In the 11th and final level of Day 3 of Event #61: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, just 14 minutes away from having to return on Tuesday to complete the event due to the Main Event, Daniel Alaei defeated Jared Bleznick heads up to earn his fourth career World Series of Poker bracelet and second PLO championship. Along with the gold, Alaei earns $852,692 and 103 points for his own team in the $25,000 Fantasy league, vaulting him into second place.
Day 3 began with 32 players representing 12 different countries, but once the official final table was set, the only non-Americans were Russian Alex Kravchenko and Irishman Rory Rees Brennan. They exited in ninth and eighth place respectively, leaving only Yanks to fend for the title.
The next player to exit was Sean Dempsey, who never seemed to get anything going today, and Gjergj Sinishtaj followed him out the door in sixth place. Sinishtaj is only 21 years of age — this was only his third career live cash — and according to Jared Bleznick, he has a very bright future. He’d even bet on Sinishtaj winning the Main Event in the next five years.
Numit Agrawal was eliminated in fifth place, nearly a half an hour later Tom Marchese busted in fourth, and despite doubling during three-handed play, James Wiese fell in third.
With over 110 big blinds in play, and only a 1.5 million-chip difference between Alaei and Bleznick, it looked like heads-up play could last quite some time, and the two would have to return on Tuesday to finish the match. Alas, all Alaei needed was one hand to defeat Bleznick, and he is now the 61st and penultimate champion of the 44th annual WSOP.
Place
Player
Prize
1
Daniel Alaei
$852,692
2
Jared Bleznick
$526,625
3
James Wiese
$380,836
4
Tom Marchese
$278,298
5
Numit Agrawal
$205,512
6
Gjergj Sinishtaj
$153,372
7
Sean Dempsey
$115,637
8
Rory Rees Brennan
$88,061
9
Alex Kravchenko
$67,742
Thank you for joining us for our coverage of this event, and we look forward to having you back for the rest of the Main Event. Until then, goodnight from Las Vegas!
Hand #184: An exciting final table has just come to an abrupt conclusion after just a single heads-up hand.
The players had repositioned themselves on opposite sides of the table, with a cursory counting of chips determining that Alaei had the edge going into the hand. Daniel Alaei then raised to 200,000 from the button and Jared Bleznick called.
The flop came and Bleznick checked. Alaei bet 275,000, and Bleznick responded by raising the pot — 1.25 million. Alaei called without too much hesitation.
The turn was the , and Bleznick instantly announced he was betting the pot. Alaei raised all in, and Bleznick called. Just like that all of the chips were in the middle, with Bleznick the one at risk.
The pair stood as they each tabled their cards. Bleznick had for an open-ended straight draw while Alaei had turned a set of tens with .
Bleznick was already leaning over and shaking Alaei's hand before the river came the , pairing the board and improving Alaei's hand to a full house. Bleznick shook Alaei's hand once more, still smiling despite coming one spot shy of the victory. Bleznick earns a handsome $526,625 prize for his efforts in Event #61, while Alaei has won his fourth WSOP bracelet!
Hand #177: James Wiese raised to 200,000 on the button, and received no callers.
Hand #178: Jared Bleznick limped in from the small blind, Wiese checked in the big blind, and Bleznick took down the pot with a bet on the flop.
Hand #179: All three players took a flop of . Wiese check-called a bet of 150,000 from Bleznick, the turn was the , and both players checked. The completed the board
Hand #180: Wiese raised to 200,000 on the button, Daniel Alaei called in the small blind, and the flop fell . Alaei led out for 250,000, winning the pot.
Hand #181: Alaei raised to 250,000 on the button, and won the pot.
Hand #182: Alaei received a walk.
Hand #183: Wiese raised to 200,000 on the button, Bleznick three-bet the pot (650,000) in the big blind, and Wiese called. The dealer spread , and all of the money went in the middle.
Wiese:
Bleznick:
The turn and river came , respectively, and Wiese was eliminated in third place.
Hand #164: Jared Bleznick raised to 300,000 from UTG/the cutoff seat and won the blinds.
Hand #165: Preflop action between Bleznick and Tom Marchese saw the latter having committed a lot of his chips by the time the arrived. That's when Bleznick set out a bet of 500,000 and Marchese called all in.
Bleznick:
Marchese:
Bleznick had the lead, and after the turn and river his had was still best, eliminating Marchese in fourth.
Hand #133: James Wiese was first to act, and he raised to 200,000. Numit Agrawal re-raised the pot (770,000), the action folded back to Wiese who moved all in, and Agrawal called.
Wiese:
Agrawal:
The board came , giving Wiese a straight, and Agrawal was eliminated in fifth place.
