$1,500 Limit Hold'em (Event #66)

The 2019 World Series of Poker Event #66: $1,500 Limit Hold'em attracted 541 players, and after finishing as chip leader on both Days 2 and 3, well-respected poker pro David "ODB" Baker closed it out at the final table of six without relinquishing that lead.

Baker, who back in March won the WPT L.A. Poker Classic for just over $1 million, took down the top prize of $161,139 and perhaps, more importantly, his second WSOP gold bracelet. His first came back in 2012 when he won Event #37: $2,500 8-Game Mix for $271,312.

"It was a huge burden," Baker said of the seven years between bracelets. "All my friends had more bracelets than me, so I've been really wanting to get No. 2 for a long time and finally did. I'm thrilled. I think it's pretty obvious I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to the WSOP and what it means to me."

In addition to the six-figure score, Baker secured even more as he closed out several bracelet bets.

"I have six or seven bracelet bets, a few for more than others, so just to bring those home [was nice]. I live for the pressure and I wanted it," he explained. "Now that I have those taken care of and I know I can't lose no matter what happens to all these other players out there that I have bets against, that's a relief. I'm freerolling those. Maybe I can get another and punish them a little more."

Baker held a big lead coming into the final table and came in with a game plan.

"My hope was to keep people around. No disrespect to any of my opponents, but Brian [Kim] was the one person I was worried the most about coming in. I've played with him a lot. He's got very good hold'em skills, he had a really good rail, and he was my focus … I just wanted to chip up and have them grind down."

To give you an idea of just how smooth things were for Baker, his biggest road bump was a four-hand downswing.

"I had one little stretch where I lost like four hands in a row, but luckily, I had such a big chip lead that it didn't really affect me and I was able to rebound pretty quickly," he offered.

Baker took some time to shoot winner photos and speak with the media, but he wasn't going to rest on his limit hold'em laurels long.

"Next up is the $10K limit hold'em that started a couple of hours ago. I'm going to grab a bite to eat and come back and register … we'll get back to building more towers."

Final Table Results

Final Table action

The final table actually began on Monday night and play was halted after a trio of eliminations. Three-time bracelet winner Greg Mueller exited in ninth place ($10,418), while Danny Woolard hit the rail in eighth place ($13,609). The elimination of Kenneth Donoghue in seventh place ($18,118) brought an end to Day 3 with the final six players slated to return at Noon on Tuesday.

Chicong Nguyen came into the day with just six big blinds so it was no surprise to see him fall early. It happened after the blinds took a bite out of his stack and then he raised the cutoff with king-seven. Brian Kim was in the big with ace-six, some raises ensued, and the chips went in on the turn with Kim in front with a pair of sixes. The river was a brick and Nguyen bowed out early for $24,574.

The other short stack, 2017 WSOP Player of the Year Chris Ferguson, was the next to go after losing ace-three to Baker's pocket nines all in preflop. It marked Ferguson's 15th cash of the 2019 WSOP and third final table appearance – all three of which came in a one-week span.

Japan's Ruiko Mamiya grew short during four-handed play and got the last of her chips in holding an open-ended straight draw against Kim's top pair. Mamiya failed to get there and had to settle for fourth place and $47,747 in prize money.

Baker maintained his lead during three-handed play while Kim and Dominzo Love did their best to hold on. Eventually, the latter slid and busted in third place to set up a heads-up match with Baker holding a nearly 3:1 chip lead over Kim.

Baker whittled away at Kim before the final hand developed. Kim flopped top pair of nines with an ace kicker only to find himself behind Baker's two red jacks. A diamond on the turn gave Kim a flush draw, but he missed when the river bricked. Kim took home $99,564 for his runner-up finish.

Baker intends to put in a full-time grind for the last two weeks of the summer, but now that he's won both WPT and WSOP titles in a single year he's let his mind wander overseas.

"I might give the EPT a shot," he said. "I don't know if anyone has ever won the Triple Crown in one year. Obviously, I'd be a huge dog to do that, those fields are tough, but I might give the EPT a shot and see if I can do it. I think it'd be an awesome feather in my cap."

Hand #200: Walk for David Baker.

