Despite having cashed in seven WSOP events over the years, Josh Pollock had never made a WSOP final table until last night. The 29-year-old resident of Maryland added a bracelet to his record, earning $279,431 in event #22, a Pot Limit Omaha tournament with a $1,500 buyin.

Going into the final table, Noah Schwartz appeared to be the man to beat. He had won more than $3.2 million in tournament winnings including 12 WSOP cashes. Schwartz had worked his stack up over the two previous days until he had significantly more chips than his next nearest competitor. The initial final table chips counts were as follows:

1. Noah Schwartz – 1,162,000
2. Shawn Silber – 808,000
3. Eddie Blumenthal – 565,000
4. Josh Pollock – 525,000
5. Eric Shanks – 446,000
6. Michael “KT” Park – 361,000
7. James Park – 325,000
8. Brandon Crawford – 249,000
9. David Greene – 163,000

Josh Pollock, Winner of WSOP Event 22

Josh Pollock, Winner of WSOP Event 22

Schwartz got off to a good start, busting Brandon Crawford in short order. Schwartz defeated Crawford by flopping the nut straight against Crawford’s two-pair. Brandon Crawford was sent home in 9th place with $19,909.

Play then continued 8-handed for over three hours. Players avoided getting all-in, and whenever they did, the short stacks prevailed, preventing eliminations. However, David Greene was unfortunate when he got his J-high rundown involved against Josh Pollock’s pair of kings. Pollock’s hand held up, knocking Greene out in 8th place with $25,483.

In hand #89, Eddie Blumenthal had to fold on the river in a large pot. Then, a couple of hands later, he got it in against Noah Schwartz on a 6A5 flop. Schwartz flipped over his 4AQQ for top pair, while Blumenthal held the QTT7 for just a pair of tens. Schwartz won at showdown, and Blumenthal was sent packing in 7th place, earning $33,057.

A few hands after Blumenthal’s loss, Eric Shanks and Josh Pollock got all their chips in preflop. They revealed their hands:
Shanks: A8AT
Pollock: 8TAK

Everything looked very good for Shanks, a 74% favorite preflop, which is about as good as it gets in PLO. However, the flop came out 6T7, giving Josh Pollock a nut flush draw. The draw hit on the turn, a 9. The river changed nothing and Eric Shanks walked away in 6th place, picking up a $43,460 prize.

Shawn Silber was the next to go, with Josh Pollock again doing the honors. Silber’s AAJ3 was cracked by Pollock’s Q6K7 when the board ran out 439 8 5, giving Pollock a straight. That’s twice Pollock drew out on Aces to eliminate his opponent. Silber earned $57,974 for his 5th place showing.

Just a few hands later, both players named “Park” went all-in preflop. Michael “KT” Park had KQ33, while James Park held the T577. The board ran out TA8 6 8, and James’ flopped tens were good enough to win. Michael Park went out in 4th place, taking home $78,532.

James Park was eliminated in turn himself in hand #152 when he got it in with QTQ3 against Schwartz’ AK3K. The flop was A59, giving Park a flush draw. The K turn and T river were no help in filling Park’s draw. Leaving in 3rd place, James Park received a prize of $108,196.

As they headed into heads-up play, Noah Schwartz had about a 3-1 chip lead over Josh Pollock. This lead, combined with his tournament experience, made him the odds-on favorite to win the bracelet. The two players went back and forth for about an hour, and when they broke for dinner, the stacks were in approximately the same place as they were when heads-up play began.

Immediately after dinner, in hand #197, the two contenders got it in on a 459 flop. Pollock revealed the Q9T6 for top pair with a backdoor flush draw. Schwartz showed the JJT3 for an overpair. The turn came a 2, while the river was an 8, completing the flush for Pollock. With this hand, Josh Pollock evened up the stacks.

In the very next hand, the two players went to showdown on a JT2 8 7 board. Pollock rivered a club flush, defeating Schwartz’ flopped set of tens. This hand totally reversed the initial starting stacks, with Pollock now holding 3.6 million chips to the 1 million chips in Schwartz’ stack.

In hand #215, Schwartz opened and Pollock called. Both players went to the flop: 432. They got all in and showed their cards:
Schwartz: AKJ5
Pollock: 9756

Schwartz had flopped a wheel, but Pollock held a better straight with redraws to even better straights. Schwartz was drawing dead, with exactly 0% chance to win the hand. The turn and river were irrelevant, and Noah Schwartz lost the heads-up match, leaving with $172,931 for his 2nd place result.

Josh Pollock topped the ranks of the 1,021 players who entered the PLO event #22, receiving the 1st place prize of $279,431 and his first bracelet. As we’ve seen again and again during this year’s WSOP events, the tide can change quickly during play, and persistence, determination and tenacity can sometimes be handsomely rewarded. Of course, being able to crack aces is sometimes handsomely rewarded, as well. The complete list of final table earnings is presented below:

1. Josh Pollock – $279,431
2. Noah Schwartz – $172,931
3. James Park – $108,196
4. Michael Park – $78,532
5. Shawn Silber – $57,974
6. Eric Shanks – $43,460
7. Nicholas E. Blumenthal – $33,057
8. David Greene – $25,483
9. Brandon Crawford – $19,909