WSOP 2015: Aditya Agarwal in the Money with 557K Chips in the Monster Stack, Raghav Bansal Makes 1st WSOP Cash, Kunal Patni and Apoorva Goel in Day 2 of Event 30

WSOP 2015
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  • PG News June 15, 2015
  • 4 Minutes Read

WSOP is now almost halfway through its sojourn, with about 30 events done and the journey has begun to become an exciting one for our Indian players. It was a day of firsts for three of our Indian challengers, Aditya Agarwal, Raghav Bansal and Kunal Patni.

Team PokerStars Pro Aditya Agrawal not only made his first cash this WSOP, but is still in the fray with a monster chip stack of 557,000 at 62nd place in the chip counts, among 272 survivors in Event 28 – $1,500 Monster Stack!

Among the other Indian players participating this event, Raghav Bansal made it to Day 2, finally busting at 492nd place for his first WSOP cash of $3,980.

Team PokerGuru Mentor Chris Dombrowski is behind Aditya at 157th place with 296,000 chips in the same event.

In Event 30 – $1,000 NLH, Kunal Patni made a good start and as we publish he made his first Day 2 in a bracelet event, for 43K chips, among 279 survivors.

The coming few days will be highly interesting, as the Indian action has begun to accelerate, with more players in several events.

Aditya Agarwal, Kunal Patni, Raghav Bansal and Aditya Sushant have now been joined by other notables, such as Pranav Bagai, Akash Malik and Apoorva Goel, who have already landed in Las Vegas.

Amit Ajwani, Amit Jain, Jasven Saigal, Shashank Jain, Aman Dhamija, Ravi Goel among others, are expected to fly in later this week, increasing the Indian contingent to a large number.

20 days into the 2015 WSOP and each event has thrown up surprises, with several first-time bracelet winners, though there has been no shortage of notables in the play. From a winner who rode in on a satellite entry, to one who signed on a wrong event, to a pro who prefers being called an “enthusiast” and one who bet on himself, WSOP has brought forth a rich tapestry of winners to adorn its history pages.

Here, we continue our coverage of WSOP 2015.

 

“Poker Enthusiast” Sam Greenwood Claims 1st Bracelet In Event 22 -$1000 No Limit Hold’em

After three days of play and 1,915-player registration, Event 22 found a champion in Sam Greenwood, who collected $318,977 for his 1st place finish.

The 26-year old became the first Canadian to win the bracelet and now has 15 WSOP cashes to his credit. Greenwood who prefers to call himself a “poker enthusiast” instead of pro said after winning, “I really wouldn’t call myself a poker pro. I’m not really sure what I am or what I want to do. I just hope poker gives me enough of a steady income to do something later on.”

Sam Greenwod
Sam Greenwod

Heads up saw Greenwood overcome young pro Cole Jackson after almost an hour of play. The final hand had:

Greenwood

Jackson

The flop came down , with a turn of causing Greenwood to yell at his rail supporters, “He’s drawing dead.” The river revealed why with a . Jackson made 2nd place for $197,254.

The event had a prize pool of $1,723,500 and only the top 197 players cashed.

 

Wrong Event Lands Christian Pham 1st WSOP Bracelet in Event 23 – $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Draw

40-year old Minnesota poker pro Christian Pham faced one of those fortuitous moments of fate, when he signed up for what he thought was Event 25 – No Limit Hold’em, but was registered for Event 23.

At the table, Pham watched with horror the different format, one he had no clue about.

Pham later recounted, “They had started dealing already, so I couldn’t do anything. If they had not started dealing, I would have told the floorman and asked to be unregistered.”

Helpless, he decided to give it his best shot, as he stated, “I’d played lots of poker before, but not this game. I guess I learned fast.”

The effort paid off marvelously, netting him his first WSOP bracelet for a win worth $81,314 in prize money.Pham was chip leader on both Day 1 and 2, concluding Day 3 as the winner.

Christian Pham
Christian Pham

In the final play, Pham beat international pro Daniel Ospina. The fatal hand had Pham move all in from the button. Ospina in the big blind called for his last 110,000. At the draw, Ospina took two new cards and Pham one. The new cards were dealt and hands opened.

