Boris Kasabov just became the latest Main Event Champion of the 2019/2020 World Series of Poker Circuit Season after topping a field of 281 players in the IP Biloxi Main Event. He claims his first WSOP Circuit ring along with $98,044 and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
"It feels surreal. It is very important, because I knew I wasn't going to stop playing until it happened. Just like everyone says, it's a big accomplishment," Kasabov said following his victory.
Indeed, Kasabov got extremely close to winning a Circuit title at multiple occasions before finally breaking through today. He has thirteen Circuit final tables on his resume including a couple of runner-up finishes, his last one being from just a few days ago at this stop, in Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed.
"I got second earlier in the series. I got rivered heads up, kings against ace-jack. I'm glad it happened now, most of my friends thought it would happen eventually but it's definitely a relief and it's a main too, my first one being a main, it's surreal."
The final day was a roller coaster for Kasabov as were his emotions after taking down the tournament. He started Day 3 as the shortest stack of the final five with only eighteen big blinds, but he knew that the best way to bounce back would start by finding a double early, and he did so during the first level of the day when he called an all in bet with ace-queen against Brett Apter’s nines and made two pair to double up.
The very next level, Brett Apter (5th place - $22,799), and Jeremy Eyer (4th place - $31,019) were eliminated in quick succession, guaranteeing Kasabov a spot in the top three.
Kasabov was the shortest stack when the three-handed portion of play got underway but that didn’t last long as he quickly made a big move to go from the least favorite to the most favorite to win it all. He three-bet jammed with ace-jack and got paid by Benjamin Thomas’ ace-nine suited. He was ahead, flopped a pair of jacks to improve his hand, then held on to the pot to take over the chip lead.
From there, he used his big stack to apply pressure on Thomas and Hamid Izadi and it was working well for him as he kept extending his lead. He proceeded to eliminate Izadi in third place with tens against Izadi’s ace-jack, and started the heads-up match with a 3:1 chip advantage against Thomas.
Kasabov was winning the majority of the pots and Thomas was eventually left out with only four big blinds. During the final hand of the tournament, Kasabov jammed from the button with king-eight and got called by Ben Thomas’ five-four. The flop brought Thomas a pair of eights, and although the turn paired Thomas’ five, it wasn’t good enough for him to survive and he was eliminated as the runner-up.
Final Table Action
Philip Walsh was the first casualty of the final table when he ran his jacks into Brett Apter's ace-king for his last thirteen big blinds. Apter flopped a king and held on to the pot, ending Walsh's run in ninth place.
Wayne Boyd was the next elimination. Boyd was short and needed to find a spot to double up. He shoved his last seven big blinds with ace-ten suited and got called by Hamid Izadi's king queen. The river came a queen for Izadi to rake in the pot, while Boyd headed to the exit in eighth place.
Boyd was followed to the payout desk shortly after by Benny Champlin. In a three-way pot, Champlin flopped trip jacks and three-bet jammed for fifteen big blinds after a bet from Apter and a raise from Boris Kasabov. Apter was the only one to make the call but he had Champlin out-kicked. The turn and river were of no help to Champlin and he was sent out in seventh place.
Bradley Myers was the next short stack to make a move and he jammed ten-nine suited only to get snap-called by Thomas' ace-ten suited in a blind vs blind situation. Thomas flopped a ten, ending Myers' deep run in sixth place.
Brett Apter was eliminated in fifth place. He shoved with ace-eight and saw an instant call by Thomas who had aces. Thomas stayed comfortably ahead, sending Apter to the rail.
Jeremy Eyer was Thomas's next victim. Eyer open-jammed on the flop with pair of eights for top pair but got snap-called by Thomas who held jacks. Eyer couldn't improve and headed to the exit instead in fourth.
Eyer was followed to the rail by Hamid Izadi. Hamid Izadi three-bet shoved his last nineteen big blinds with ace-jack and saw Kasabov quickly call with tens. The flop gave Izadi a pair of aces but Kasabov a set of tens, and that was it for Izadi's Main Event run.
The heads-up match was short-lived as Kasabov was winning the majority of the pots and Thomas was eventually left with four big blinds. Kasabov shoved with king-eight and Thomas called with five-four putting at risk his last chips. Kasabov flopped an eight and remained ahead to win it all.
Final Table Results:
1st place: Boris Kasabov - $98,044
2nd place: Benjamin Thomas - $60,601
3rd place: Hamid Izadi - $42,973
4th place: Jeremy Eyer - $31,019
5th place: Brett Apter - $22,799
6th place: Bradley Myers - $17,069
7th place: Benny Champlin - $13,020
8th place: Wayne Boyd - $10,124
9th place: Philip Walsh - $8,027
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