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!
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!