West Chester, PA's Paul Volpe collects $417,921 for winning Omaha Hi-Lo Championship.
6 June 2018 (Las Vegas) – Following an extra fourth day of action, Paul Volpe has triumphed in Event #9 of the 2018 World Series of Poker, Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. The win gives Volpe his third career WSOP bracelet along with $417,921 in first-place money.
Volpe, 36, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, emerged as the winner of this event after a topsy-turvy final that saw each of the final four players take turns in the lead. Volpe was one of four multiple bracelet winners making the final seven in this event. Volpe outdueled three-time WSOP winner Eli Elezra for the title, while fifth-place finisher Viacheslav Zhukov (two bracelets), and Robert Mizrachi (four) also made deep runs here.
Prominent Vegas pro Elezra came up just short here in a bid for his own fourth bracelet. Elezra, who entered Day 4 play with the lead, collected $258,297 for the second-place effort.
Third place went to Seattle, Washington's Adam Coats, whose $181,374 cash here nearly doubled his previous career earnings of more than $106,000. Fourth place and $129,648 went to Kansas City's Kyle Miaso.
Volpe's triumph came after a short duel against Elezra, who staved off elimination in couple of chopped pots but couldn't overcome Volpe's event-ending heater. The final hand found Elezra all in before the flop with , and Volpe calling with . The flop brought , giving Volpe bottom straight and leaving Elezra asking for a ten, but the turn and river brought the and instead, sealing Volpe's win.
The title in Event #9 caps a torrid opening week for Volpe, who took third in Event #2, No-Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty, and 15th in Event #5: $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. The hot start will push Volpe to or near the top of the WSOP's annual Player of the Year chase in the early going.
“I just ran really, really good,” Volpe admitted. “I think a lot of people with the same cards as me would've won the tournament.” Volpe bided his time early on, though. “I was playing solid in the beginning, and with Omaha, as there gets to be less people, you get more aggressive.
That tried-and-true path paid off, and Volpe also acknowledged that facing Elezra for the bracelet wasn't all that unexpected. “I thought there was a good chance. I think me and Eli were the two most experienced. We had the most chips, or close to it.”
Despite the big early win, Volpe hasn't yet finalized his WSOP plans. “I don't know, people are like, 'You have to chase Player of the Year', but I don't know. Volpe did say, though, that he'd likely be entering several of this summer's Championship ($10,000 buy-in) events.
Action resumed in an originally unscheduled Day 4 with six players returning for a chance at the title. Late Day 3 play saw three players bounced from the official final table, with Per Hildebrand (9th), Daniel Zack (8th), and Robert Mizrachi (7th) all collecting nice paydays for their deep runs here. Three-time bracelet winner Elezra led the final six as the day began, his 2.7 million in chips comfortably in front of his closest competitors, Coats and Volpe.
Out first on Day 4 was Dustin Dirksen, who started play on a very short stack and lasted just a handful of hands. Dirksen doubled up once, but not twice, with Volpe soon logging the day's first knockout. Dirksen got the last of his chips in a hand after a flop, with Volpe calling. Dirksen showed while Volpe tabled for a better hand both ways, and it stayed a scoop after the turn and river. Dirksen, from Des Moines, Iowa, earned $69,971 here.
Two-time bracelet winner Viacheslav “Slava” Zhukov followed Dirksen to the rail not long after. Zhukov, from Stary Oskol in the Russian Federation, departed following a hand taken down by Kyle Miaso. Zhukov raised following a flop, with Miaso re-raising to force out Zhukov, who also saw the flop. Zhukov raised again, all in, and Miaso called. Zhukov showed to Miaso's , and Miaso's two pair (with no low available) stayed good through the turn and river. The hand sent Zhukov to the cashier to collect $94,370 for the fifth-place run.
The final four battled for nearly four hours, with each of the players grabbing the lead at some point during this stretch. Miaso ended up on the short stack after being quartered by Elezra in a large pot. A short while later, Elezra delivered the knockout blow, his good against Miaso's on a runout. Miaso, now from Kansas City, collected $129,648.
That left three with Coats leading the way, but from there Coats' cards dried up, and he was out in less than an hour. Coats' demise came in a hand where he got the last of his chips in well ahead of Elezra, Coats with and Elezra with after a flop.
Coats' departure left the final's two most experienced players, Volpe and Elezra, to battle for the title. However, a possible lengthy heads-up duel never materialized, with Volpe quickly closing out the win.
Event #9 attracted 169 total entries, building a prize pool of $1,588,600. The top 26 players made the money, with a minimum cash worth $14,912.
Other Notables:
Among those cashing in Event #9 were Jesse Martin (10th, $25,619), Mike Matusow (11th, $25,619), Steve Chanthabouasay (12th, $25,619), Mike Gorodinsky (16th, $17,488), Chris Bjorin (18th, $17,488), Daniel Alaei (21st, $14,912), Anthony Zinno (24th, $14,912), and Dan Shak (26th, $14,912).
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Final Table Payouts (POY points in parentheses):
1st: Paul Volpe, $417,921 (1059.56)
2nd: Eli Elezra, $258,297 (529.78)
3rd: Adam Coats, $181,374 (476.80)
4th: Kyle Miaso, $129,648 (423.83)
5th: Viacheslav Zhukov, $94,370 (397.34)
6th: Dustin Dirksen, $69,971 (370.85)
7th: Robert Mizrachi, $52,866 (317.87)
8th: Daniel Zack, $40,715 (291.38)
9th: Per Hildebrand, $31,977 (264.89)