Another victory on the felt for online poker players took place this week as Ryan “gutshtallin” Welch took down his first gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, showing yet again that internet players are not to be taken lightly at the tables.
The Tennessee native is an avid online poker player who makes his living playing cards. Welch has played in a number of major live tournaments already in his career and sports five other significant cashes, including one in an earlier NLHE event at the 2010 World Series of Poker. His bracelet-worthy performance this week, however, yielded his first six-figure cash, and the $559,371 in first place prize money brings his total career earnings for live tournaments up to the grand total of $642,419.
The online poker pro took down the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’Em event, so named because entrants are given the option to rebuy into the tournament twice after their initial buy-in, allowing them a total of three chances before they have to walk away from the tables for good.
Welch outlasted 964 other players over three days to secure his first bracelet, showcasing his talent for poker tournaments. As the third day commenced, he was sitting fifth in chips but faced tough competition and what looked like a tough march to a final table. However in just one hour he found himself crowded around the single-remaining table with nine other hopeful competitors, and he knew it was time to get down to business. Players continued to drop off over the course of the day, and as Guillaume Darcourt was eliminated in third place, the stage was set for a strenuous heads-up match between Welch and Jon Eaton, the latter having a chip stack advantage over the former.
Despite the 5:3 chip stacks, Welch made it clear he wasn’t giving up without a fight. The two wrestled back and forth, with Welch taking the chip lead as a fateful river turned his two pair into a full house, only to have the chips promptly taken back from him as stacks went in preflop and Eaton’s AJ made a straight on QT869, beating out Welch’s KQ. Play slowed down and Welch steadily ground his stack back up, eventually overtaking Eaton slightly, before the final hand unfolded. It was Eaton who was put to an all-in decision on the river of a 976TK board and, despite contemplating the hand at length and at one point even correctly guessing Welch’s holdings, Eaton made the incorrect call. Welch flipped QJ for the rivered straight and as the chips were counted it became clear that he had won the tournament, and with it his largest cash prize and prestigious first World Series of Poker bracelet.
The continued excellent performances by online poker players at the World Series of Poker should serve as encouragement to us all and it is certain that players like Ryan Welch will continue to enjoy more and more success as time progresses.
The official final table results are as follows:
1st: Ryan Welch – $559,371
2nd: Jon Eaton – $344,830
3rd: Guillaume Darcourt – $223,459
4th: Will Failla – $163,532
5th: Bradley Craig – $121,451
6th: Sergey Lebedez – $91,407
7th: Tommy Vedes – $69,647
8th: Noel Scruggs – $53,694
9th: Tad Jurgens – $41,842