Record breaking, bracelet winning, and lots of controversy at the 2015 WSOP.
The 2015 World Series of Poker got into full swing two weeks ago and has already captured numerous mainstream headlines. Poker tournament players from around the globe continue to flock to Las Vegas to compete in the prestigious series of events that feature a unique balance of tournament formats, buy-ins and side games.The Colossus Breaks Live Poker Tournament Entry Record
“The Colossus” kicked off on May 29th and featured a buy-in of $565, which is the smallest entry fee for an open WSOP tournament since the early 1980s. As a result, a total of 2,374 participants entered the event — the largest player field even for a live poker tournament. When the smoke had cleared, Houston resident Cord Garcia came out on top of the massive field and pocketed $638,880.
Ironically, Garcia’s temporary roommate in Las Vegas, Ray Henson, placed 3rd in that same event for a payday of $308,761. The Colossus has received a lot of positive and negative feedback from players due to its flat payout structure in which the eventual winner took home just over 5% of the $11,187,000 total prize pool.
Hellmuth Earns 14th WSOP Bracelet
Phil Hellmuth extended his lead as the all-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner on June 8th by winning the $10,000 buy-in Razz event for $271,105.
With the win, the 50-year old mainstream personality now has 14 WSOP bracelets to his name — two of which were captured in a Razz tournament. During his acceptance speech, Hellmuth acknowledged his sponsor, Aria, for their backing and support.
Cheating in Heads-Up Event?
There is ongoing controversy in this year’s WSOP after two players questioned the integrity of play during the $10,000 NLHE Heads-Up event. Tournament specialists Pratyush Buddiga and Connor “blanconegro” Drinan complained that it appeared Valeriu Coca of Moldova was cheating during their respective matches against him in the tournament.
Several players who were defeated in their matches against Moldova eventually got together, with Drinan posting his suspicions in TwoPlusTwo thread. The players stated that Coca appeared to have an unfair advantage, possibly through marked cards, and subsequently requested that WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel investigate the matter.
WSOP Director of Communications Seth Palansky posted an initial response on Twitter that preliminary tests have shown “no markings or use of any foreign solution”
on the cards. Coca, who is rumored to be banned in numerous Czech casinos for marking cards, eventually finished fifth in the WSOP $10k Heads-Up event.
Attendance Down in Monster Stack WSOP Event
This year, only 7,192 players entered the WSOP “Monster Stack” tournament, which is roughly an 8 percent decrease compared to last year’s participation. The event featured a $1,500 buy-in attracted nearly 8,000 entrants in 2014 due to its relatively slow blind structure and 15,000 starting chips.
This year’s Monster Stack tournament will pay out $1.2 million to the winner.
Shaun Deeb Captures First WSOP Bracelet
Former micro-stakes online poker tournament grinder Shaun Deeb won his first ever WSOP bracelet earlier this month, collecting $318,857 for his victory in the $10,000 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em Championship.
Deeb, who recently became a father, has close to $3 million in career live poker tournament earnings, including a $1,000,000 satellite entry into the 2012 WSOP “One Drop” event.
Stay tuned for more 2015 World Series of Poker coverage here at TournamentPokerEdge.