WSOP Weekly: Shaun Deeb, Ben Yu Score Bracelets, Main Kicks Off This Week
Some big-name poker pros found the winner’s circle over the weekend at the World Series of Poker. That included a fifth bracelet for Shaun Deeb and fourth for Ben Yu.
Brian Yoon also picked up his fourth bracelet and the Colossus and seniors event also wrapped up with some big numbers. With the $10,000 Main Event getting started this week as well, plenty of tournament action remains. Here’s a look at some of the recent winners.
Event 52: $1,000 Seniors NLHE Championship
The seniors events tend to bring out massive fields each year and this tournament produced again. The tournament saw 5,404 entries for a $4.8 million prize pool.
When the dust settled, Arizona’s Robert McMillan came out on top for $561,060 and his first bracelet. The win came after previously cashing in the tournament four times. He held a major chip advantage when facing off heads-up against Robert Davis, who scored $346,743 for runner-up.
As he made his way through the tournament, McMillan felt things just seemed to be going his way.
He told WSOP.com: “I felt it yesterday especially, I dreamt this was going to happen.”
Event 53: $25,000 High Roller Pot Limit Omaha
Shaunn Deeb (pictured above) remains one of the biggest names in poker and continued his winning ways over the weekend. He scored his fifth bracelet for a $1.3 million payday.
The event brought in 212 entries for a $5 million prize pool. Deeb topped Hong Kong’s Ka Kwan Lau in heads-up play with Lau taking home $773,708 for runner-up.
Deeb won this same event in 2018 for $1.4 million and afterward expressed his goal to eventually pass Phil Hellmuth in bracelets. With the family watching at home during the final table, Deeb’s son received some tutoring in how Omaha works.
My five year old watching @shaundeeb final table: “oh no he’s in the lead but Dad has the most aces!”
Gave him a short Omaha lesson. Now he’s looking at percentage to win and cheering when dad gets a 100% check mark
— ASHLEY Deeb (@crashleydeeb) October 31, 2021
Some found Deeb’s choice of T-shirt interesting including WSOP commentator Norman Chad.
I am watching final table of WSOP 25k PLO High Roller on @PokerGO.@shaundeeb is wearing a 'Trophy Husband' T-shirt.
If Shaun Deeb is a Trophy Husband, then I'm a Trophy Ex-Husband.
— Norman Chad (@NormanChad) October 31, 2021
Event 54: $2,500 Nine Game Mix Six-Handed
This mixed-game action produced a field of 319 entries for a $709,775 prize pool. In the end, Nicholas Julia came out on top for $168,608 and his first gold bracelet.
Kristan Lord earned the runner-up position for $104,210. Justin Liberto was also seeking his second bracelet, but took third for $69,341.
Event 55: $400 COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold’em
The massive-field action wrapped up on Monday with Anatolii Zyrin scoring his second bracelet and $314,705. The colossal tournament attracted 9,399 entries for a $3.1 million prize pool.
His previous bracelet came in 2019 in a $1,500 Omaha Mix event for $199,838. The Russian player now has more than $2.2 million in live tournament winnings. Michael Lee took runner-up for $194,450.
Because of some other events going on at the time, the final table was held in the King’s Lounge area. That brought some interesting dynamics with fans even closer cheering on the action. The location received some positive reviews and may be incorporated more in the future.
Event 56: $10,000 Six-Handed NLHE Championship
Plenty of pros turned out to take this big No Limit Hold’em title. One of those poker heavyweights found the winner’s circle with Ben Yu scoring his fourth bracelet for $721,453.
He topped a field of 329, which created a $3.1 million prize pool. Russia’s Nikita Kuznetsov finished runner-up for $445,892.
A regular on the high roller scene, Yu has some nice bullet points on his WSOP record. Along with this NLHE championship, he won the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship in 2015 for $291,456. He also won the $50,000 High Roller in 2018 for $1.7 million.
Apparently, Shannon Shorr just missed out on earning a piece of Yu’s action – missing out on a payday himself.
U don’t wish this on ur worst enemy, much less one of the nicest guys in poker who was only gunna buy diapers with it. @ShannonShorr
I’m definitely going to hell
😬😬😬🥶🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/C3fnKFVX86
— Ben Yu (@benyupoker) November 2, 2021
Event 57: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship
The lowball action returned to the Rio and this five-figure version brought out plenty of big names seeking a title. California’s Brian Yoon took the top spot for his fourth bracelet and $240,341.
The event saw 80 entries for a $746,000 prize pool. Danny Wong finished runner-up for $148,541. Yoon has some massive wins on his WSOP record including:
- $1,500 Monster Stack (2017) – $1.1 million
- $5,000 NLHE 8-Handed (2014) – $633,341
- $1,111 Little One for One Drop (2013) – $663,727
In total, Yoon now has $3.4 million WSOP winnings. With his other bracelets in No Limit Hold’em, Yoon was pleased to break out in another poker format.
“It’s official,” he noted on Twitter, “I’m a ‘mixed-game player’ now.”
Online Event 5: $666 NLHE Six-Max
The online events continue at WSOP.com each Sunday throughout the series. This event saw John “Relevancy” Ripnick take the title for his first bracelet and $114,898.
Canada’s “Sucra71” finished runner-up for $71,00 in an event that featured 1,029 entries. Ripnick is a New Jersey online grinder and certainly proved his relevancy at the virtual tables.
A look at the Catena poker team standings
The Catena poker team made their own picks on players to watch throughout the WSOP. USPoker editor Sean Chaffin, content manager Valierie Cross, and contributor Anthony Cicali all picked players with less than $1.5 million in live tournament winnings.
Chaffin has found the lead in this battle thanks to some nice scores by Jesse Lonis and Daniel Sepiol. Cross is just behind in second thanks to some nice finishes by New Jersey’s Frank Funaro.
With plenty of action remaining, however, one deep run could change everything. Here’s a look at the complete standings:
- 1st – Sean Chaffin, $111,113
- 2nd – Valerie Cross, $71,446
- 3rd – Anthony Cicali, $19,017
Looking ahead
Plenty of action remains in the coming week including the first starting flight of the $10,000 Main Event kicking off Thursday. The $1,000 Super Seniors event also should wrap up this week with the winner scoring $255,623. Here’s a look at some of the events on the schedule in the coming days:
- 63: $500 Salute to Warriors NLHE – Nov. 2
- 64: $5,000 Mixed NLHE/PLO – Nov. 2
- 65: $1,000 Mini Main Event – Nov. 3
- 66: $10,000 PLO Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship – Nov. 3
- 67A: $10,000 Main Event Day 1A – Nov. 4
* Lead image of Shaun Deeb courtesy PokerGO