This week’s poker news is squarely focused on the 2021 World Series Of Poker. There were three notable winners and we’ll cover their journeys in this week’s headlines.
O’Connell Wins $1,000 WSOP Championship
While there have been many winners in the 2021 World Series of Poker tournament so far, very few were bigger than Drew O’Connell. The New Jersey resident decided to take place in the $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship and emerged victorious. He had to overcome 821 total entries in order to claim the largest chunk of the $738,900 prize pool.
Those 11 hours he spent battling it out ended up being worth it in the end as he picked up his first ever WSOP gold bracelet along with a $146,893 cash prize.
For O’Connell this was the largest win of his career so far. His previous highest was a $39,044 cash in a $1,000 buy-in online WSOP Circuit event towards the beginning of 2021. O’Connell also competed in seven other events in this years WSOP, but his best finish was sixth place during the $600 six-max championship two days before this big win.
Zusman Takes Home $500 WSOP Online Event
Brad Zusman was able to put together a masterful performance during the 2021 World Series of Poker Online $500 buy-in Summer Saver no-limit hold’em event. There was a tough field of 917 entries, but none were able to outclass Zusman this time around. He picked up his first ever gold bracelet and a $79,683 cash for his victory.
It was a huge step in the right direction for Zusman as it was his first-ever recorded tournament win. It is also going down as his largest payday throughout his career. His previous highest was a 941st place finish in the 2019 WSOP $10,000 main event. He earned $17,135 from the event but it was nothing compared to this.
The runner-up in this event was Mark Ioli, who earned $49,270 for his placement. Josh King rounded out the top three in this event by picking up a $34,704 payday. The biggest name outside of those three finishers happened to be Jeff Madsen. The four-time bracelet winner who finished in just 82nd place here.
Halverson Wins WSOP $600 Six-Man Online Championship
Mitchell Halverson was one of the big winners at the WSOP this week as climbed the mountain in the online $600 buy-in no-limit hold’em six-max championship. It was the first gold bracelet of his career and was by far his largest recorded tournament prize. The Oregon native survived a large field of 783 total entries to claim a prize of $84,057. His previous highest was a $25,091 cash that he earned from a 131st place finish during a Wynn Millions Event.
This event happened to include a ton of big names as well, but none were able to overcome Halverson. Mike Matusow, the four-time bracelet winner, finished in 22nd place. The MSPT Venetian champion Landon Tice was a little further down the standings in 38th place. Then finally the runner up in the 2012 WSOP main event and World Poker Tour champion Jesse Sylvia, finished just outside the final table in 11th place.