Over a dozen events are now in the books at the ongoing World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online Bracelet Series at the WSOP.com. The hunt for the much-coveted gold bracelet continues as US-based players make the most out of the few remaining days before the festival comes to a close on July 31.
Among those who have recently been crowned was Scott “BudLightLime” Hempel who triumphed in Event #18: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed Turbo Deepstack.
Hempel topped a field of 987 entrants (including 290 rebuys) to walk away with the biggest slice of the prize pool.
The Canadian player outclassed Myles “Shipthemoney” Kotler heads-up to capture his first gold bracelet, alongside $181,060 as the top prize. The night before, Hempel also reached the final table of Event #17: $777 No-Limit Hold’em, where he earned $22,250 for finishing seventh.
Poker Central
Final Table Recap
As soon as the final table began, the players wasted no time, and a string eliminations quickly occurred. The first player to leave the table was Matthew “EarvinMagic” Parry whose king-five suited failed to hold against the ace-eight of Daniel “IntoTheRiver” Fischer. Parry finished eighth for $16,784. Shortly after, it was Harrison “harrison33” Dobin turn to go, running ace-king into Hempel’s pocket kings. He walked away with $22,222 for finishing seventh.
Andrew “GoatMaster” Melillo was responsible for the third elimination, sending Landon “ActionDealer” Tice out of the game with ace-queen suited against king-nine suited. Landon’s sixth-place finish, worth $29,817, represents his first-ever WSOP cash. Barry “puigmyfriend” Hutter entered the final table as the chip leader, but he failed to advance further after losing a hand against Hempel. Hutter settled for fifth place, winning $40,694.
The eventual winner then made a flush from five-six suited to defeat Fischer’s king-queen, sending him to the rail with $56,259 in fourth-place winnings. Not long after, Hempel finished off Melillo who ended his bid in third place for $78,856.
While Hempel entered heads-up play with a massive chip advantage over Kotler, the latter fought a good fight, grabbing the lead at one point. But it was only short-lived as Hempel managed to reclaim the lead, which paved the way for his victory. The final hand saw Kotler calling off with king-tens against Hempel’s pocket tens. Kotler found no further help, and he ultimately finished runner-up for $111,955.
It’s been a great year for Hempel’s poker career so far. The Canadian is also among the finalists at the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic Main Event which was supposed to take place in April at the state-of-the-art HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, but was postponed due to COVID-19.
