$5,300 Wynn Winter Classic Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2021 Wynn Winter Classic
$5,300 Wynn Winter Classic Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2021 Wynn Winter Classic
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$3,306,240
Entries
672
Level
32
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Entries
24
Players Left
1
Level 32
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Eli Berg of Newton, Massachusetts fought back from the felt to defeat Mark Ioli in heads-up play to win the $5,300 Championship at the 2021 Wynn Winter Classic.
The flagship event of the last Wynn Classic of the year drew 672 runners and generated a prize pool of $3,306,240, crushing the $2,000,000 guarantee. With the victory, Berg takes home $626,499, the coveted Wynn Trophy, and his first major tournament victory. The top prize brings his total career earnings to $1,354,084 according to The Hendon Mob.
2021 Wynn Winter Classic Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Hometown/Nationality | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eli Berg | Newton, Massachusetts | $626,499 |
| 2 | Mark Ioli | Bayside, New York | $410,599 |
| 3 | Shannon Shorr | Las Vegas, Nevada | $278,749 |
| 4 | Joseph Cheong | Las Vegas, Nevada | $196,391 |
| 5 | Chris Frank | Germany | $145,144 |
| 6 | Garrett Greer | Santa Monica, California | $112,412 |
| 7 | Max Lehmanski | Germany | $90,274 |
| 8 | Zachary McDiarmid | Las Vegas, Nevada | $74,853 |
| 9 | Z Stein | Washington, D.C. | $63,024 |
Winner's Reaction
“It’s unbelievable,” Berg said in a post-win interview with PokerNews. “It’s great. I am very fortunate to run well here with the big crowd and beautiful venue. I feel very lucky.”
Berg bounced back from a set-over-set hand during three-handed play that nearly ended his evening.
“You know, only have so long to live in a tournament. Things are going to go up and down, and at some point you’re going to try to run well and see what happens.
I was lucky to get it in good, and you need that to win a tournament like this. That’s the way I bounced back. The cards bounced back for me.”
Berg’s son Ezra was on the rail and it made the win that much more special for the father-son duo.
“It’s most special. It couldn’t be any better. This is the pinnacle for me.”
Final Table Recap
The last major Wynn tournament of the year drew a star-studded field of professionals and local regulars. Players that fell short of the final table on Day 3 included Victoria Livschitz (24th - $23,136), Tim Reilly (22nd - $26,491), Cherie Wallace (20th - $30,332), Mitchell Halverson (17th - $34,881), Romain Lewis (16th - $34,881), Katie Lindsay (15th - $40,114), and Boris Kolev (12th - $46,131).
The two final tables broke into one just before dinner break, and when the players returned it saw its first elimination when Z Stein hit the rail in ninth place. Stein shoved with a flopped pair of sevens, but Zachary McDiarmid called and caught up with a flush on the river.
It was more than an hour before the next elimination, when McDiarmid shoved with pocket kings, but Chris Frank had already made a flush on the turn. The river was a blank and McDiarmid was out in seventh place. Max Lehmanski followed right behind in sixth place a few moments later when his ace-queen ran into the ace-king of Berg.
Garrett Greer clashed with Ioli but came up short when he flopped a set of eights while Ioli’s pocket nines made a straight on the turn to leave the former with crumbs. A few hands later, Ioli eliminated Greer in sixth place.
Next to find the payout window was Frank, who shoved jack-ten into the pocket aces of Shannon Shorr. Moments later, Joseph Cheong got it in with king-queen, but Ioli had ace-king and the board ran out clean.
Ioli gained momentum in three-handed play when he flopped a better set than Berg and doubled into a big lead. Berg then attempted to double through Shorr and was successful when he made three jacks on the flop. Shorr was eliminated in third place a few hands later.
Heads-up play started and Ioli had almost a 2:1 advantage over Berg, but it was erased within a short time when Berg doubled up twice to take the lead. Both players settled in and the grind continued for well over two hours, before Berg finally broke through when he called Ioli’s ace-ten shove with ace-jack. The board ran out with a pair of jacks for Berg and he claimed his first tournament victory.
