WSOP: Jeremy Saderne Takes Down Mini Main Event
Most of the poker world was focused on the start of the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event on Wednesday, but there was plenty of other stuff going on on Wednesday including three brand new bracelet winners and another Championship event reached a final table.
Jeremy Saderne Takes Down Mini Main Event
The rail for the Mini Main Event was so raucous that some players in the Main Event complained. The noise was mostly for France’s Jeremy Saderne as he won his first WSOP bracelet by beating Lula Taylor heads-up.
“All of my friends were here. It was incredible,” Saderne said. “I’ve never seen that before. It was better than Marseilles Stadium, in the south of France. I just want to say thank you to all of my friends. They gave me a lot of power and energy.”
Saderne earned $628,654 for the win while Taylor walked away with $388,284. Andres Korn, who started the day with the chip lead, picked up $287,219 for finishing in third place.
Final Table Payouts
- Jeremy Saderne – $628,654
- Lula Taylor – $388,284
- Andres Korn – $287,219
- Yi Ma – $214,047
- Koji Takagi – $160,715
- Stefan Widmer – $121,586
- Philip Gildea – $92,686
- Ben Alloggio – $71,199
- James Stewart – $55,188
Rick Alvarado Outduels Mark Radoja for $888 Crazy Eights Title
If Rick Alvarado has his way, the $888 Crazy Eights tournament would change its name to the Lucky #7 event. The 27-year-old Californian entered the Crazy Eights event seven times and turned that into an $888,888 cash and his first career bracelet.
Alvarado started the final day as the third smallest stack with ten players left. He was convinced enough that it wasn’t going to turn out the way it did that he told his mom not to bother coming to Las Vegas to be on his rail.
“I told my mom not to worry about coming when I made the final ten because I was short-stacked. Then when I doubled up, she was like, ‘Should I come?’ I said, ‘It’s up to to you,’ and then she talked to one of my friends and he said she should come. So she booked the flight this afternoon,” Alvarado said. “She said she was running through the airport to catch it, and then my friend went and picked her up from the airport, not more than 20 or 30 minutes before I won the bracelet. She got here with five minutes to spare. She saw maybe three hands. I’m really happy that she was here in time.”
Alvarado and Mark Radoja played just over 30 minutes of heads up before Alvarado won. Radoja, who won a bracelet in each 2011 and 2013, banked $548,888, also a career-high cash. Thomas Drivas was third for $409,888.
888poker Ambassador Vivian Saliba finished fourth for a career-best $308,888.
Final Table Payouts
- Rick Alvarado – $888,888
- Mark Radoja – $548,888
- Thomas Drivas – $409,888
- Vivian Saliba – $308,888
- Aleksandras Rusinovas – $233,888
- Patrick Clarke – $177,888
- Vlad Darie – $136,888
- Mario Hofler – $105,888
Brandon ‘DrOctagon’ Adams Wins $3,200 Online High Roller
The largest buy-in online bracelet event on the 2019 schedule drew 593 entries and after 12 hours of play, Brandon ‘DrOctagon’ Adams emerged with a bracelet and a massive $411,561 payday.
Adams beat Nabil Mohamed Abdien ‘thebrownbear’ Cardoso heads up for the win. Cardoso walked away with $253,643 for his runner-up finish. Vladimir ‘stuey_haxton’ Alexandrov took home $173,241 for finishing third.
Former #1-ranked online poker player, Calvin Anderson, finished fifth for $85,449.
Final Table Payouts
- Brandon ‘DrOctagon’ Adams – $411,561
- Nabil Mohamed Abdien ‘thebrownbear’ Cardoso – $253,643
- Vladimir ‘stuey_haxton’ Alexandrov – $173,241
- Michael ‘VinnyV’ Vanier – $120,422
- Calvin ‘projector52’ Anderson – $85,449
- Norbert ‘balkan500’ Szecsi – $61,653
- Lior ‘morningowl’ Orel – $45,429
- Harsukhpaul ‘MjMafia’ Sangha – $34,071
- lowrider71- $26,139
Joao Vieira Leads $5,000 Six Max Final Table
Joao Vieira is considered by many of his peers to be one of the best tournament players in the world. His 2019 WSOP includes six cashes but nothing even close to a final table appearance. That narrative took a turn on Wednesday though as the Portuguese pro bagged up 7,635,000 and the chip leading heading into the final table of the $5,000 Six Max No Limit Hold’em event.
If Vieira hopes to turn that chip lead into gold, he’ll need to get past a talented group of opponents including Olivier Busquet, Joe Cada, and Barry Hutter.
Jamie O’Connor finished Day 3 with a second biggest stack of 5,190,000. Busquet and Cada hold down the third and fourth spots with 4,050,000 and 3,105,000 respectively. Pierre Calamusa sits fifth with 2,700,000 and Hutter brings in the short stack with 1,265,000.
Day 3 began with 28 players still in contention. Some of the notables who saw their run end a bit too early include Christopher Brammer, Chris Hunichen, Patrick Tardif, and Ankush Mandavia.
The final table begins at Noon.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Joao Vieira – 7,635,000
- Jamie O’Connor – 5,190,000
- Olivier Busquet – 4,050,000
- Joe Cada – 3,105,000
- Pierre Calamusa – 2,700,000
- Barry Hutter – 1,265,000
Taylor Carroll Leads $500 Salute to Warriors Event
Taylor Carroll finished Day 2 of the $500 Salute to Warriors sitting atop the chip counts with just eight players left. Carroll bagged up 13,525,000 and holds nearly double that of any other player.
Susan Faber holds the second-best stack with 7,280,000 while Dean Yoon is third with 6,845,000.
There were 287 players still alive at the start of the and 28 of the 279 who busted on Wednesday did so without picking up a cash. Once the bubble burst, the eliminations came at a quick clip. Some of the familiar faces that finished in the money but did not advance to the final table include Vinny Pahuja, Mike Sexton, DJ MacKinnon, and Ben Yu.
The players now get July 4 off before returning on Friday to play to a winner.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Taylor Carroll – 13,525,000
- Susan Faber – 7,280,000
- Dean Yoon – 6,845,000
- Christopher Canan – 6,105,000
- Robin Stark – 3,650,000
- Kulwant Singh – 2,225,000
- Jordan Knackstedt – 2,050,000
- Jose Annaloro – 1,265,000
Mike Lancaster Leads $10K Limit Hold’em Championship
Just 15 players remain in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship with California’s Mike Lancaster the only player with a seven-figure stack. Lancaster bagged up 1,201,000 on Day 2.
Juha Helppi sits second with 986,000 and Josh Arieh, fresh off of his runner-up finish in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, sits third with 772,000.
John Racener, Eli Elezra, and Andrew Brown highlight the notables still chasing this bracelet.
James Obst busted in 16th place for his 10th cash of the 2019 WSOP.
Action resumes at 2 PM PT.
Top Chip Counts
- Mike Lancaster – 1,201,000
- Juha Helppi – 986,000
- Josh Arieh – 772,000
- Kevin Song – 744,000
- Anthony Marsico – 689,000
- Qinghai Pan – 527,000
- Tommy Hang – 527,000
- Robert Como – 476,000
- John Racener – 304,000
- Eli Elezra – 250,000
