WSOP

WSOP

Event #45 of the WSOP is in the books and has crowned a victor in the person of Ben Volpe. The resident of Chicago, Illinois triumphed over a field of 678 competitors, each entering for $1,500, earning his first WSOP bracelet and $201,399.

The structure of the event was a bit unusual. It was an ante-only No Limit Hold’em tournament. While antes are commonly found in games like Seven Card Stud and Razz, Hold’em is traditionally played with blinds. Even those Hold’em tables that do feature antes typically have blinds as well. But in this case, the initial starting pot came only from antes; there were no blinds.

After two days of play, the tournament was down to the final nine players who returned Thursday for final table action. Players who came close to making the final table were David Vamplew (16th), David Williams (18th) and Allen Cunningham (21st). But, as they say, “close” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The most notable player to make the final table was online tournament shark Chris Moorman. The competitors’ stacks looked like this at the beginning of play Thursday:

1. Paul Lieu – 579,000
2. Benjamin Volpe – 523,000
3. Daniel Johnson – 479,000
4. Louis Bonnecaze – 330,000
5. Horacio Chaves – 314,000
6. Chris Moorman – 279,000
7. Adam Stone – 214,000
8. Blair Hinkle – 182,000
9. Samuel Panzica – 153,000

Ben Volpe, Winner of WSOP Event #45

Ben Volpe, Winner of WSOP Event #45

Samuel Panzica was eliminated after about an hour of play when his AJ ran into the AQ of Paul Lieu. Panzica had to leave in 9th place with $15,331. Daniel Johnson was the next to leave when he jammed QJ on a 369 board, and Blair Hinkle called with 96. The 9 turn completed Johnson’s flush, but gave Hinkle a full house. Daniel Johnson exited the tournament in 8th place, with $19,660.

Adam Stone then got his stack in against Blair Hinkle. Hinkle revealed that he had the Q5, while stone was behind with the J6. The board was ATAK9, and Adam Stone was knocked out in 7th place, earning $25,472.

Just a few hands later, Horacio Chaves got all-in preflop against Paul Lieu. Lieu was in front with KK, but Chaves’ AQ had a live overcard. The board was no help to Chaves, and the Paraguayan was eliminated in 6th place, taking home $33,371.

Next, it was Moorman’s turn to leave. A multiway pot checked to him on a TJ8 flop, and Moorman shoved with the 85. Unfortunately for Moorman, Lieu had been sandbagging with T8, two pair, and called. Moorman had only 2% equity in the pot, and the J turn and 3 river were no help to him. Chris Moorman was sent packing in 5th place with winnings of $44,227.

As four-handed play got started, the stacks looked like this:

1. Blair Hinkle – 1,200,000
2. Louis Bonnecaze – 750,000
3. Paul Lieu – 750,000
4. Ben Volpe – 300,000

They played for about three hours without anyone getting eliminated. Shortstack Ben Volpe was able to double through Blair Hinkle, not once but twice, leaving Hinkle as the shortstack. Hinkle got it all-in preflop with the A3 against Paul Lieu’s QQ. The board was the JQ4, leaving Hinkle drawing very thin. The turn was the 4 and the river was the 7, ending Hinkle’s run in 4th place with $59,375 in earnings.

The table then broke for dinner, and when they returned, it was only a matter of minutes before the action heated up again. All three players limped into the pot, and it checked to Louis Bonnecaze on a 5Q6 board. He bet out, and Ben Volpe raised all-in. Bonnecaze called and both players revealed their hands:

Volpe: Q8
Bonnecaze: 63

Volpe was was ahead, and the board ran out J and J to see Bonnecaze knocked out. He won $80,839 for this 3rd place showing.

Volpe started heads-up play with a 2:1 chip lead over Las Vegas resident Paul Lieu. The two players played a very cagey, small-pot style of poker. There was a lot of preflop limping, and neither player seemed very anxious to put their chips in the middle.

Lieu won a big pot to even up the stacks when both players limped in and they saw a JJ6 flop. Lieu check-called all the way down as they saw a K turn and a J river. Volpe bet each street. At showdown, Volpe had the 65 for a full house, but Lieu had pocket TT for a better full house.

Now came the most exciting hand of the match. Lieu opened and Volpe raised, then Lieu shoved. Volpe instantly called with the QQ, and Lieu was behind with the 44. The flop came K36, with Volpe comfortably ahead. The turn was the J. The river came down the 4, giving Lieu an unexpected set, and the winning hand. Volpe was left with a 3:1 chip deficit.

Incredibly, after the big action of those two hands, the two contenders then reverted back to their patient game of limps, small bets and showdown pots. Ben Volpe got the better of these hands, and slowly built his stack back up.

Finally, after nearly two and a half hours of heads-up play, both players got their stacks in the middle on a
28A flop. They revealed:

Volpe: 63
Lieu: A4

Lieu was 62% to win with his top pair, and this improved to 80% when the T came on the turn. But the K on the river completed Volpe’s flush, and Lieu had to go home in 2nd place with $123,452.

Ben Volpe not only overcame a short stack four-handed, but did the same again after suffering a terrible beat heads-up. For his performance, he was rewarded with the top prize of $201,399 and his first bracelet. The complete final table payouts were:

1. Ben Volpe – $201,399
2. Paul Lieu – $124,352
3. Louis Bonnecaze – $80,839
4. Blair Hinkle – $59,375
5. Chris Moorman – $44,227
6. Horacio Chaves Cortes – $33,371
7. Adam Stone – $25,472
8. Daniel Johnson – $19,600
9. Samuel Panzica – $15,331