2018 WSOP Event 45: Mario Prats Garcia Wins $1,000 Big Blind NLH For $258,255
Mario Prats Garcia is the newest WSOP gold bracelet winner after taking down Event #45: Big Blind Antes $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em (30 minute levels). Prats Garcia ended up at the top after only 87 hands at the final table. Day 2 lasted less than seven hours in total.
The Spanish bracelet winner had a second-place finish at last year's WSOP and upped it this year by taking down a bracelet. When asked how he felt about winning the tournament, he said the following: "Super excited, I'm super happy. I thought I could never get back here and the FT was hard. I sucked out a couple of guys and I got all the chips! I'm super excited and nervous."
In regard to his second-place finish last year: "I just tried to stay confident and positive. Any result that would come, that would be good for me. If I played good and that is what happened."
The entire tournament took place over just two days over at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. 1,712 hopefuls registered the tournament with the dream of becoming a World Series of Poker champion. 41 players started Day 2 of the tournament and the final table was reached within just four hours of play.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Prats Garcia | Spain | $258,255 |
| 2 | Matthew Hunt | United Kingdom | $159,532 |
| 3 | Sebastian Dornbracht | Germany | $114,909 |
| 4 | Michael Wang | United States | $83,663 |
| 5 | Mark Schluter | United States | $61,580 |
| 6 | Gregory Worner | United States | $45,828 |
| 7 | DJ MacKinnon | United States | $34,486 |
| 8 | Martin Staszko | Czech Republic | $26,245 |
| 9 | Lander Lijo | Spain | $20,202 |
Some of the players who did make it to Day 2, but couldn't make it to the final table include Justin Oliver (37th - $5,376), Manig Loeser (33rd - $6,505), Conor Beresford (32nd - $6,505), Esther Taylor (21st - $7,967), Joseph Cheong (19th - $7,967), Kathy Liebert (18th - $9,877), and Athanasios Polychronopoulos (11th - $15,730).
It took 14 hands to get the first elimination once the official final table was reached. Lander Lijo was the first to exit the final table after he got his ace-deuce in the middle against the ace-queen of Michael Wang. Wang had established a big chip lead at this point and got an even stronger position once he sent Lijo to the rail.
Martin Staszko was the next player to exit the tournament. He pushed all in while he was holding king-queen on the turn for king-high and Mario Prats Garcia snap-called with top set. Staszko got his money in the middle while he was drawing dead. That was the first moment Prats Garcia got into the lead at the final table and he managed to stay at the top throughout almost the entire final table.
It only took six more hands to lose DJ MacKinnon from the final table in seventh place. MacKinnon was in rough shape when he got his king-seven all in against the pair of sevens of Matthew Hunt. MacKinnon didn't manage to beat his record finish in a WSOP event. He got fifth in 2013 in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event and this time he wasn't able to close the tournament out either.
Six-handed play went on for a while and players didn't seem to want to risk it all. The average chip stack eventually dropped below the 14 big blinds mark and that was the point where the tournament finished within minutes. Gregory Worner got a bad beat when he lost all his chips with ace-seven against ace-deuce. The dealer spread out the flop and it had a deuce in there. Worner wasn't able to catch up and all of his chips went to Prats Garcia.
Two hands later, Prats Garcia sent another player to the rail. This time his victim was Mark Schluter, who had been grinding a short stack all final table. Schluter had to settle for fifth place. Prats Garcia was holding ace-ten and just had to fade an eight against the ten-eight of Schluter. Prats Garcia won more chips and that propelled him into the chip lead and a commanding position at the table.
Prats Garcia made even more use of his chips when he sent Wang to the rail in fourth place. At that point, Prats Garcia had more than 50% of all the chips in play in front of him. Prats Garcia had ace-king suited and won against the pair of treys of Wang. Wang had a big chip lead at one point of the final table, but after the king on the flop, Wang had to leave the tournament just shy of a podium finish.
Sebastian Dornbracht ended up in third place after running into the same big stack bully as the other players at the table. Dornbracht found a dream spot where Prats Garcia pushed all in and he woke up with kings. He had to hold against the ace-four of his opponent, but he wasn't up to the task after the dealer dealt a wheel to the Spanish chip leader. Dornbracht was eliminated in third place and Prats Garcia had a huge chip lead going into the heads-up play.
The heads-up battle only took three hands. Matthew Hunt raised and won the pot in the first one, he doubled up in the second one, but he lost the tournament after hitting a straight on the river with ten-six on the five-four-seven-nine-eight board while Prats Garcia had a flush with queen-six of diamonds.