Hand #119: Gjergj Sinishtaj raised in early position, Daniel Alaei called in the cutoff, and James Wiese called in the big blind. The dealer fanned , Wiese quickly checked, Sinishtraj moved all in for 710,000, Alaei called, and Wiese folded.
Sinishtaj:
Alaei:
The turn was the , improving Alaei's hand from two pair to a straight and giving him outs to make a flush, and the bricked off of the river. Sinishtaj was eliminated, while Alaei now has over five million chips.
"He's got a bright future," Jared Bleznick said, referring to Sinishtaj. "He's going to win the Main Event before he's 25. I'll bet it."
Hand #102: Jared Bleznick raised to 150,000 in the hijack, James Wiese called on the button, and Numit Agrawal three-bet to 600,000 in the big blind. Bleznick moved all in, Wiese quickly folded, and Agrawal called all in for a total of 855,000.
Bleznick:
Agrawal:
The board rolled out , and Agrawal doubled with a flush.
Hand #103: Daniel Alaei opened for a raise in early position, and received no callers.
Hand #104: Bleznick raised to 150,000, Wiese called, Alaei defended his big blind, and the flop fell . Alaei checked, Bleznick fired 350,000, and both of his opponents folded.
Hand #105: Agrawal tossed in a pot-sized bet on the button, and no one called.
Hand #100: Numit Agrawal raised to 120,000 from the hijack seat and Daniel Alaei called from the cutoff. It folded to James Wiese who reraised to 500,000 from the big blind, forcing a quick fold from Agrawal and after a few extra moments a fold from Alaei as well.
Hand #101: Agrawal raised to 210,000 from middle position, then Sean Dempsey reraised the pot from the big blind. Agrawal reraised back, and Dempsey called all in.
Dempsey:
Agrawal:
The flop came giving Dempsey a pair of eights and a tenuous lead. The fell on the turn, and while Dempsey still had the edge Agrawal had numerous outs to fill draws and end with the best hand.
One of those outs then arrived on the river — the — giving Agrawal a Broadway straight and ending Dempsey's Event #61 run in seventh.
Hand #96: James Wiese raised to 150,000 in late position, and won the pot.
Hand #97: Jared Bleznick raised to 150,000 from under the gun, Gjergj Sinishtaj called on the button, Numit Agrawal called in the small blind, and the flop fell . Agrawal checked, Bleznick bet 110,000, and both of his opponents folded.
Hand #98: Wiese raised to 125,000 from early position, and received no callers.
Hand #99: Wiese limped in from under the gun, Daniel Alaei called on the button, Bleznick completed in the small blind, and Marchese checked in the big blind. The dealer spread , Bleznick checked, Marchese fired 240,000, Wiese raised, and the action folded back to Marchese, who called all in for 495,000.
Wiese:
Marchese:
Marchese flopped a set of sixes, but needed to fade a king or a diamond on the turn and river. He did so when the and the completed the board, more than doubling to 1.23 million chips. Wiese fell to 1.6 million.
Hand #74: Rory Rees Brennan open-shoved for 90,000 in early position, Jared Bleznick three-bet to 200,000 in the hijack, and everyone else folded.
Brennan:
Bleznick:
The dealer fanned , prompting the Irish rail to cheer loudly. Brennan had flopped a gut-shot straight flush draw, and any diamond or five would keep him alive, as would a ten. The on the turn was a brick, however, and also took away the two tens as outs for him. The on the river was no good for Brennan, either, and he exited in eighth place, earning $88,061.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
and Bleznick checked. Alaei bet 275,000, and Bleznick responded by raising the pot — 1.25 million. Alaei called without too much hesitation.
, and Bleznick instantly announced he was betting the pot. Alaei raised all in, and Bleznick called. Just like that all of the chips were in the middle, with Bleznick the one at risk.
for an open-ended straight draw while Alaei had turned a set of tens with 
.
, pairing the board and improving Alaei's hand to a full house. Bleznick shook Alaei's hand once more, still smiling despite coming one spot shy of the victory. Bleznick earns a handsome $526,625 prize for his efforts in Event #61, while Alaei has won his fourth WSOP bracelet!
flop.
, and both players checked. The 
completed the board
. Alaei led out for 250,000, winning the pot.
, 
turn and 
river his had was still best, eliminating Marchese in fourth.
, Wiese quickly checked, Sinishtraj moved all in for 710,000, Alaei called, and Wiese folded.
bricked off of the river. Sinishtaj was eliminated, while Alaei now has over five million chips.
, and Agrawal doubled with a flush.
on the river was no good for Brennan, either, and he exited in eighth place, earning $88,061.