Pham Jx8x3x2x

Ospina 6x4x2x

Pham looked at his new card and exclaimed, “Yes. Made it.” He rolled over a 6x , completing his jack-eight low. Ospina looks at his first card and rolled over a Kx , ensuring that he was drawing dead to the last card. Ospina completed his hand by tabling an Ax and was runner up for $50,260.

219 entries created a prize pool of $295,650 and a mere 28 of these players cashed in this event.

 

Pregnant Wife Expecting Twins Cheers Arash Ghanein For 1st WSOP Gold in Event 24 – $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.

40-year old Iran born, American Arash Ghanein won Event 24 for his first bracelet and $239,750 in prize money.

The winner was overcome with emotion as he recalled his wife’s support through his 10-year poker career and especially during this tournament.

It’s been a hard road,” Ghaneian said afterward, holding back tears. “Each time I saw her here or she sent me a text, she would say, “I know you’re going to win this – I can feel it.”

In winning this event, Ghanein denied Australian Rob Campbell his second bracelet. Campbell almost derailed Ghanein’s win and the latter said of him, “He’s a great heads-up player. He could have won it instead, but the cards just went my way.”

Arash Ghaneian
Arash Ghaneian

In the final hand, Ghaneian limped on the button. Robert Campbell went all-in for 275,000 and Ghaneian called.

Arash Ghaneian

Robert Campbell

The flop of helped both. The turn though favored Ghaneian. The river ensured his win and Campbell made $148,096 for his second place.

Besides Campbell, there were several other notables in play, including Phil Hellmuth who finished in 31st place. In all, the event had a 772 strong player field and a prize pool of $1,042,200, with 80 players making the money.

 

Football Coach Jeff Tomlinson Nets 1st WSOP Bracelet Against Stacked Final Table in Event 25 – $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed

51-year old Philadelphia football coach Jeff Tomlinson stunned several poker pros by winning Event 25 for $567,724 and a his first Gold Bracelet. Tomlinson overcame bracelet winner Pierre Milan in a tough heads up battle to gain the title.

Talking about his 3 to 1 chip disadvantage at the beginning of heads up play, the high school teacher said, “I don’t have any fear. I mean, I’m here to play my game. It doesn’t mean I’ll win ten gold bracelets, but from the moment I sat down I knew I could win.”

Jeff Tomlinson
Jeff Tomlinson

Milan went all in for his last 2,650,000 and Tomlinson snap-called, tabling .

Milan showed .

A flop of had Milan needing a jack. The turn failed to help Milan. The dealer placed a on the river and Tomlinson had a full house to win the tournament. Milan collected $350,994 for his second place finish.

The event drew 493 players, producing a prize pool totaling $2,317,100.

 

Satellite Entry Gets Aaron Wallace 1st Bracelet in Event 26 – $1000 pot Limit Omaha

Aaron Wallace took down Event 26, pocketing $226,985 and the WSOP gold, after wading through a player-field of 1,293, vying for a prize pool of $1,163,700. The top 144 players cashed in this event.

For the 32-year old Director of Sales at an Icecream company, it was a poker dream come true, when he played a $175 Satellite and won his way all through to the bracelet in the largest non-Texas Hold’em tournament in history.

Wallace admitted that he only plays satellites, but was tempted to buy his way in. The still shaky winner said, “That’s how I do any tournament I’ve ever played, just satellite in.”

I walked in and I was actually just going to pay out of pocket to register,” Wallace adds. “But on the way I walked through the single-table satellite area and heard a call for ‘one seat available, $175 PLO.’ So I won that and was freerolling for this.”

Marko Newmann
Marko Newmann

Wallace faced Marko Neumann in the final play. After a flop of Wallace checked and Neumann bet 80,000. Wallace check-raised a total bet of 400,000. Neumann paused and called. The turn was a and Wallace lead out for a pot-sized bet and Neumann went all in. Wallace called

Neumann

Wallace

Wallace led with a full house, but any seven, six, jack, or queen could improve Neumann’s lot. But the river with was decisive and Wallace won the event, with Neumann making second place for $140,353.