Prats Garcia won the fourth Big Blind Ante tournament at the WSOP, which also happens to be a 30-minute levels tournament. When asked about the structure, he said: "I love it, I would like to see all events with Big Blind Antes. It's easier and faster, I love it. I think the structure is an advantage for online players. I think a lot of recreational players haven't studied the shove and call ranges for short stacks and as we play a lot of turbos online, we have studied it a bit more so we have a bit more of an edge I think."
Prats Garcia's bracelet ceremony is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Sunday, June 24, during the first break of Event #48B: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em MONSTER STACK which he is planning to play too.
In this Series
- 1 2018 WSOP Event 1: Jordan Hufty Wins First WSOP Gold in $565 Casino Employees
- 2 2018 WSOP Event 2: Elio Fox Wins First Ever WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for $393,693
- 3 2018 WSOP Event 3: Joe Cada Wins 2018 WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold��em SHOOTOUT for $226,218
- 4 2018 WSOP Event 4: Julien Martini Wins $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better ($239,771)
- 5 2018 WSOP Event 5: Nick Petrangelo Wins WSOP $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller ($2,910,227)
- 6 2018 WSOP Event 6: Jeremy Perrin Wins The GIANT Turning $365 Into $250,966
- 7 2018 WSOP Event 7: Roberly Felicio Wins the 2018 WSOP COLOSSUS for $1,000,000
- 8 2018 WSOP Event 8: Johannes Becker Wins $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball ($180,455)
- 9 2018 WSOP Event 9: Paul Volpe Wins Third WSOP Bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
- 10 2018 WSOP Event 10: William ��Twooopair�� Reymond Wins $365 WSOP.com ONLINE Event ($154,996)
- 11 2018 WSOP Event 11: Tim Andrew Triumphs in the $365 PLO GIANT for $116,015, Mizrachi Fifth
- 12 2018 WSOP Event 12: Jeremy Harkin Wins $1,500 Dealer's Choice for $129,882
- 13 2018 WSOP Event 13: Benjamin Moon Wins $1,500 Big Blind Antes for $315,346
- 14 2018 WSOP Event 14: Daniel Ospina Wins First Bracelet for Colombia in 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 15 2018 WSOP Event 15: Andrey Zhigalov Wins $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. for $202,787
- 16 2018 WSOP Event 16: Justin Bonomo Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10K Heads-Up Championship
- 17 2018 WSOP Event 17: Ognyan Dimov Wins Third Bracelet for Bulgaria in Event #17 ($378,743)
- 18 2018 WSOP Event 18: Adam Friedman Wins Second Bracelet in $10K Dealer's Choice
- 19 2018 WSOP Event 19: Craig Varnell Wins $565 Pot-Limit Omaha ($181,790)
- 20 2018 WSOP Event 20: Jeremy Wien Conquers $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $537,710
- 21 2018 WSOP Event 21: Arne Kern Wins $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em MILLIONAIRE MAKER ($1,173,223)
- 22 2018 WSOP Event 22: Philip Long Wins $1,500 Eight Game Mix ($147,348)
- 23 2018 WSOP Event 23: Brian Rast Wins Fourth Bracelet in 2-7 Lowball Championship, Brunson 6th
- 24 2018 WSOP Event 24: Michael Addamo Wins Event #24: $2,620 MARATHON No-Limit Hold'em
- 25 2018 WSOP Event 25: Benjamin Dobson Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- 26 2018 WSOP Event 26: Filippos Stavrakis Dedicates WSOP PLO Bracelet ($169,842) to His Brother
- 27 2018 WSOP Event 27: John Hennigan Wins 2018 WSOP $10K HORSE for Fifth Bracelet and $415K
- 28 2018 WSOP Event 28: Fortunate River Gives Gal Yifrach First WSOP Bracelet & $461K Prize
- 29 2018 WSOP Event 29: Hanh Tran Wins First WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw ($117,282)
- 30 2018 WSOP Event 30: Ryan Bambrick Wins First Gold Bracelet in Dominating Fashion
- 31 2018 WSOP Event 31: Steven Albini Wins $1,500 Stud to Deny Jeff Lisandro 7th Bracelet
- 32 2018 WSOP Event 32: Matthew Davis Tops Biggest Seniors Event Ever to Win $662,983
- 33 2018 WSOP Event 33: Michael Mizrachi Wins His Third Poker Players Championship Title
- 34 2018 WSOP Event 34: Robert Peacock Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,000 DOUBLE STACK