2021 Wynn Winter Classic Winners
| Date | Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/6-12/8 | $600 NLH $150K GTD | 454 | $236,080 | Dennis Wilke | Germany | $50,101 |
| 8-Dec | $400 NLH $40K GTD | 140 | $48,300 | David Perez | Spain | $12,545 |
| 13-Dec | $400 Seniors NLH (50+) | 245 | $84,525 | Curt Kohlberg | USA | $21,361 |
| 13-Dec | $5,200 PKO Bounty | 154 | $452,760 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | $131,548 |
| 14-Dec | $400 NLH $40K GTD | 179 | $61,755 | Ryan Hughes | USA | $17,080 |
| 14-Dec | $400 Limit Omaha 8/B | 103 | $35,535 | Jeff Madsen | USA | $8,678 |
| 15-Dec | $400 NLH $40K GTD | 172 | $59,340 | Linda Lesterson | USA | $16,416 |
| 12/9 - 12/12 | $1,100 NLH $500K GTD | 743 | $724,425 | Dorian Rius Pavon | USA | $110,172 |
| 12/17 - 12/20 | $5,300 Championship $2M GTD | 672 | $3,306,240 | Eli Berg | USA | $626,499 |
| 19-Dec | $1,600 NLH $500 Bounty $150K GTD | 112 | $168,560 | Michael Wang | USA | $33,676 |
Congratulations to Eli Berg on winning the 2021 Wynn Winter Classic Championship. Be sure to join the PokerNews live reporting team again soon for coverage of all of your favorite live poker events.
Level 32
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Eli Berg raised to 700,000 and Mark Ioli got it all in for around 10,000,000. Berg called instantly.
Mark Ioli: 
Eli Berg: 
The board ran out 
and Berg's pair of tens were good enough to beat Ioli and claim the championship. Ioli finishes in second place for $410,599.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
26,900,000
12,400,000
|
12,400,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 32
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
The two players continue to play relatively small pots and are still fairly even.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,500,000
-1,000,000
|
-1,000,000 |
|
|
12,400,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
|
|
||
Level: 32
Blinds: 150,000/300,000
Ante: 300,000
Level 31
: 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Eli Berg raised to 600,000 and Mark Ioli called.
The flop was 
and both players checked. The turn was 
.
Ioli bet 400,000 on the turn and Berg called. The river was 
.
Ioli fired 600,000 on the river and turned over 
when Berg called. Berg mucked the losing hand and Ioli picked up the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
15,500,000
-100,000
|
-100,000 |
|
|
11,400,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
Level 31
: 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Eli Berg raised to 600,000 in the small blind and Mark Ioli called in the big blind.
The 
flop saw Ioli check-call a 350,000 bet.
On the 
turn, Ioli check-called for 1,400,000.
The 
completed the board and it took a couple minutes for the players to make a river decision, but eventually they both checked.
Berg showed 
which was good to take the pot against Ioli's 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
15,600,000
2,400,000
|
2,400,000 |
|
|
11,300,000
-2,400,000
|
-2,400,000 |
|
|
||
Level 31
: 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
The 2021 Wynn Winter Classic kicked off with a $600 buy-in, $150K GTD No-Limit Hold'em event from December 6-8. The tournament attracted 454 entries and generated a $236,080 prize pool.
That was paid out to the top 49 finishers including Chip Jett (47th - $1,245), Carlos Loving (38th - $1,395), David Larson (37th - $1,395), Aram Zobian (31st - $1,592), Ryan Laplante (23rd - $2,085), Josh Attkisson (19th - $2,387), Bobby Poe (15th - $3,140), and final table bubble boy Vito Geruzzi (10th - $4,204).
At the final table, it was Germany's Dennis Wilke defeating Po Ying in heads-up play to win the title and $50,101 first-place prize. Ying received $31,815 for finishing as runner-up.
Event #1 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown/Nationality | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dennis Wilke | Germany | $50,101 |
| 2 | Po Ying | Metuchen, New Hampshire | $31,815 |
| 3 | Gregory Kolo | Westlake, OH | $21,104 |
| 4 | Hemal Mehta | United Kingdom | $15,463 |
| 5 | Ryan Hughes | Payson, AZ | $11,403 |
| 6 | Cy Williams | El Macero, CA | $8,782 |
| 7 | Daniel Samson | United Kingdom | $7,035 |
| 8 | Josh Manus | Bristow, Oklahoma | $5,831 |
| 9 | Daniel Smiljkovic | Germany | $4,934 |
Level 31
: 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Mark Ioli open-jammed and Eli Berg called for his last 7,450,000.
Eli Berg: 
Mark Ioli: 
The board ran out 
and Berg's pair of sevens was good to beat Ioli for another double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,900,000
6,600,000
|
6,600,000 |
|
|
12,000,000
-6,600,000
|
-6,600,000 |
|
|
||
Level 31
: 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Mark Ioli jammed in the small blind and Eli Berg called for his 4,025,000 chips.
Eli Berg: 
Mark Ioli:
The 
gave Ioli a lot more outs with a straight draw and a flush draw, but perhaps he had too many outs, as the 
turn and river changed absolutely nothing, sending the pot to Berg with his king-high.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
18,600,000
-3,700,000
|
-3,700,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
8,300,000
3,700,000
|
3,700,000 |