$800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack 8-Handed (Event #53)

Santiago Soriano has won his first bracelet in Event #53: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack, seeing off tough final table opposition including bracelet holder and prior Main Event finalist Amir Lehavot and triple 2019 Deepstack finalist Ben Underwood, ending today the last man standing from a field of 3,759.

Professional poker player Soriano, no stranger to the WSOP, having finished 197th in the Main Event last year (a Day 5 run), said of his win, "It feels amazing. I started leading with ten left. I ran really good: I never lost an all-in. I felt comfortable, felt confident [and] didn't see myself as an underdog."

Soriano's experience and assurance contributed to his win, but he noted that with such fierce opposition, "It came down to the luck of the all-ins."

Final Table Results

Ten players returned for an originally unscheduled third day's play as the interest in an $800 buy-in event awarding a total prizepool of $2,676,408 was understandably high. With the elimination in 10th ($31,933) of Gustavo Hess, the unofficial nine-handed final table was soon set, Soriano and Canadian Samuel Gagnon nearly neck and neck for the chip lead. Gagnon was pulled back down to the middle of the counts quickly, however, as he doubled Underwood (pocket kings overcoming pocket tens) to keep the deepstack phenomenon of the year in the running for a bracelet.

When Soriano busted Jeff Tahler in 9th ($31,933), having flopped a straight in the big blind with   , Tahler drawing to a non-appearing nut flush, he cemented his place at the top of the chip counts and wielded his stack for maximum pressure on his opponents.

It was not all one-way traffic, however. Nick Blackburn, bedecked in "Hillbilly Poker" gear, had a good level, taking chips in and out of position, his scooping of pots announced to the crowd with an idiosyncratic crowing noise and the exclamation, "Hillbilly wins another one!"

With Blackburn ascendant, Ori Hasson had dropped to ten big blinds, finding a spot to three-bet all-in with ace-ten over a preflop raise from Underwood. Behind him lurked Joao Valli with ace-queen, however, and with no outdraw on the cards, the young Israeli player busted in 8th ($41,300). Valli's vocal Brazilian rail cheered their man, as they had done from the start of play today, as his first WSOP cash turned into the largest payday of his tournament career thus far.

Daniele D'Angelo busted in 7th place ($53,958) as, despite calling on his "one time," he failed to spike, finding himself all in with king-queen vs. the ace-queen of Soriano. Samuel Gagnon, too, was eliminated by Soriano, his six big blind shove – with pocket aces, no less - given a spin by the chip leader with five four of clubs. Soriano flopped the nut straight, improving to a flush on the river, and Gagnon collected $70,813 for 6th place.

Five-handed, Valli, who had been picking spots to move all-in uncalled, or three-bet players off pots, finally ran into a willing caller in the form of Lehavot, whose jacks disposed of his ace-eight to hand him a payout ticket worth $93,866. This set Lehavot on what seemed a plausible path towards a second WSOP bracelet (his first awarded in 2011 for his victory in the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em Championship); even when he dropped in chips, he soon found a double through courtesy of Blackburn.

Four-handed it was Underwood in the driving seat, action-wise, overtaking both Lehavot and Soriano to secure the chip lead. A major boost to his stack came via his elimination of Blackburn (4th for $125,432) in a huge pot in which he flopped top pair top kicker when Blackburn decided to pull the trigger and check-raise all in with bottom pair. His reign was relatively short-lived, however, as he doubled Lehavot and found himself on the wrong side of several small pots with the blinds a stratospheric 1,000,000/2,000,000.

Soriano's fabled all-in run-good continued when he put Underwood to the test, setting him in from the small blind when it folded to him. Underwood called and despite starting the hand ahead, with ace-nine of spades to Soriano's king-four of diamonds, didn't end it that way, as his opponent flopped a pair of fours and stayed ahead despite a spade flush sweat. Having already finished fourth for $135,959 in Event #9: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack and fifth for $74,435 in Event #37: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack this year alone, should he continue his trend, Underwood is on schedule for runner-up next, then a bracelet of his own.

Heads up play lasted just two hands. Both went Soriano's way, the final hand in dramatic ace-cracking fashion. Amir Lehavot just flat called Soriano's preflop raise with two black aces and stacks went in on a ten-high flop, Soriano holding jack-ten offsuit. A tournament-deciding third ten appeared for Soriano, and abruptly, this marathon Deepstack had come to an end, Lehavot collecting $229,410 for the runner up spot and Soriano his first bracelet and $371,203.

Of the crucial final hand, Soriano said, "It was surprising that he had that big of a hand. Top pair heads up is pretty strong, it was really amazing."

Although a professional player, Soriano said that he had recently taken six or seven months off, deciding to return to the felt at the WSOP.

"I was ready to win," he said. "I'll play more events until the summer's gone. I hope to win the Main Event next!"