- 35 2018 WSOP Event 35: Yueqi Zhu Claims First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Mixed Omaha
- 36 2018 WSOP Event 36: Farhintaj Bonyadi Wins Event $1,000 Super Seniors ($311,451)
- 37 2018 WSOP Event 37: Eric Baldwin Wins Second Bracelet, Dedicates it to His Father
- 38 2018 WSOP Event 38: Yaniv Birman Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship ($236,238)
- 39 2018 WSOP Event 39: Preston Lee Captures $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout Bracelet ($236,498)
- 40 2018 WSOP Event 40: Scott Bohlman Wins WSOP $2,500 Mixed Big Bet ($122,138)
- 41 2018 WSOP Event 41: Robert Nehorayan Wins $1,500 Limit Hold'em for $173,568
- 42 2018 WSOP Event 42: Shaun Deeb Gets Revenge on Ben Yu to Win $25K PLO for $1,402,683
- 43 2018 WSOP Event 43: Timur Margolin Takes Down $2,500 NLHE for $507,274
- 44 2018 WSOP Event 44: Nicholas Seiken Wins $10k 2-7 Triple Draw Championship for $287,987
- 45 2018 WSOP Event 45: Mario Prats Garcia Wins $1,000 Big Blind NLH For $258,255
- 46 2018 WSOP Event 46: David Brookshire Wins WSOP $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 ($214,291)
- 47 2018 WSOP Event 47: Matthew 'mendey' Mendez Wins First WSOP Online PLO Bracelet ($135,077)
- 48 2018 WSOP Event 48: Tommy Nguyen Wins Monster Stack for $1,037,451
- 49 2018 WSOP Event 49: Loren Klein Wins $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $1,018,336
- 50 2018 WSOP Event 50: Jay Kwon Wins $1,500 Razz ($125,431)
- 51 2018 WSOP Event 51: Ryan Leng Ships First WSOP Gold in $1,500 BOUNTY ($272,504)
- 52 2018 WSOP Event 52: Scott Seiver Wins $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship ($296,222)
- 53 2018 WSOP Event 53: Couden Tops Elezra, Matusow, Negreanu, and Fitoussi to win $1,500 PLO8
- 54 2018 WSOP Event 54: Portugal's Diogo Veiga Wins $3K Big Blind Antes ($522,715)
- 55 2018 WSOP Event 55: Giuseppe Pantaleo and Nikita Luther Win the $1K Tag Team for $175,805!
- 56 2018 WSOP Event 56: Calvin Anderson Wins His Second Bracelet in the $10K Razz ($309,220)!
- 57 2018 WSOP Event 57: Jessica Dawley Wins the WSOP Ladies Championship for $130,230!
- 58 2018 WSOP Event 58: Tribe Has Spoken: Jean-Robert Bellande Wins First Bracelet for $616K
- 59 2018 WSOP Event 59: Mike Takayama Makes History as the First Filipino to Win a WSOP Bracelet
- 60 2018 WSOP Event 60: Galfond Wins 3rd Bracelet in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
- 61 2018 WSOP Event 61: Ryan 'Toosick' Tosoc Wins WSOP.com $1,000 Championship ($238,778)
- 62 2018 WSOP Event 62: Galen Hall Wins $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em for $888,888
- 63 2018 WSOP Event 63: Chance 'BingShui' Kornuth Wins Second Bracelet in WSOP.com Online High Roller for $341,598
- 64 2018 WSOP Event 64: Matsuzuki Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- 65 John Cynn Wins the 2018 WSOP Main Event for $8,800,000!
- 66 2018 WSOP Event 66: Longsheng Tan Wins $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em for $323,472
- 67 2018 WSOP Event 67: Anderson Ireland Wins $1,500 PLO Bounty for First Bracelet and $141K
- 68 2018 WSOP Event 68: Guoliang Wei Wins Fourth Chinese Bracelet in The Little One for One Drop ($559,332)
- 69 2018 WSOP Event 69: Ronald Keijzer Wins $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed for $475,033
- 70 2018 WSOP Event 70: Yaser Al-Keliddar Wins Event #70: $3K Limit Hold'em 6-Handed for $154K
- 71 2018 WSOP Event 71: Phil Hellmuth Wins 15th Career Bracelet in $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em!
- 72 2018 WSOP Event 72: Jordan Polk Wins $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO for $197,461
- 73 2018 WSOP Event 73: Denis Timofeev Bests Leo Margets to Win the $1,000 Double Stack Turbo
- 74 2018 WSOP Event 74: Shaun Deeb Wins Second Bracelet of the Summer in $10,000 6-Max ($814,179)
- 75 2018 WSOP Event 75: Joe Cada Wins His Fourth Career Bracelet in The Closer ($612,886)
- 76 2018 WSOP Event 76: Brian Hastings Wins the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E and 4th Bracelet
- 77 2018 WSOP Event 77: Ben Yu Wins Third Bracelet in $50,000 High Roller $1,650,773
