Alex Masek Captures Ring #6; Becomes All-Time WSOP Circuit Ring Winner
Back in December, PokerNews talked to 27-year-old Alexandru Masek after he won his fifth World Series of Poker Circuit ring at the Harrah��s Rincon stop. That tied him with Mark ��Pegasus�� Smith and Kyle Cartwright as the all-time leaders. Little did we know that a month later he��d capture No. 6 to become the all-time ring winner in the WSOP Circuit��s nine-year history.
Masek��s most recent win came on Friday night at the 2012/2013 World Series of Poker Circuit presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof Bicycle Casino Event #9 $365 No-Limit Hold��em Turbo where he defeated a field of 212 to win $15,905.
took down a 6th WSOP Circuit ring in the turbo event at the Bike today.. whole tourney played out in 13 hours, feels pretty surreal
— Alex Masek (@PujolsOfPokr)
Shortly after the win, the congratulations poured in from the poker community:
Congratations to Alex on winning his Sixth Ring....... JOB WELL DONE!!!!!!!!
— Mark S Smith (@pegasusmss)
Congrats to sicko @PujolsOfPokr on winning his sixth ring. #RingLeader #PimpHandPlusOne #WorkingOnToeRingsSoon
— David Clark (@WhoIsDavidClark)
HISTORY IS MADE! @PujolsOfPokr wins his 6th @WSOP Circuit Ring, setting a new record as the first player to need two hands for his rings!
— ike champion (@ikecrosoft)
Masek��s other WSOP Circuit wins are 2008/2009 Harrah��s Rincon Event #12 $230 No-Limit Hold��em for $9,654; 2009/2010 Caesars Atlantic City Event #5 $340 No-Limit Hold��em for $39,372; 2010/2011 Harrah��s Rincon Event #2 $345 No-Limit Hold��em for $22,794; 2011/2012 Harveys Lake Tahoe Event #8 $345 No-Limit Hold��em for $15,236, and 2012/2013 Harrah��s Rincon Event #1 No-Limit Hold��em for $15,989. All told, he has six wins, 26 cashes, 11 final-table appearances, and $281,350 in prize money on his WSOP Circuit r��sum��.
Masek, who did an in-depth interview with PokerNews earlier this year, is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, but now a resident of San Diego, California. "In 2008 I moved to San Diego for law school, and after graduating, I moved to Los Angeles late last year," Masek told PokerNews in a past interview. "Though I liked both St. Louis and San Diego, neither city has great year-round poker tournament action. I knew that if I wanted to really concentrate on tournament poker I'd have to live in a city like L.A., where there seems to be a good series going on basically every week.
��During January and February, I��m going to play the Circuit at the Bicycle Casino, then the LAPC at Commerce Casino,�� Masek told PokerNews after winning his fifth ring back in December. ��Between those two, I��ll end up playing over 40 live tournaments in the first two months of the year. Afterward, I��m not sure exactly what I��ll end up doing regarding poker. I definitely intend on qualifying for the WSOP National Championship so I��m going to travel to several Circuit stops, and otherwise will mainly play all the good live tournaments in LA. I��ll likely play Bay 101 after LAPC since I had a good experience there this year, then just take it from there.��
WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Ring Event #9 No-Limit Hold��em Turbo
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$65 | 212 | $63,600 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Masek | San Diego, CA | $15,905 |
| 2 | William Fagerbakke | Topanga, CA | $9,825 |
| 3 | Jason Tulloss | Arlington Heights, IL | $7,150 |
| 4 | Keith Rogers | Los Angeles, CA | $5,290 |
| 5 | Brian Gorman | Los Angeles, CA | $3,975 |
| 6 | Jose Franco | Santa Ana, CA | $3,030 |
| 7 | Jim Hoff | Los Angeles, CA | $2,345 |
| 8 | William Leffingwell | Tyler, TX | $1,845 |
| 9 | Anselmo Villarreal | Greenfield, WI | $1,470 |
Photo courtesy of WSOP.com.
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