Event #66: $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em

Clayton Maguire is the winner of the 2016 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold’em Championship.

The poker player originally from Brighton, Colorado who now resides in Las Vegas won the $1,000 buy-in tournament, which was played both online and live at the Rio in Las Vegas.  The first stage of the tournament took place online at WSOP.com.  Once the final table of six players was determined, those finalists traveled to Las Vegas to play the finale in a live setting.  All players had to be positioned in Nevada to be eligible to participate.

“It was fun to play in a big online tournament,” Maguire said after his victory.  “I used to play a lot online before Black Friday.  I don’t get to play this high very often anymore.”

Maguire collected $210,279 in prize money, making this the biggest win of his career.  However, he’s no stranger to the pressures of going deep in a WSOP event.  Back in 2014, Maguire finished 44th in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event Championship, which paid $186K.  This was his third time to cash in a series event.

The local cash game grinder, who routinely sits in $5-10 and $10-20 blind NLHE cash games, won his victory by coming out on top at a final table which included a strong lineup.  Interestingly, five of the six finalists were based elsewhere and were visiting Nevada.  The final six included players from four different countries, including – Bulgaria, Canada, Hong Kong, and the United States.  However, the lone local player ended up with the victory.

After Canadian Marc Olivier went out third, Maguire held a 2 to 1 chip lead.  He widened the gap and had Bulgarian poker pro Simeon Naydenov on the ropes, and all in several times.  However, Naydenov – who was aiming for his second WSOP gold bracelet victory after winning his first in the $1,500 buy-in NLHE Shootout -- proved to be quite a challenge.

“I had him down for a while, then he won a couple of all ins, then I got super short and started winning,” Maguire said.  “I was down to just a few blinds at one point, so this was pretty amazing.”

The Bulgarian took command and had Maguire down to just two big blinds.  A second WSOP victory was within his grasp, but Maguire proved to be just as tough.  The Las Vegas local fought back and took the lead then scooped the final pot of the tournament versus Naydenov, who finished as the runner up.  His consolation prize amounted to $150,569.

This tourney attracted an online record 1,247 entrants which created a prize pool totaling $1,184,650.  The top 153 finishers collected prize money. 

Aside from the winner, here’s a brief report of the other top finishers who made the final table:

Second Place:  Simeon Naydenov, from Sofia, Bulgaria finished as the runner up.  He was paid $150,569.  This was Naydenov’s 16th time to cash at the series.  He’s one of only two Bulgarians to win WSOP titles.

Third Place:  Marc-Olivier Carpentier-Perrault, from Montreal, QB (Canada) finished in third place, which paid $110,172.  Carpentier-Perrault now has four cashes at the WSOP.

Fourth Place:  Spencer Taylor, from Knoxville, TN came in fourth, which paid out $82,926.  This was his second cash in a series event.

Fifth Place:  Richard Tuhrim, from New York, NY ended up as the fifth-place finisher.  He earned $59,233.  This was his sixth time to cash at this year’s series, and ninth in-the-money finish overall.

Sixth Place:  Park-Yu “Sparrow” Cheung came in sixth, which was worth $46,201.  He’s had an impressive series, finishing in-the-money nine times in 2016.

This was the 66th official event on this year’s schedule.  This leaves just two more gold bracelet events still to go at the 2016 WSOP, including the Main Event Championship, which runs through July 18th.

 
Clayton Maguire climbs from the brink of elimination to the lead

Clayton Maguire calls from the small blind and Simeon Naydenov moves all in. Maguire calls.

Maguire:   
Naydenov:   

The board runs out       and Maguire doubles through.

Clayton Maguire - 15,200,000 (38 bb)
Simeon Naydenov - 3,505,000 (8 bb)

Clayton Maguire calls from the small blind and Simeon Naydenov checks his option.

The flop comes     and Naydenov checks. Maguire bets 400,000 and Naydenov calls.

The turn is the   and both players check.

Both players check the   river. Naydenov shows    and wins the pot, while Maguire mucks.

Clayton Maguire moves all-in for 845,000 on the button and Naydenov calls.

Maguire is ahead with    and Naydenov has   . 

The board runs out with       and the seemingly crippled Maguire doubles through.

Clayton Maguire calls and Simeon Naydenov checks his option.

The flop comes     and both players check.

The turn is the   and Naydenov checks. Maguire bets 400,000 and Naydenov raises to 1,500,000. Maguire calls.

The river is the   and both players check.

Naydenov shows    for a straight and Maguire mucks.

Simeon Naydenov calls and Clayton Maguire checks.

The flop comes     and both players check.

The turn is the   and Maguire checks. Naydenov bets 400,000 and Maguire folds.