WSOP 2019: Nikita Luther Finishes 13th in 50th Annual Bracelet Winners Only Event For ₹2.45 Lakhs

WSOP Event #81 Day 2 Wrap Up Cover Image
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis July 12, 2019
  • 4 Minutes Read

While PokerGuru Ambassador Kartik Ved was spearheading Team India’s hopes of securing a solo bracelet in the most prestigious poker event of the year – the $10K Main Event, former bracelet winner Nikita Luther was chasing her second gold bracelet in the 50th Annual Bracelet Winners Only event. Unfortunately, both pros fell short of the finish line.

Luther had entered Day 2 with the biggest stack of 538,500 (215 big blinds) out of 51 survivors. Late registration was open till the start of Day 2 and a total field of 185 entries were logged in for the event, generating a prize pool of $277,500. It was a swingy day on the felts for Luther, and though she came within striking distance of making it into the final table, Luther eventually finished 13th for $3,584 (~₹2.45 Lakhs).

Following the elimination of Haixia Zhang (9th for $5,512), the play was halted for the day, and Tommy Nguyen bagged the biggest stack of 2,910,000 (116 big blinds) among the eight remaining finalists. The final eight players will return to contend for the title and top prize of $530,164 at 2 PM (Pacific Time Zone) on July 12.

 

Event#81: $1,500 Bracelet Winners Only NLHE – Day 2

2018 WSOP bracelet winner Nikita Luther was headlining the 51 Day 1 survivors with a stack of 538,500 (215 big blinds) when play began on Day 2. She was first reported in the day’s live coverage during Level 13 when she took some chips from Smith Sirisakorn. After that, she was involved in a three-way pot, which led to the elimination of Michael Chow. Bob Slezak took down the pot and doubled up through Luther, which saw the latter’s stack fall to 170,000.

Nikita Luther

Desperate to make a comeback, Luther won a healthy pot against Tommy Nguyen, increasing her stack to 250,000. She won another pot against Nguyen on the money bubble. Luther limped in from early position, and Nguyen raised to 13,000 on the button. Luther asked for a count and then decided to call. The flop fell , and both players checked to see the turn card open . Luther checked her option, and Nguyen led out for 20,000. Luther called to see the river . Both players checked, and Luther tabled to take down the pot as Nguyen mucked his hand.

After the final three tables were redrawn, Luther was sitting with the shortest stack holding just about 95,000 in chips. However, she managed to bounce back yet again when her cracked James Mackey‘s . The board ran out , and Luther turned a clubs flush, which saw her stack improve to 155,000.

Her rivalry with Nguyen continued, and she doubled up through him yet again during level 17. Luther’s bested Nguyen’s after clipping a set of fives on the board . Luther was officially back in contention with her stack touching 225,000.

With 18 players left in the running, Luther was still very much in the hunt for her second gold bracelet with 355,000 under her belt, and she kept up the tempo by taking down another pot against Cord Garcia which took her count to 430,000.

By the last break of the night, her stack had again come down to 255,000.

Luther’s spectacular run came to an end during level 19 at the hands of her arch nemesis for the night – Tommy Nguyen. Luther raised to 35,000 in the cutoff with and Nguyen jammed from small blind holding . The runout missed both players, but Nguyen’s pocket rockets held on, as Luther was eliminated in 13th place for $3,584 (~₹2.45 Lakhs). This was Luther’s second score at this year’s series, although her most notable score this summer came in the Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas where she finished runner-up for $109,300 (~₹75.32 Lakhs).

Following the elimination of Upeshka De Silva in 10th place for $4,402, the nine-handed final table convened.

 

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Tommy Nguyen – 2,620,000

2. Shankar Pillai – 2,200,000

3. Michael Gagliano – 1,770,000

4. Brett Apter – 740,000

5. Andreas Klatt – 520,000

6. Haixia Zhang – 440,000

7. Thom Werthmann – 430,000

8. Scott Bohlman – 270,000

9. Kevin Gerhart – 100,000

 

Final Table Recap

Haixia Zhang was eliminated on the eighth hand of the final table. Her ran into Shankar Pillai’s which bettered to a set of jack on the board . Zhang was dismissed in ninth place.

After Zhang’s elimination, the play continued for six more hands before it was halted for the day.

Tommy Nguyen (2,910,000 – 116 big blinds) emerged as the chip leader and will be leading the eighth finalists returning later tonight.

Tommy Nguyen

Final Day Chip Counts

1. Tommy Nguyen – 2,910,000

2. Shankar Pillai – 2,425,000

3. Michael Gagliano – 1,500,000

4. Brett Apter – 995,000

5. Andreas Klatt – 440,000

6. Kevin Gerhart – 370,000

7. Thom Werthmann – 370,000

8. Scott Bohlman – 260,000

Content & Images Courtesy: World Series of Poker

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