Hand #201: Baker raised to 100,000 and Brian Kim called. The flop was    . Baker bet 50,000, Kim raised to 100,000 and Baker three-bet to 150,000. The turn was the  . Baker bet 100,000 and Kim folded.

Hand #202: A walk for Baker.

Hand #203: Baker raised, Kim folded.

Hand #185: David Baker raised to 100,000. Brian Kim called. The flop came    . Baker bet and Kim raised, Baker called. The turn fell and Baker raised a bet by Kim to take down the pot.

Hand #186: Kim raised to 100,000. Baker re-raised to 150,000. Kim called. The flop came    . Baker bet 50,000, kim called. The turn was the  . Baker bet again and Kim called. The winning hand was the    for Kim.

Hand #187: Walk for Kim.

Hand #188: Walk for Baker.

Hand #189: Baker raised to 100,000 and Kim folded.

Hand #190: Kim raised to 50,000 and Baker called. The flop came    . Kim bet 50,000 Baker raised to 100,000, Kim called. The turn was the  . Baker bet 100,000 was raised to 200,000 and called. The river was the  . Kim bet 100,000 and was called. Baker won with   

Hand #191: Baker raised. Kim re-raised to 150,000 and Baker called. The flop came    . Kim bet 50,000, Baker called. The turn was the  . Kim bet 100,000. Baker called. The river was the  . Kim bet and was called. Kim won with   

Hand #192: Kim raised. Baker called. The flop came    , Kim bet 50,000 and Baker raised to 100,000 which was called. The turn was the  . Baker bet 100,000, kim called. The river was the  . Baker bet 100,000. Kim folded.

Hand #193: Baker raised to 100,000. Kim folded

Hand #194: Walk for Baker.

David "ODB" Baker	5,700,000	1,200,000
Brian Kim	790,000	-1,210,000

Hand #176:

Dominzo Love was all in again from the button. Baker raised to 100,000. Brian Kim called from the small blind. The flop was the    . Both remaining players checked. The turn was the  . Baker bet 100,000 and Kim called. The   river finished the board and Love was eliminated when his    was no good against the    straight of Baker.

David "ODB" Baker	4,800,000	300,000
Brian Kim	1,700,000	-300,000
Dominzo Love	0	-15,000

Hand #169: Brian Kim received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #170: Dominzo Love received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #171: Love raised the small blind and David Baker called to see the     flop. Love bet, Baker called, and the   appeared on the turn. Love bet, Baker raised, and Love called. When the   completed the board on the river, Love check-called a bet only to muck when Baker tolled over the    for flopped trips.

Hand #172: Baker raised the small blind, Kim raised from the big, and Baker called to bring about the     flop. Baker checked, Kim bet, and Baker check-raised. Kim called and the   appeared on the turn. Baker checked, Kim bet, and Baker called to see the   river. Baker checked and Kim bet. Baker called and mucked when Kim rolled over the   .

Hand #173: Baker raised the button and took down the blinds.

Hand #174: Kim raised the button, Love raised from the small blind, and Baker folded. Kim called and the flop came out    . Love bet, Kim called, and the   turn put trips out on the board. Love bet, Kim raised, and Love called.

On the   river, Love bet and Kim raised. Love only had 15,000 back but folded.

David "ODB" Baker	4,500,000	0
Brian Kim	2,000,000	900,000
Dominzo Love	15,000	-975,000

Hand #156: Brian Kim raised the button and David Baker defended his big blind to see a     flop. Both players checked and the   paired the board on the turn. Again both players checked before Baker bet the   river. Kim folded.

Hand #157: Baker raised the small blind and won the pot.

Hand #158: Baker raised the button and Dominzo Love called from the big blind to see the     flop. Love checked, Baker bet, and Love woke up with a check-raise. Baker folded.

Hand #159: Kim raised the button and Baker called from the big blind to see the     flop. Baker checked, Kim bet, and Baker check-raised. Kim called and the   paired the board on the turn. Baker bet, Kim called, and the   completed the board on the river. Baker bet and Kim called. Baker showed the    for nines and threes and Kim mucked.

Hand #160: Baker raised the small blind and won the pot.