Hand #111: Santiago Soriano raised to 5,000,000 on the button and Amir Lehavot made the call. It all kicked off on a     flop: Lehavot checked, Soriano bet 7,000,000, Lehavot check-raised to 17,000,000 and Soriano moved all in. Lehavot called all in for 22,700,000 total.

Lehavot:    for some slow-played aces.
Soriano:    for top pair.

While Lehavot was ahead, the deck was to favor the big stack, bringing a third ten, the   on the turn to crack Lehavot's aces, which did not crack back on the   river. The Israeli, who lives in the United States, saw a second attempt at a bracelet come up just short and he hit the rail in 2nd place.

Santiago Soriano	150,300,000	46,300,000
Amir Lehavot	0	-54,000,000

Hand #109: Santiago Soriano open-shoved from the small blind and Ben Underwood called all in for 22,800,000 in the big blind.

Santiago Soriano:   
Ben Underwood:   

The     flop brought something to sweat for both players. While Soriano paired up his four, he was still a mathematical dog against Underwood's flush draw with overcards. The   turn kept Soriano in the lead and the   river wasn't what Underwood needed either, ending another deep run for him.

After finishing fourth for $135,959 in Event #9: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack and fifth for $74,435 in Event #37: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack, the Deepstack crusher now added a third place to his resumé, worth $168,960.

Santiago Soriano	75,500,000	23,100,000
Amir Lehavot	75,200,000	18,700,000
Benjamin Underwood	0	-42,200,000

Hand #95: Button Soriano raised to 3,200,000 (a min-raise at this stratospheric blind level), picking up the pot uncontested.

Hand #96: Amir Lehavot made up the small blind; Soriano checked. On the     flop, Lehavot led out for 2,000,000 and took it down.

Hand #97: Soriano called in the small blind, found Underwood raising to 5,000,000 in the big blind, and moved his whole stack over the line almost before the raising chips had come to a complete stop. Underwood folded.

Hand #98: Lehavot received a walk, and his forced bet and ante back.

Hand #99: Soriano received the same courtesy.

Hand #100: Lehavot raised to 3,800,000 on the button and big blind Underwood set him in. Lehavot snap-called and found himself in dominating shape, with    to Underwood's   .

Though already ahead, his hand was bolstered by a king on the     flop, making him impervious to the   on the river (the turn a harmless  ).

Amir Lehavot	67,600,000	35,000,000
Benjamin Underwood	43,000,000	-12,900,000

Hand #90: Underwood, on the button, made it 3,200,000 to go. Big blind Blackburn defended and they saw a flop of    . Blackburn check-raised Underwood's similarly sized flop bet all-in sharpish and was snapped off by Underwood who'd flopped top-top.

Underwood:   
Blackburn:   

The turn and river were running eights (  ) and the excitable Blackburn's literal chirping will be heard no more at this final table.

Benjamin Underwood	85,400,000	29,500,000
Santiago Soriano	33,900,000	-800,000
Amir Lehavot	31,800,000	-4,000,000
Nick Blackburn	0	-24,700,000

Hand #69: Ben Underwood shoved all in from the small blind and Amir Lehavot called for 12,900,000 all in from the big blind.

Ben Underwood:   
Amir Lehavot:   

Lehavot smashed the     flop, decimating Underwood's chances to win the hand. Neither the   turn nor   river changed it and Lehavot doubled up.

Hand #70: Lehavot limped in from the small blind and Nick Blackburn checked. The flop was     and Lehavot bet 1,500,000. Blackburn called.

On the   turn, Lehavot check-called 1,500,000 from Blackburn. The river was the   and Lehavot checked, Blackburn checked behind. Lehavot showed    for the jack kicker with the two pair, but Blackburn had him pipped with the    and let out his characteristic victory squawk.

Hand #71: Lehavot raised to 2,800,000 and won the hand.

Hand #72: Santiago Soriano limped the small blind, Underwood shipped it in for 19,100,000 in the big blind and Soriano folded.

Hand #73: Soriano raised to 2,500,000 on the button and won the hand.

Santiago Soriano	53,000,000	-2,900,000
Nick Blackburn	51,400,000	13,300,000
Amir Lehavot	25,800,000	-1,200,000
Benjamin Underwood	20,900,000	-9,200,000

Hand #60: Valli raised again after taking down the previous hand, this time to 3,500,000 under the gun. Amir Lehavot moved all in for 12,800,000, covering Valli, who called all-in for around 3,000,000 less.

Valli:   
Lehavot:   

The board ran out low and paired -       - with no help for the enthusiastically-railed Brazilian who headedt o collect fifth place prize money, leaving the short-handed final even more so.

Amir Lehavot	24,000,000	7,700,000
Joao Valli	0	-10,600,000