The final day of Event #97: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas crowned Alex Livingston as the champion, now a two-time bracelet winner. On top of the prestigious achievement of winning the most coveted trophy in all of poker, Livingston will also take home first-place prize money totaling $390,621.
After defeating Francisco Benitez in a strenuous heads-up match, Livingston now stands atop a start-studded field of 844 entrants who came together to create a prize pool worth a staggering $2,253,480.
Livingston is already an accomplished pro, but this one is extra special to him.
“This was basically my last chance so it’s definitely awesome to do it…”
Since he won his first bracelet in a Stud event, he was asked how it felt to win in PLO.
“I really do love all the games, like the 10-game, 9-game mix, and H.O.R.S.E. are my best formats, but its really nice to win one in PLO because its probably the game I’ve played the most hands in, and to get one done here really feels good.”
In regards to the grueling heads-up duel with Benitez, he had this to say.
“He said this was his second-ever live PLO tournament, so I don’t know why he gave me that information, but it made me want to play as much post-flop as possible so I just would limp a lot of buttons and see where the action played out on the later streets, and it wound up working in my favor.”
“This truly was a summer saver.”
Livingston later dedicated the bracelet victory to the late Matthew Parry, who he called "a friend of mine, and as fierce a competitor as you could find in the poker world."
Event #97: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Livingston | Canada | $390,621 |
| 2 | Francisco Benitez | Uruguay | $260,403 |
| 3 | Martin Zamani | United States | $177,114 |
| 4 | Andrew Watson | United States | $122,746 |
| 5 | Hokyiu Lee | Honk Kong | $86,709 |
| 6 | Christopher Roth | United States | $62,457 |
| 7 | Tolga Demirel | Turkey | $45,892 |
The final day saw 17 of some of the best PLO players the WSOP had to offer such as bracelet winners Dylan Weisman, Shaun Deeb, Ari Engel, Ronald Keijzer, and Alex Foxen all took the felt earlier today.
The action started relatively fast as Zachary Reinbold, Murilo Milhomem, Oswin Ziegelbecker, and Shai Elbaz all found the rail in the first level for a payout of $20,595 in 17th, 16th, 15th, and 14th, respectively.
Deeb then exited in 13th for the same payout, and the remaining 12 players were reseated at the final two tables. PLO savant Weisman met his end during this time when he fell to Hokyiu Lee, who flopped a straight against Weisman’s two pair. The straight held on the river, and Weisman hit the rail in 11th place for $26,34.
The action slowed down at that point as the two tables of five players both were guilty of stalling, causing the floor to hold them at a soft hand-for-hand. This slow play only ended once German pro Keijzer exited in ninth to secure the remaing players the ~$8,000 payjump.
As soon as that happened, the action picked back up as short-stacked Alex Foxen (9th - $34,411) fell to Benitez, and then Ari Engel fell to Martin Zamani in eighth to send the surviving players to the final table.
Final Table Action
Going into the final table, Zamani came in with a massive lead with 50 more big blinds than Benitez, who entered in second place. Zamani then managed to have nearly 100% VPIP (Voluntarily Put [chips] in Pot) as he was involved in almost every hand.
He used this large chip stack to his advantage and proceeded to take out Tolga Demirel in seventh, Christopher Roth in sixth, and Hokyiu Lee in fifth. But Benitez ended his reign of terror when the two got it all in on the flop in a massive pot. Benitez at risk with an overpair and flush draw, and Zamani with two pair. The turn immediately brought in the flush for Benitez, and the river failed to give Zamani a boat, awarding a giant pot to Benitez to emerge as the new chip leader.
Benitez then went on to knock out Day 2 chip leader Andrew Watson when his flopped two pair trumped Watson’s ace-high holding to send him out in fourth place.
Livingston confidently navigated his way throughout the final table, taking down pots here and there but avoiding confrontation with the big stacks. That changed when he clashed with Zamani in a big pot. The two got it all in on the flop, with Livingston holding a set against Zamani’s straight draw. Zamani wound up hitting his straight on the turn, but Livingston made quads on the river to send him out in third place in dramatic fashion.
Livingston and Benitez then entered their epic heads-up battle that would ensue over the next several hours, even though Benitez started with a 2:1 chip lead. After three hours and forty-forty minutes of chip-trading, the two finally got it all in for the last time, with Benitez at risk. Livingston flopped a dream with a straight and flush draw, drilled the flush on the turn, and faded a board pairing on the river to close out the win while Benitez exited as the runner-up. Livingston celebrated emphatically with his rail as he held up the gold bracelet to notch another achievement on his belt.
With this win, the PokerNews coverage of this event ends. As the 2024 WSOP wraps up, we want to thank you for all of the support during this summer, and stay tuned during the rest of the year, as many exciting things are happening in poker!