Hand #161: Baker raised to 100,000 from the button and Love three-bet from the big blind. Baker called, the flop came down    , and Love checked. Baker did the same and the   appeared on the turn. Love bet, Baker called, and the   completed the board on the river. Love bet and Baker folded.

Hand #162: Kim raised the button, Love folded the small blind, and Baker called from the big, which brought about a     flop. Baker checked, Kim bet, and Baker check-raised. Kim called and the   appeared on the turn. Baker bet and Kim folded.

David "ODB" Baker	4,600,000	500,000
Dominzo Love	1,300,000	360,000
Brian Kim	580,000	-820,000

Hand #144: Brian Kim raised to 80,000. David Baker defended his big blind. The flop came    . Kim bet 40,000, Baker called. The turn was the  , both checked. The river was the  . Baker bet 80,000 and Kim folded.

Hand #145: Dominzo Love raised to 80,000 and was called by Kim. The flop came    . Love continued for 40,000 and was called. The turn was the  . Love bet 80,000, which Kim called. The river was the  . Check-check on river and Love won with the   .

Hand #146: Baker raised the button and took the blinds.

Hand #147: Kim raised to 80,000, Love re-raised to 120,000. Baker got out of the way and Kim called. The flop came the    . Love bet 40,000 and Kim called. The turn was the  . Love bet 80,000 and Kim called again. The river was the  . Love bet 80,000 and was called. Kim won the pot with the    as neither player held a spade.

Hand #148: Love raised to 80,000 on the button. Kim called. The flop was the    . Love bet 40,000 was raised to 80,000 by Kim. The turn was the  . Kim bet 80,000 and Love called. The river was the  . Kim bet 80,000 and was called. Kim won with the   .

Hand #149: David Baker raised to 80,000 and Dominzo Love called from the big blind to see a     flop. Love folded and gave Baker the pot.

Hand #150: Love raised the small blind and Baker defended to see a     flop. Love bet, Baker called, and the   appeared on the turn. Love bet, Baker called, and the   completed the board on the river. Love checked and Baker did the same. Love showed    and won the pot.

Hand #132: Dominzo Love raised to 80,000 and took the pot.

Hand #133: David Baker raised to 80,000 and was called by Brian Kim. The flop came the    , Baker bet 40,000 and was called. The turn was the  , Baker bet again and was called again. The river was the  . Baker bet 80,000 and Kim called. Kim took down the pot with the   .

Hand #134: Raise and take for Baker.

Hand #135: Walk for Baker.

Hand #136: Baker raised to 80,000. Kim defended the big blind. The flop came    , Baker bet and Kim called. The turn was the  . Baker bet 80,000 and Kim called. The river was the  . Kim bet 80,000 after a check and Baker folded.

Hand #137: Kim raised to 80,000. Love defended. The flop came the    . Kim bet 40,000, Love raised to 80,000 and Kim called. The turn was the  . Love bet 80,000, Kim called. The river was the  . Love bet 80,000 and Kim folded.

David "ODB" Baker	3,200,000	-500,000
Brian Kim	1,700,000	200,000
Dominzo Love	1,500,000	200,000

Hand #120: Brain Kim raised to 80,000, Dominzo Love re-raised to 120,000 and Baker re-raised to 160,000. Kim folded. Love called. The flop came    . Baker bet 40,000 and Love called. The turn was the  . Baker bet 80,000 and Love called again. The river was the  . Check-check on river and Love took the pot with the   .

Hand #121: Walk for Love.

Hand #122: Baker raised to 80,000 on the button. Kim re-raised to 120,000 and Baker called. The flop came    . Kim bet 40,000, Baker raised to 80,000 and Kim called. The turn was the  . Baker bet 80,000, Kim called. The river was the  . Baker bet 80,000 and Kim called. Kim took the pot with the    winning hand.

Hand #123: Love limped. Baker checked. The flop was the     Baker bet 40,000 and Love folded.

Hand #124: Walk for Kim.

Hand #125: Walk for Love.

David "ODB" Baker	3,700,000	-600,000
Brian Kim	1,800,000	800,000
Dominzo Love	995,000	260,000