WSOP 2019: Tom Koral Wins 2nd Bracelet in $1.5K Double Stack; Kunal Punjwani & Kalyan Chakravarthy Make FT Finishes

WSOP Event #82 Winner Report Cover Image
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis July 15, 2019
  • 5 Minutes Read

Have you recovered from the sports hangover yet? Cause we haven’t! What a weekend it has been! The ICC Cricket World Cup crowned a new champion in England. The nation that has often been credited with inventing the game had not won the ‘World Cup’ in 44 years since its conception. Breaking the curse of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride, England triumphed over New Zealand in a dramatic super over, finally winning the ‘World Cup’ on home soil.

On the tennis front, an intense battle took place between defending champion Novak Djokovic and eight-time champion Roger Federer at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships – Men’s Singles finals. The match-up lasted for 4 hours and 57 minutes, ultimately ending when a final set tie break rule was introduced for the very first time at the Wimbledon. Djokovic successfully defended his title, winning the tiebreak 7-3.

The 50th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) also served some high-octane action to its loyal fans yesterday. Not only did the $10K Main Event commence its nine-player final table proceedings, but Event 82: $1,500 NLHE Double Stack also declared a winner in former WSOP bracelet holder Tom Koral. However, it was a special event for the Indian poker fans since the Double Ks – Kunal Punjwani and Kalyan Chakravarthy had made the cut for the final table.

Punjwani had entered the final day with the fourth largest stack of 15,500,000 (31 big blinds), and Chakravarthy had carried the shortest stack of 9,925,000 (20 big blinds). Chakravarthy was the first of the duo to be eliminated. The Hyderabad-based pro had fought hard to extend his stay at the final table, but he lost his fight at the hands of Adam Hendrix, finishing eighth for $56,850 (~₹39 Lakhs). Though this is not his highest live score, it is Chakravarthy’s best-live score at the WSOP so far.

Punjwani, too, had played well and at a point seemed like he was about to get going, however, a brutal beat which saw his pocket sixes, which were a 91% favorite to win on the flop, lose out to Philip Scaletta‘s eight-seven that hit a backdoor straight, resulting in his seventh-place exit for $74,401 (~₹51 Lakhs). This is Punjwani’s deepest run at the WSOP and his personal-best live score till date.

 

A total of six Indians had cashed at the event.

Team India Cashes in the $1.5K NLHE Double Stack

PlayerFinishPrize Money
Kunal Punjwani7th$74,401 - ₹51 Lakhs
Kalyan Chakravarthy 8th$56,850 - ₹39 Lakhs
Goonjan Mall19th$17,063 - ₹11.69 Lakhs
Himmat Singh120th$3,654 - ₹2.50 Lakhs
Karan Radia209th$2,911 - ₹1.99 Lakhs
Sachidananda Sivakumar 253rd$2,911 - ₹1.99 Lakhs

 

The man of the hour is undoubtedly Skokie, Illinois’ Tom Koral. He outlasted a 2,589-player field to bank a career-best score of $530,164. Though known mainly for his mixed game expertise, it was a special occasion for Koral to win a bracelet in the NLHE format.

“It means a lot to me specifically because it’s Hold’em,” Koral said in the post-event interview. “I think a lot of people look at me as a mixed game primarily, so this was kind of my way of showing I could still play Hold’em,” he chuckled.

The 35-year-old was ecstatic with the win, saying, “It feels great, it feels incredible, and it’s sure gonna take a day or two to settle in.”

Talking about how he managed to be successful at all the different poker formats for so long, Koral stated, “I have a brain that’s constantly wandering, so especially when I’m out here for six weeks I can really get in the zone and constantly think about poker and poker hands. Always just analyzing myself: win or lose the hand, I’m always analyzing. It’s the constant analysis of my own play to get me to where I am.”

“Being very self-reflective and being honest with yourself is probably the most important quality you can have as a poker player and I think I do that pretty well,” the champion concluded.

 

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Freek Scholten – 23,000,000

2. Darren Rabinowitz – 19,400,000

3. Tom Koral – 16,800,000

4. Adam Hendrix – 14,900,000

5. Philip Scaletta – 14,700,000

6. Pablo Fernandez – 13,000,000

7. Kalyan Chakravarthy – 12,500,000

8. Kunal Punjwani – 10,400,000

9. Barry Shulman – 5,100,000

 

Final Table Recap

Following the elimination of Pablo Fernandez at the hands of Punjwani in ninth place, the play was halted on Day 2.

