Daniel Zack Victorious in Event #15: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship After Grueling Heads-Up Battle
After nearly 12 hours of play, the 2022 World Series of Poker Event #15: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship came to a close with Daniel Zack being the last player standing.
He beat Dustin Dirksen in a heads-up duel that lasted over seven hours to capture his second WSOP gold bracelet and the $440,757 first-place prize.
The Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship saw an all-time high of 196 entries, with just five of those returning for Day 4. Those players created the $1,827,700 prize pool, with Zack taking home the lion's share.
Winner's Reaction
"Exhausted, just basically dead, " Zack told PokerNews when asked how he was feeling after his victory. "You know, I have no energy left at all," he added.
With this being Zack's second bracelet win, he was asked which title meant more to him.
"I think bracelet one meant a lot to me because I grew up watching the World Series of Poker and it really meant a lot. But this will be a final table, that is much more memorable to me, especially with it being streamed. If I ever have the wherewithal to watch this back, it will be quite a night."
Despite the mammoth session today, Zack has little time to rest or even celebrate.
"I have to fly to a wedding in maybe a few hours, so I'm about to hop on a plane," he said. "I'll be back [at the WSOP] and chasing player of the year while I'm here. So I'll be hopping in whatever is next and trying to chase that as hard as I can."
Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Zack | United States | $440,757 |
| 2 | Dustin Dirksen | United States | $272,408 |
| 3 | Yuval Bronshtein | Israel | $195,203 |
| 4 | Ray Dehkharghani | United States | $142,456 |
| 5 | Jake Liebeskind | United States | $105,913 |
| 6 | Bart O'Connell | United States | $80,250 |
| 7 | Alex Livingston | Canada | $61,991 |
| 8 | Kane Kalas | United States | $48,839 |
| 9 | Ray Henson | United States | $39,258 |
Day 4 Recap
Day 4 short stack Jake Liebeskind got all his chips in the middle on the second hand of the day. However, his jam was snap-called by Dirksen, who had flopped a set of kings. Liebeskind, who had secured his best-ever tournament cash, could not improve and exited in fifth place.
Three hours would pass before the next final table bust out. Nosebleed stakes mixed game cash player Ray Dehkharghani called off his stack after Dirksen had four-bet preflop. Dirksen would go on to make two pair, aces and nines, to send out the one-time bracelet winner in fourth for $142,456.
Next to go was the start of day chip leader, Yuval Bronshtein. He was all-in from the big blind and was up against Zack. Bronshtein flopped best, but the eventual winner rivered a set of deuces to set up heads-up play.
As mentioned, it took seven hours for the tournament to have its final bust out. Dirksen came back from just 425,000 chips to take the chip lead. Dirksen then had Zack on the ropes on several occasions, but neither player could seal the deal. The lead would then chop and change on more than one occasion until Zack had Dirksen right where he wanted.
The two players were all-in on the flop, with Zack's pair of kings ahead of his opponent's pair of tens. There would be no drama on the runout, and Zack's superior pair held to seal out the win.
That concludes PokerNews coverage of Event #15: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, but there are still plenty of events remaining and currently in action on the 2022 WSOP schedule. Click here to see what other tournaments you can follow!