. After the double, the Frenchman worked himself quickly back up and took the lead after scooping a big five-way pot. Holding ace-six on a board containing two sixes, Martini collected the full pot after all low draws busted.
Following Martini is Kate Hoang, who sits in second place with 2,250,000. The immaculately dressed Hoang certainly stands out at an average poker table, but looks can be deceiving as she's no slouch when it comes to Omaha Hi-Lo. Last year, Hoang final tabled the 10K PLO/8 for $44,738, and the year before she finished runner-up in the $3K PLO/8 for $182,281. A third major cash in three years awaits the American, who was born in Vietnam, and a bracelet would be a crowning achievement.
Rounding out the final four are short stacks William Kopp (440,000) and Mack Lee (425,000). Both players will come back with just two big bets and will need to spin it up when they return. Kopp is a WSOP circuit ring winner, born in Ohio, while Lee is a high-stakes mixed game aficionado who's a regular sight at the WSOP.
Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Day 3 Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mack Lee | United States | 425,000 | 2 |
| 2 | Kate Hoang | United States | 2,255,000 | 11 |
| 3 | William Kopp | United States | 440,000 | 2 |
| 4 | Julien Martini | France | 3,720,000 | 19 |
| Position | Player | Country | Prize(USD) | |
| 5 | Brandon Ageloff | United States | $53,482 | |
| 6 | Chad Eveslage | United States | $39,182 | |
| 7 | Rafael Concepcion | United States | $29,128 | |
| 8 | Denny Axel | United States | $21,977 | |
| 9 | Tammer Ilcaffas | United States | $16,832 |
Day 3 action
Day 3 started off with 36 hopefuls who were all guaranteed at least $5,605. Within one hour, the field lost ten players, with Frank Muir first to go. The first hour also ended Mike Leah's run. After two levels, 21 out of 36 were remaining and action slowed down after that, with subsequent bustouts going in much slower fashion.
Missing out on the final table were bracelet winner Mike Wattel (21st - $6,764), Swedish poker legend Chris Bjorin (17th - $8,296) and Chris Roth (15th - $10,340). Final table bubble was James Pursley (11th - $13,091), who busted together with November Niner Jeff Shulman (12th - $13,091) against Mack Lee. Lee held pocket aces and turned a full house to send both players to the rail.
At the final table, Martini made his aforementioned double and subsequent rise before Tammer Ilcaffas busted in 9th ($16,832). Ilcaffas lost with ace-queen-seven-four against Brandon Ageloff, who had flopped top set with pocket kings. He was followed to the rail by former CardPlayer magazine owner Denny Axel, who finished 8th for $21,977. Axel's ace-king-ten-three couldn't defeat Kopp's aces with king-four.
Longtime chipleader Rafael Concepcion had a terrible final table and finished in 7th place ($29,128) after tumbling down the leaderboard in multiple hands. Chad Eveslage (6th - $39,182) followed him when Hoang made a wheel to claim both high and low. The last bustout of the night was that of Brandon Ageloff (5th - $53,482), who also fell to Hoang. Ageloff was down to just one big blind when he lost his final hand with queen-ten-ten-seven against Hoang's ace-queen-jack-nine. An ace on the turn sealed it for Hoang.
The four remaining players will return on Sunday, June 3, at 2 p.m. local time, to play until a winner has been crowned. They'll return in level 31 with blinds at 50,000/100,000 and limits of 100,000/200,000. PokerNews will be on the floor as we crown the latest WSOP bracelet winner.
