Event #79: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 3 Completed
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #79: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$2,500
Prize Pool
$4,601,300
Entries
2,068
Level
37
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
24
Players Left
1
Level 37
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
After three long days of play in an event stacked with notables, Samuel Bernabeu has joined the ranks of WSOP bracelet winners. Bernabeu bested a field of 2,068 entries in Event #79: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em to take home a first-place prize of $682,436 and his very first WSOP gold bracelet.
Bernabeu came into Day 3 sixth in chips with 43 big blinds, and although it got a little rocky for a while in the earlier levels of the day, he managed to survive to the final table by hitting quads against Derek Normand right before. Heading into the final table, he was sixth in chips but really got going whenever he drew first blood by busting Daniel Schill in ninth place. He then went on to bust six of the nine players at the final table for a dramatic finish to the tournament.
This was the Spaniard’s first WSOP bracelet and his first big cash since he returned to poker after a long hiatus.
Event #79:$2,500 No-Limit Holdem Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Bernabeu | Spain | $682,432 |
| 2 | James Anderson | United States | $421,761 |
| 3 | Zlatin Penev | Italy | $310,528 |
| 4 | Seth Davies | United States | $310,528 |
| 5 | Diego Vaz Sorgatto | Brazil | $230,772 |
| 6 | Justin Kindred | United States | $137,121 |
| 7 | Ramon Fernandez | Spain | $100,252 |
| 8 | Derek Normand | United States | $77,401 |
| 9 | Daniel Schill | United States | $60,346 |
“I used to play a lot in Spain, but when I moved to Mexico, I took a lot of time of, but I felt like something was missing in my life being away for so long. It just feels amazing to actually win one after everything that has happened,” an emotional Bernabeu said with tears in his eyes.
Bernabeu has fired in many of the WSOP events this summer without much success, including a heartbreaking bust out in the Main Event on Day 2, where he explained that he had fallen sick and could not play to his full ability.
His rail was also there for the entire final table, cheering him on throughout the ups and downs and finally, the sweet moment when the last card fell to secure his victory, and he threw his hands up and yelled “VAMOS!!” and ran to embrace them.
PokerNews caught up with 888 Ambassador Ana Marquez, who was a member on his rail who described him as:
“[He’s]... a really great guy and poker player. He loves the game and is very creative. He even created his own revolutionary poker deck with five suits instead of four and wants to introduce it to the world at some point.”
Final Day Action
After the cards were in the air, it didn't take long before the bust-outs began rolling in. Several players were eliminated within the first few hands, with Galen Hall the first to exit followed by George Janssen. After that, it seemed a player busted every 15-20 minutes on average until Junhao Wu busted in 19th and the players were then redrawn to the final two tables. Even at this point, the bustouts were still fast and furious and the final table was reached within two levels when Kartik Ved and Matias Gabrenja were eliminated at almost the same time in 10th and 11th, respectively.
Next to go was the previously mentioned Schill, who fell in ninth as the first final table casualty, as well as Bernabeu’s first victim.
Coming in eighth place was Houston native Normand, known for his stellar table talk throughout the tournament, who busted when he got it in with king-nine of spades but could not improve against Penev’s superior ace-jack of spades.
Bernabeu then turned around and busted short-stacked Ramon Fernandez who got it in with ten-three offsuit versus Bernabeu's pocket queens.
After that, it became the Penev and Anderson show as they both won several giant pots and took turns being the chip leader on several occasions, including the hand when Penev busted Justin Kindred in sixth when his ace-jack could not improve against Penev’s ace-queen.
Their back-and-forth chip race went on for quite a while with no bust outs until Bernabeu got it all in against Sorgatto, who then became his third victim on the final table as he exited in fifth.
Triton high-roller regular Davies was the chip leader heading into both Day 2 and Day 3, and he maintained his dominance through much of the day until he took a big hit against James Anderson right before the dinner break and was reduced to only a few blinds. After returning from break, he only lasted a few hands before getting it in with king-ten offsuit versus the pocket jacks of none other than Bernabeu. He failed to improve on the runout and exited the tournament in fourth place as Bernabeus's fourth kill.
Although he was chip-leading for most of the final table, Penev took a big hit when he doubled up Bernabeu in a giant 20,000,000 pot when he called his all-in with ace-king suited versus Bernabeu’s pocket queens and failed to improve. It wasn't long after that when he finally fell to the final table MVP when his pocket fives got crushed by Bernabeu’s ace-queen on an ace-queen-king flop with no five in sight.