Bets Pay Off As Brian Hastings Collects 2nd Bracelet in Event 27 – $10K Seven Card Stud Championship

Brian “$tinger 88”Hastings’ confidence in his skill paid rich dividends, when he won Event 27, for $239,518 and his second gold bracelet. Hastings had a number of bets, including action on his collecting a bracelet standing at 3.3-1. While many did lose money, Hastings actually made more than twice his first place money. “It’s about twice what the top prize money was for this event,” Hastings declared. “But I won’t say who it was with.”

The 26-year old high stakes cash games pro began his career playing “nosebleed” games and once reportedly won $4mn in a single session. Post 2009, he shifted successfully to live tournaments.

After the win he said, “This tournament is more meaningful because it’s what a lot of the older, more established players played for many years. Anytime you win, it’s feels good.”

Hastings started Day 3 with a quarter of the chips in play and though he faced a few challenges, he doubled up twice and finally eliminated two-time bracelet winner Scott Clements to claim the title.

Brian Hastings
Brian Hastings

Down to 130,000 chips, Clements brought it in with . Hastings completed showing a . Clements raised to 60,000 and both went all in and the cards were dealt.

Brian Hastings //(x)
Scott Clements /(x)

Hastings made a diamond flush on the river and Clements next picked up a draw. Clements final card revealed and he was runner up for $148,001.

Totally the event had 91 entries, a prize pool of $855,400, with 16 players making the money.

 

Aditya Agarwal To Enter Day 3 With 557K Chios In Event 28 – Monster Stack, Raghav Bansal Cashes

Several of our Indian players played the Monster Stack and as the event goes to Day 3, Aditya Agarwal and PokerGuru Team Mentor Chris Dombrowski are comfortably placed in the play, having passed the money bubble.

 

Aditya enters Day 3 with 557,000 chips at 62nd chip position among the 272 survivors. Drombowski is at 157th place with 296,000 chips.

Raghav Bansal was the only player, amongst the rest to make Day 2, but had a swingy day. He lost two flips early on to come down to 85k in chips, but chipped up fast to reach 150k an hour later. However he was eliminated at 492nd place for $3980.

 

Pranav Bagai and Kunal Patni were among those, who busted the Monster Stack early. Pranav made a re-entry but was again eliminated.

Kunal spoke about his exit saying, “Damn it. The earliest exit I have ever had in a big tournament. Busted level 1. AA < A3 on a A24 flop. All in on the flop. River 5
#‎TeamSpades

Aditya Sushant was another who was eliminated and he posted, “Monster..TeamSpades..‪#‎JUSTDOIT http://t.co/3OSIYmUSLf

Sushant lost a pot with pocket sevens on a flop J 9 7 (two diamonds), a turn of 9 and river J. He check-folded the river, on the dangerous board. Sushant soon got a lucky double up with pocket fives against pocket jacks of an opponent, to get to about 18,000 in chips. However he busted before the dinner break.

A massive player-field of 7,192 marked Event 28, leading to a prize pool of $9,709,200. Of these 720 players cashed, with the minimum payout being $2,815.

 

Final Table Battle Underway In Event 29 -$10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship

As we speak, there are just six players left in Event 29, battling for the title.

77 players paid up the buy in of 10K for the event creating a prize pool of $723,800.

 

Apoorva Goel and Kunal Patni Make Day 2 In Event 30 – $1000 No Limit Hold’em

Kunal Patni has made his first Day 2 in a bracelet event, among 279 survivors with 43,400 chips.

He posted his initial play saying, “After losing AK 11 times in a row (9 flips and 2 dominating hands) I finally win one important one in the 1k event. Whew. !!! ‪#‎TeamSpades ‪#‎WSOP2015

Apoorva Goel will join Kunal Patni on Day 2 tomorrow with 40,000 chips.

There were 2,150 entries for Event 30, making a prize pool of $1,935,900 and 216 top spots will be paid.

Stay with us as the action accelerates and catch all the latest from this WSOP, right here on PokerGuru.

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