Joe Cada Wins His Fourth Career Bracelet in Event #75: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em for $612,886
Joe Cada capped off an incredible summer by winning his second bracelet of the year and the fourth of his lifetime in Event #75: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em just days after finishing fifth in the Main Event. The 2009 Main Event champion bested a field of 3,120 entries to claim the $612,886 top prize.
"I feel amazing. What a way to cap it off!" Cada said. "I've been running good and deep in every tournament, and the tournaments I busted, I feel good about how I played. I haven't played many tournaments this summer, and I'm kind of upset that I didn't play more, but it feels good to close it out." When asked about whether or not he would attend the World Series of Poker Europe this fall, Cada said it was unlikely since he's still not close to approaching Shaun Deeb in the Player of the Year race. "It just goes to show how good some summers end up and how good some of these players are." Deeb also took his seat for the final day of this event but busted within minutes after cards were in the air.
Final Table Results:
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Cada | United States | $612,886 |
| 2 | Paawan Bansal | India | $378,765 |
| 3 | Jeffrey Tanouye | United States | $278,774 |
| 4 | Richard Ali | United States | $206,813 |
| 5 | Eric Afriat | Canada | $154,660 |
| 6 | Richard Cox | United States | $116,595 |
| 7 | Jimmy Poper | United States | $88,615 |
| 8 | Brayden Gazlay | United States | $67,904 |
| 9 | Joshua Turner | United States | $52,465 |
This event played out over the course of four days; there were three starting flights and all 331 surviving players combined for Day 2 action. Cada began the day with a viable stack of 31 big blinds and chipped up rather steadily. Although the action was fast and furious throughout the day, Cada was rarely all-in and at risk once the final table was reached.
While this event drew players from all across the poker spectrum, Cada wasn't the only familiar face to make it deep. Two-time bracelet winner Benjamin Zamani departed in 22nd place when he got his stack in on the flop with top pair of jacks only to see his opponent pair his king on the river. Leif Force was the next to go in 21st; he lost a crucial coin flip holding pocket eights that left him with less than 2 big blinds and his ace-eight couldn't overcome Joshua Turner's ace-nine the following hand.
Chris Conrad was dispatched in 18th place by the eventual champion in a massive three-way all-in where Cada doubled up in addition to stacking Conrad. Tristan Wade fell in 17th when his eight-seven suited failed to sufficiently improve against Turner's pocket eights (the case card showed up on the flop).
German crusher Martin Finger made his exit in 13th place when he couldn't beat Richard Cox's trip kings. Shortly thereafter, the unofficial final table was reached. Cada carried about 4 million chips into ten-handed play but doubled through Brayden Gazlay almost immediately. After Sam Simmonds busted in tenth when his aces got cracked on the river by Eric Afriat, who held pocket kings, the remaining nine players took a dinner break and reconvened at about 11:00 p.m. PDST.
It took just 12 hands for the first player at the official final to fall. Joshua Turner got his chips in with king-queen against Cox's king-ten suited only to see Cox spike a ten. Gazlay departed the very next hand in eighth place when he lost a coin flip holding queen-jack of diamonds against Eric Afriat's pocket sevens.
Shortly thereafter, Jimmy Poper hit the rail when his six-five suited couldn't get there against Paawan Bansal's ace-four suited. The action slowed for about 20 minutes thereafter until Cox got his stack in with pocket jacks against Richard Ali's pocket tens and saw a ten show up on the flop (the turn and river brought no help). Bansal built a fairly large stack over the course of the level, and shortly after Afriat busted in fifth when his kings were cracked by ace-eight, Cada doubled up through Bansal to seize the chip lead. In a battle of the blinds, Bansal shoved holding jack-seven, Cada called to put himself at risk with ace-eight, and his hand held up.
The final few bustouts came at a frantic pace. Ali departed in fourth when he got his stack in with pocket fours against Cada's pocket eights and the board provided no help for either player. The very next hand, Tanouye was eliminated in third holding ten-eight against Bansal's pocket queens and got no help from the deck.
Heads-up play lasted exactly one hand. Bansal and Cada got the chips in before the flop with Bansal holding nine-eight of diamonds and Cada holding two red tens. Although the nine-high flop gave Bansal a bit of hope, Cada turned a set and rivered quads to end the tournament. His enthusaistic rail exploded in cheers and numerous hugs and high-fives predictably ensued. Here's a look at Cada's bracelet wins over the years:
| Year | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $ 10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold'em | $ 8,546,435 |
| 2014 | $ 10,000 No Limit Hold'em - Six Handed (Event #32) | $ 670,041 |
| 2018 | $ 3,000 No Limit Hold'em - Shootout (Event #3) | $ 226,218 |
| 2018 | $ 1,500 No Limit Hold'em - The Closer (Event #75) | $ 612,886 |
Although the action at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino is drawing to a close, The Big One For One Drop is still ongoing with two days left to play, so be sure to keep it here for all the updates from the PokerNews Live Reporting team.