Gregory Kolo Wins Event #12: $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em ($169,225)
Ohio’s Gregory Kolo is the latest player to win a World Series of Poker bracelet after taking down Event #12: $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em, a result that also banked him a bankroll-boosting $169,225 in prize money.
Kolo came into the final table as the chip leader, thanks in part to him eliminating former November Nine member Phil Collins close to the end of play on Day 2, and never really relinquished that lead throughout the final table proceedings.
It took 38 hands for the first player to be eliminated from the eight-handed final table, Ryan Schoonbaert pushing his short stack into the middle with 
and being called by Kazu Oshima’s 
.
A final board reading 
was not what Schoonbaert was hoping for and he busted in eighth place for a $16,384 score.
Schoonbaert’s exit opened the flood gates and the eliminations came thick and fast.
On Hand #42, David Martirosyan raised to 70,000 and then snap-called when Ahmed Amin reraised all-in with what turned out to be 
. By the river the board read 
and Amin’s tournament came to an abrupt end.
Four hands later and former PokerStars executive Dan Goldman check-raised all-in with on a 
flop and was looked up by Oshima and his 
. The 
turn was a relative brick, but the 
river completed Oshima’s flush and ended Goldman’s hopes of winning Event #12.
As we said earlier, the exits came thick and fast and when Tom McCormick three-bet all-in over the top of an Oshima raise on Hand #52 it turned out to be his last move of the tournament. Oshima called with 
and got their against McCormick’s pocket threes when the board ran 
, leaving the final table with only four players seated at it.
Those four became three 14 hands later with the exit of the aggressive Russian David Martirosyan. He raised from the button and then called with 
when Oshima set him all-in from the big blind. Oshima had made his move with the dominating 
and was in great shape to win yet another pot.
Oshima had the hand locked up by the turn of the 
board and Martirosyan’s deep run ended.
Third place was settled only two hands later when Dean Bui committed his stack with 
and was looked up by Kolo and his 
. The first three community cards fell 
followed by the 
, which gave Kolo an unlikely straight, and when the river was the , Bui busted and heads-up was set.
The heads-up duo only played six hands before a champion was crowned.
Kolo raised to 50,000 and Oshima called. The dealer spread the 
flop, Oshima initially checking before check-raising to 130,000 after Kolo bet 50,000. The turn was the 
and Oshima fired 200,000 at Kolo and Kolo called, taking the hand to the river.
Oshima sat motionless for a few moment before looking at the dealer and announcing he was all-in.
“Call,” came the rapid response from Kolo and Oshima looked devastated.
Kolo flipped over for two pair and Oshima slammed his cards face down on the table before walking away with his face in his hands. The dealer showed the hand, as per WSOP rules, and revealed for an ill-timed move gone wrong, not that Kolo was bothered because with that hand he became the latest WSOP champion and $169,225 richer in the process.
Event #12: $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gregory Kolo | $169,225 |
| 2 | Kazu Oshima | $104,513 |
| 3 | Dean Bui | $74,134 |
| 4 | David Martirosyan | $53,328 |
| 5 | Tom McCormick | $38,898 |
| 6 | Dan Goldman | $28,769 |
| 7 | Ahmed Amin | $21,565 |
| 8 | Ryan Schoonbaert | $16,384 |
| 9 | Phil Collins | $12,610 |