Stojanovic and Ausmus Win WSOPE Gold
Friday, 18 October 2013
Darko Stojanovic may not have held the chip lead and the crowd may not have been rooting for him but over the course of 53 hands he was able to overcome Dan O'Brien and claim his first WSOPE bracelet.
Starting yesterday's session already knowing he could finish no worse than second place obviously gave Stojanovic enough confidence to play without fear despite O'Brien being the heavy favourite. Indeed, O'Brien had found himself in a similar position at the WSOPE in 2012 when he lost a heads-up battle to Giovanni Rosadoni in the €3,250 Shootout event.
The pressure of not living a déjà vu moment obviously affected O'Brien from the outset as he lost his dominant chip lead within two hands and from there he found himself under constant attack. By the time O'Brien finally took a stand with Ah 5h he was in need of some help as Stojanovic's pocket sevens were leading on the 4c Qh 6h board.
Although O'Brien had a healthy chance of survival the Js on the turn and 8d on the river soon brought the hand and the tournament to a close. Following the final pot a clearly dejected O'Brien headed towards his supporters for consolation while Stojanovic basked in the glow of WSOPE glory with his first bracelet and €188,160.
Event #3 €5,300 Mixed Max Final Result:
1 Darko Stojanovic €188,160
2 Dan O'Brien €116,280
3 Jason Mann €62,770
4 Noah Schwartz €62,770
5 Shannon Shorr €30,695
6 Jeremy Joseph €30,695
7 Jake Schwartz €30,695
8 Joe Keuther €30,695
9 Ville Mattila €14,905
...Ausmus Joins Stojanovic on the Winner's Rostrum
Whilst Stojanovic was winning another bracelet for Europe, Jeremy Ausmus was preparing to take one across the Atlantic with him. Having made the trip from his native US to fight for a WSOP title, Ausmus was able to do what he couldn't in the 2012 Main Event (he finished 5th behind the eventual winner Greg Merson) and bink a bracelet.
Yesterday's session saw Juha Helppi hold the chip lead at the start of play and with crowd favourite Jason Mercier command much of the rail's attention which meant Ausmus was able to fly under the radar. Indeed, by the time Michael Schwartz and Martin Kozlov had departed, Ausmus had manoeuvred himself in contention for the title.
With chips in front of him and the departure of Mercier and Jan-Peter Jachtmann leaving just Helppi in his way, Ausmus was able to seal the deal after a long heads-up battle.
Although Helppi held a dominating chip lead at the start of the final battle there wasn't going to be another European posing for pictures yesterday as Ausmus dug his heels in and managed to secure a handful of timely double-ups.
As the momentum began to swing his way the final hand saw Ausmus and Helppi move all-in on a Ts Th 4h flop with trip tens. However, as they revealed their hands it was Ausmus who had the slight lead (thanks to a flush draw) with Ah Qh Td 8d against Helppi's As Tc 7h 2d. With nothing left to do but wait the pair watched as the 8c gave Ausmus and full house and the 3d brought the hand to a close.
With that the final pot was pushed to Ausmus who raised his hands aloft as the latest WSOPE champion.
Event #4 €1,650 PLO Final Result :
1 Jeremy Ausmus €70,324
2 Juha Helppi €43,441
3 Jan-Peter Jachtmann €31,367
4 Jason Mercier €23,036
5 Martin Kozlov €17,210
6 Michael Schwartz €13,077