Three days were not enough to find a winner in Event #87: $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, meaning that the final three players have returned for a Day 4 at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
The final three players have all locked up $94,681, but all eyes are on the top prize - $221,733 and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
Nghia "3 Putts" Le enters the day with the chip lead. The Minnesota-based jokester finished third in the $10,000 Razz Championship earlier this summer and looks to improve upon that finish and take home his first bracelet.
Nick Pupillo enters the day in second place on the leaderboard. Pupillo won his first bracelet last month by capturing the $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball title, and looks to add additional hardware to his collection today.
Bradley Smith enters the day with the short stack, but the Canadian-based has already seen success this summer. Smith found a min-cash in the Main Event, and looks to add the WSOP gold bracelet to his results.
The Final Three
Seat
Name
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Nick Pupillo
United States
6,045,000
12
2
Bradley Smith
Canada
2,655,000
5
3
Nghia Le
United States
7,400,000
15
Play begins at 1 p.m. local time and will play down to a winner. Action begins with Level 31 - Omaha Hi-Lo will have blinds of 125,000-250,000 and limits of 250,000-500,000, while Stud Hi-Lo will see a 50,000 ante, 75,000 completion, 250,000 bring in, and limits of 250,000-500,000.
Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (in USD)
1
$221,733
2
$137,039
3
$94,681
4
Omar Mehmood
United States
$66,605
5
Timothy Frazin
United States
$47,721
6
Jonah Seewald
United States
$34,836
7
Philip Sternheimer
United States
$25,919
8
Yuval Bronshtein
Israel
$19,662
Stay tuned to PokerNews to see who will take home the money, the glory, and the gold bracelet!
Nghia Le folded the button before Nick Pupillo raised all in from the small blind. "I'm getting a good price with a bad hand," Bradley Smith said before calling.
Nick Pupillo: 8♣8♥7♥2♠
Bradley Smith: K♠J♦7♠5♥
Smith made two pair on the K♦Q♦J♥ flop and Pupillo couldn't catch up on the 3♥ turn or 9♠ river as he hit the rail in third place.
Smith and Nghia Le are taking a short break before the start of heads-up play.
Fourth street saw a bet from Smith, which Le called. Both players then checked fifth and sixth.
Le bet out on seventh street. "Two pair," said Smith. "Sick spot," he added before making the call. Le turned over A♦K♥3♣ for two pair to take the pot. Smith showed a pair of kings in the hole as he mucked, adding that he had a low draw.
Nghia Le reraised all in from the big blind and Bradley Smith called.
Nghia Le: Q♦9♠6♠5♦
Bradley Smith: A♣J♠6♦3♦
The 4♠Q♣K♣ flop gave Le a pair and Smith a straight draw. Smith improved to top pair on the A♥ turn and Le couldn't catch up on the 7♦ river as the two opponents shook hands and Le headed off to collect his runner-up payout.
"It's always been my dream to win a bracelet," said Bradley Smith. "Anyone who plays poker, it's their dream to win a bracelet." Today, his dream has come true.
Smith overcame a field of 460 entrants, a marathon final table that stretched the tournament into an unscheduled fourth day, and a back-and-forth heads-up battle with Nghia "3 Putts" Le to win $221,733 and his first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #87: $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Smith hails from Thornhill, a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His entry into mixed games has been fairly recent. "I didn't play any mixed games until 2017," said Smith. "I played the $1,100 Mega Satellite for H.O.R.S.E. the night before the 10k event - that was my first live mixed game of any kind. I won $10,000 - I was actually the chipleader when that ended. The next year might have been my first WSOP mixed game tournament - the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., and I finished third in that [in 2018 for $87,769]. I've absolutely fallen in love with mixed games. I don't play them any other time of the year, but I would play mixed games all the time if I could."
This event was right up Smith's alley. "Omaha-8 and Stud-8 are my two favorite games. I won a tournament (in this format) at another place about two weeks ago or so. I would say I played the best of my life in this tournament. I was super focused for every single second. You know, never giving up at any point in time."
His confidence was high, and entering Day 4 as the short stack left him unfazed. "I think I played every single hand in this tournament to the best of my ability," said Smith, "and there was not any point that I ever gave up for one second, even if I didn't have a lot of chips."
"Your mental health is a huge part of the game, just your mentality," he added. "Throughout my entire life, I've just been a very calm and chill person. There's not many things that get to me. I'm not someone who's going to raise my voice or if someone says something to me, I don't usually make a big deal about it or say something back, you know? I just do my thing."
Final Table Results
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (in USD)
1
Bradley Smith
Canada
$221,733
2
Nghia Le
United States
$137,039
3
Nick Pupillo
United States
$94,681
4
Omar Mehmood
United States
$66,605
5
Timothy Frazin
United States
$47,721
6
Jonah Seewald
United States
$34,836
7
Philip Sternheimer
United States
$25,919
8
Yuval Bronshtein
Israel
$19,662
Day 4 Play
With the final three players unable to find a winner after ten levels of play yesterday, an extra day was necessary to crown a champion. The final three arrived with their eyes set on taking home the crown. Nick Pupillo was unable to get anything going, losing several early pots to Smith before being eliminated in Omaha Hi-Lo when Smith flopped two pair against his paired eights. With Pupillo out, Le and Smith were heads up.
Their heads-up battle lasted over three hours and was full of twists and turns. Smith took the lead within the first 15 minutes and seemed poised to take it down. Le was undeterred, though, and mounted a vicious comeback. He turned four million chips into over 11, and at one point held 70% of the chips in play. Smith remained in his zone, though, still smiling and talking. He doubled up on a scoop in Omaha Hi-Lo, and took back the lead shortly thereafter. This time, it was a lead he would not relinquish.
The end came just 40 minutes later. Le got the last of his short stack in the middle preflop in Omaha Hi-Lo, but Smith turned top pair and Le could not catch up. The two competitors shook hands, and a champion was crowned.
Le Speaks
Le, who talked and joked a lot during the event, had more to say after his elimination. "A lot of mixed emotions," he said when asked what he was feeling. "Obviously everybody wants to play and win the bracelet. I felt like I had it in my hands, and it slipped away. He [Smith] played great, give him a lot of credit. He's very methodical, great player. It's an honor to play in this tournament - it's my first time playing this event. So happy to advance this deep, actually! A little bit of sadness in there, but not much. I learned a lot. Had a chance to compete with these great players and finish second. Maybe next year," he added with a smile.
"Any time you come out to this arena and somehow land at two final tables and finish third and second - I'm a no-limit player, but I think I've found my game," added Le. "I am in love with H.O.R.S.E. and limit mixed games. It feels very relaxing, and it's much easier for the people who can make a decision after the flop. I can make solid, sound decisions in these games, so I'm going to continue to play and pursue them."
Last Word With the New Champ
Smith became a little emotional when asked who he wants to shout out, and what is coming next for him. "I want to thank my friends, and my entire family and my kids [he has a daughter turning 18 today]. I'm not a full-time poker player. I'm actually starting something new when I get back home to Toronto - I'm going to be working in the financial services sector. That's something new, but the good thing about it is I can make my own hours and I can still come here every summer. I feel like I was meant to play poker. I loved mixed games. I don't ever want to miss a summer being here. It's fun for me. I love the competition. I'm a competitive person, and I like all aspects of the game. I love poker."
Smith opened his backpack to confirm that his newly-won WSOP bracelet was firmly inside its case. After looking at it one last time, he placed it back in his bag and headed to collect a career-high score. Today, poker loved him back.
This concludes PokerNews' coverage of Event #87: $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Stay tuned for continuing updates from the rest of the World Series of Poker.