Heads-up play between Bernabeu and Anderson lasted for about 25 minutes until they got it in with pocket kings against ace-queen, with Anderson holding the latter. Although he flopped the nut flush draw, Anderson could not find a club and the king of spades on the river was just the icing on the cake to send him out as the runner-up while Bernabeu was crowned the champion and adorned with the WSOP gold bracelet.
This concludes the coverage of Event #79: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em but stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action from the last handful of 2023 WSOP bracelet-awarding events.
Level 37
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
James Anderson moved all in preflop for around 13,000,000 and Samuel Bernabeu quickly made the call to put him at risk.
James Anderson: A?Q?
Samuel Bernabeu: K?K?
Anderson needed some help to stay alive, and the flop of 9?3?6? gave him a fighting chance as he gained flush outs along with any ace.
Unfortunately, the board ran out 7?K? for Bernabeu to improve to a set of kings and Anderson was eliminated as the runner-up in this event.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
72,380,000
15,600,000
|
15,600,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 37
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
On the latest The Chad & Jesse Poker Show[/I][/B] straight from the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Chad Holloway & Jesse Fullen are joined by none other than Daniel Negreanu, who took a break from his busy summer schedule to talk about a plethora of topics including what it’s been like running deep in the lower buy-in, big field events, interacting with fans, and how he feels about his performance thus far.
The GGPoker Ambassador also offers his thoughts on the Poker Hall of Fame, including who he thinks will get in and the changes he’d like to see moving forward. Finally, “Kid Poker” offers his prediction for the 2023 WSOP Main Event, which is also the first big topic discussed by the hosts.
Level: 37
Blinds: 400,000/800,000
Ante: 800,000
Level 37
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Zlatin Penev raised all in for 15,000,000 from the small blind and Samuel Bernabeu made the quick call from the big blind, The tenacious player shows a Bulgarian flag, although his friends say he is Italian through and through. His friends say he is a really good guy and super humble but he has won a lot of tournaments including the Italian Open a few months ago.
Zlatin Penev: 5?5?
Samuel Bernabeu: A?Q?
The board ran out A?Q?K?7?7? and Penev finished in third place as Bernabeu found two pair for the win.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
56,780,000
12,780,000
|
12,780,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
15,600,000
5,400,000
|
5,400,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
James Anderson moved all in preflop and the action was then on short-stacked Zlatin Penev who made the call for his tournament life.
Zlatin Penev: Q?10?
James Anderson: K?2?
The flop came out J?10?5? to give Penev the lead with his pair of tens, and the runout of 6?2? kept it that way to score him a double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
44,000,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
18,200,000
8,850,000
|
8,850,000 |
|
|
10,200,000
-6,400,000
|
-6,400,000 |
|
|
||
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Samuel Bernabeu raised on the button to 1,000,000 and James Anderson made the call from the small blind and Zlatin Penev folded from the big blind. The flop came Q?10?4? and Bernabeu bet 600,000 and Anderson made the call.
Both players checked the turn 10?.
On the river 5? the family man from Pittsburg, Anderson, made it 1,800,000 and Bernabue looked him up with a call. Anderson tabled 7?10? and Bernabeu mucked. Anderson won with his trips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
16,600,000
7,500,000
|
7,500,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
9,350,000
-11,650,000
|
-11,650,000 |
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
The play has slowed significantly down, due to a heavy ICM strategy presence, as barely any flops have been seen in this last level.
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Zlatin Penev raised to 2,000,000 from the small blind and Samuel Bernabeu called from the big blind. The flop came J?9?5? and Penev placed a bet of 2,200,000 and Bernabeu called.
The turn brought the 3? and Penev continued down the aggressive route and bet 2,800,000 and Bernebeu called again.
On the river Q? Penev went for it and announced, "All in" and Bernabeu took a moment and recounted his chips a few times and then the Spanish player called.
Penev tabled 6?7? and Bernabeu turned over Q?10? and won with his pair of queens. Suddenly Bernabeu was back in the game as the new chip leader.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
41,000,000
23,500,000
|
23,500,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
21,000,000
-21,000,000
|
-21,000,000 |
|
|
9,100,000
-3,600,000
|
-3,600,000 |
|
|
||