 

Final Day Chip Counts

1. Freek Scholten – 26,000,000

2. Darren Rabinowitz – 20,050,000

3. Barry Shulman – 18,450,000

4. Kunal Punjwani – 15,500,000

5. Adam Hendrix – 15,350,000

6. Philip Scaletta – 13,575,000

7. Tom Koral – 10,550,000

8. Kalyan Chakravarthy – 9,925,000

 

Final Day Recap

Play on the final day resumed with the 14th hand of the final table. On the 15th hand, Kalyan Chakravarthy raised the pot to 1.2 Million from the middle position and found no callers, thereby winning the hand. On the very next hand, Chakravarthy yet again raised to 1.2 Million from early position and Adam Hendrix defended the big blind. The flop fell , and Hendrix checked, while Chakravarthy led out for 1 Million. Hendrix check-raised to 2.8 Million. Chakravarthy spent quite some time in the tank before re-raising it for about 10 Million. Hendrix snap-called and both players tabled their cards.

Kalyan Chakravarthy

Adam Hendrix

Hendrix was in the lead with a flopped set of sixes. The on the turn improved his hand to quads. The river was of no consequence to either player as Chakravarthy’s dazzling run came to an end in eighth place for $56,850 (~₹39 Lakhs).

Kalyan Chakravarthy
Kalyan Chakravarthy

Towards the end of level 36, Kunal Punjwani was in the thick of the action. From hands 22nd to 25th, Punjwani was involved in each one. While he won a pot against Philip Scaletta, he also lost quite a bit of his chips to Scaletta, Darren Rabinowitz, and Freek Scholten. By the end of the level, Punjwani’s stack had come down to 9.8 Million. He tried hard to make a comeback, but sadly, he became the next player to be eliminated.

On the 48th hand, Scaletta opened in early position with , and Punjwani defended his big blind holding . The flop brought , and Scaletta led out for 2.2 Million, while Punjwani who had 5,150,000 behind moved all-in. Scaletta tanked for a while but eventually decided to call. Punjwani had flopped three-of-a-kind sevens and was a 91% favorite to take down the pot. But the turn tilted the odds slightly in Scaletta’s favor as he now had the outs for a gutshot straight draw. The on the river completed the board and Scaletta hit a seven-high straight knocking Punjwani out in seventh place for $74,401 (~₹51 Lakhs).

Kunal Punjwani
Kunal Punjwani

Play continued for another hour before the next elimination came through in the form of Darren Rabinowitz. Rabinowitz’s was bested by Barry Shulman’s , with the board missing both players. Shulman’s pocket tens held on as Rabinowitz was dismissed in sixth place.

In the very next hand, Adam Hendrix‘s were cracked by Scholten’s stronger pair of , leading to his fifth place exit.

Finishing in fourth place was Philip Scaletta when his ran into Scholten’s . Scholten hit a pair of kings on the runout to send Scaletta packing to the rail.

19 hands later, Scholten jammed from the small blinds with and two-time bracelet winner Barry Shulman called with . The community cards fanned out , ending Shulman’s run in third place.

With Shulman gone, the heads-up convened between former bracelet winner Tom Koral (53,500,000) and Dutchman Freek Scholten (76,100,000). Though Scholten was in the lead at the start of the final showdown, he could not hold on to it for long and soon the tables were turned in Koral’s favor. Once Koral got hold of the lead, he kept extending it, until finally, it was all over for Scholten on the 137th hand.

Freek Scholten
Freek Scholten

On the final hand, Koral limped, and Scholten moved all-in for 20.80 Million. Koral called, and both players turned over their cards.

Tom Koral

Freek Scholten

Koral was way ahead of the Dutch player with his pocket rockets and Scholten needed a miracle to stay in the game. Unfortunately, the poker gods weren’t on his side as the board ran ending Scholten’s dream run. Koral claimed his second WSOP bracelet along with $530,164 in first-place prize money.

Tom Koral

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Tom Koral – $530,164

2. Freek Scholten – $327,563

3. Barry Shulman – $239,187

4. Philip Scaletta – $176,219

5. Adam Hendrix – $131,001

6. Darren Rabinowitz – $98,274

7. Kunal Punjwani – $74,401

8. Kalyan Chakravarthy – $56,850

9. Pablo Fernandez – $43,843

Content & Images Courtesy: World Series of Poker

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