The $2,500 Omaha/Seven Stud Hi/Lo 8 or better event may have not been everyone’s cup of tea, but had some names starting the final day that would have been recognisable to most poker fans. Mike Gorodinsky won out against the last 19 players making it into Day 3.

With two chances to win each pot, spilt pots are the norm, but coolers are still a part of poker, as Mike Matusow learnt as he busted in 14th playing Seven Stud. With a 7 high straight for the high, and a giving him a low as well, Mike probably thought he was good. He didn’t count on George Danzer’s 8 high straight, or Owais Ahmed’s better low, sending him to the rail with $9,818 in his pocket. The other household name in the field, Daniel Negreanu, busted in 12th when Gorodinsky’s draw hit on the river while playing Omaha-8.

The final table of eight saw Julie Schneider, the first lady to make a WSOP final table this year, bust in 8th place for $19,952. Playing Omaha-8 she shoved without looking at her cards from the big blind, and came up against Matthew Aston’s full house. When all was said and done all she was holding was junk, and she hit the rail.

Mack Lee was to go in 7th place for $25,993 when his pair of twos with no low was crushed by Kristopher Tong’s Kings up while playing a Seven stud round.

George Danzer, coming off a great SCOOP, made it to 6th place, when his luck ran out. Playing a stud round, he was drawing to a Low hand on the last card, but the deck gave him the J. On the high side of the pot, his pair of sevens couldn’t hold up to Aston’s trip Fives, and Danzer was eliminated in sixth for $34,348.

Five handed play saw chips going back and forth, but no-one was eliminated for over two hours. George Fotiadis was the player who broke the streak when he went in 5th place during an Omaha-8 round. Aston had raised from the cuttoff, and Gorodinsky had called behind from the button. Fotoadis made it up from the big blind, and the flop fell J65. George checked, and Ashton fired out a c-bet, and Gorodinsky made the call. The bet was for all of the chips in front of Fotiadis, and he made the call. The action continued in a side pot between Aston and Gorodinsky, with the T turn seeing Gorodinsky call  Ashton’s bet and the 7 seeing Ashton make a check call.

Aston turned over Q632 for the low pot, and Gorodinsky showed the K643 for the 7 high straight. Fotiadis could beat these, and hit the rail in 5th with an extra $46,048 in his pocket.

Owais Ahmed had won this Event back in 2011, but he wasn’t going to get a repeat as he exited in fourth playing Stud. Owais ended up holding (A7)K87Q(T) for a pair of sevens, which was always behind the hidden Queens of Tong, which only improved to two pair as the cards were dealt. Ahmend left with $62,631.

Englishman Matthew Ashton has a great mixed game background having won the €5,000 8-Game event recently at the EPT Grand Final as well as a 6th place in the 2011 $10,000 WSOP H.O.R.S.E event. He fell here in 3rd place when Tong hit the T on the turn of an Omaha-8 hand to hit his straight draw, and beat the AA sitting in Aston’s hole cards. Ashton added $86,437 to his bankroll as the Event went into the heads up stage.

Tong went into the battle with the chip lead, and had Gorodinsky down to battle for his tournament life with the short stack early in the heads up matchup. Gorodinsky held his nerve, and was able to grind his stack back up to parity and better, before taking the title at a Stud hand.

The Money was all in on fourth street, and the card were flipped over. Tong held (9K)95 while Gorodinsky had (J8)QK. Tong’s pair of nines held the lead, but Mike was drawing live. The dealer was in a hurry to get the cards out, and fired the 4 to Tong, and gave Gorodinsky more outs with the 9. Sixth street sealed the deal, and as the 7 went over to tong, the T completed Gorodinsky’s draw. With nothing to gain, the final cards weren’t exposed, and Mike Gorodinsky won the bracelet.

The final table results were:

  1. Mike Gorodinsky – $216,958
  2. Kristopher Tong – $134,017
  3. Matthew Ashton – $86,437
  4. Owais Ahmed – $62,631
  5. George Fotiadis – $46,048
  6. George Danzer – $34,348
  7. Mack Lee – $25,993
  8. Julie Schneider – $19,952