British pro Ben Heath outlasted a field of 110 runners to win the 2019 WSOP $50,000 High Roller title. Heath banked $1,484,085 for first place. His final table also included the likes of Andrew Lichtenberger, Elio Fox, Chance Kornuth, Sam Soverel, Dmitry Yurasov, Nick Petrangelo, and Cary Katz. Also, you can add Dan Zack's name to the list of first-time bracelet winners. The New Jersey pro was considered one of the best pros who went deep at the WSOP, but never won a bracelet. He can finally cross his name off the list after Zack won Event #6 $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw for a score worth $160,447.
The first weekend of the 2019 World Series of Poker had a couple of special events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the WSOP. The suits held the largest running of the donks with a 25K deep field at The 50. They also threw the big dogs a bone with the first High Roller affair on the docket. This one had a price tag worth 50K to celebrate 50 years of poker excellence.
Meanwhile, 110 ballers took a shot at glory in the $50,000 buy-in High Roller. This special bracelet event paid out only 17 players with all of the cheesecake set aside to the champion.
Wall Street guru David Einhorn bubbled the final table in ninth place. Among the other notables who went deep and cashed included... Manig Loeser, Sam Grafton, Matt Gonzales, Elias Talvitie, Bryn Kenney, Johannes Becker, Eric Wasserson, and Markus Gonsalves.
The final eight in 2019 WSOP Event #5 included two Europeans and six Americans. Ben Heath represented the United Kingdom and Dmitry Yurasov repped Russia.
The six-pack of Yanks were: Andrew Lichtenberger, Elio Fox, Chance Kornuth, Sam Soverel, Nick Petrangelo, and Cary Katz. A couple of those fellows had already shipped bling of their own and they were seeking another bracelet to add to their collections.
Cary Katz hit the road first at the final table, followed by Eli Fox in seventh place.
Chance Kornuth busted in sixth place and he locked up at least a quarter-mil for his work. Nick Petrangelo's run ended in fifth place and he took home $335K.
Two Yanks and two Euros were in the final four. Alas, Dmitry Yurasov busted out in fourth place. The Russian had a sick score worth $458,138.
Sam Soverel got picked off in third place. He banked nearly $641K, but his elimination set up a heavyweight bout between Ben Heath and Lucky Chewy. UK vs. America.
In this instance, Lucky Chewy couldn't harness his mojo. The Man knows him as "Andrew Lichtenberger" but we know him as Lucky Chewy in our hearts. Lichtenberger was eliminated in second place. Lucky Chewy earned $917,232 for second place. Not too shabby for a runner-up score, eh?
Ben Heath banked his first bracelet and won a mountain of cash worth $1,484,085. He became the first player to win $1M-plus at the 2019 WSOP. And he's the first Brit to secure bling.
God save the Queen.
2019 WSOP - Event #5 $50,000 High Roller
Entrants: 110
Prize Pool: $5,280,000
Payouts: 17
Final Table Results:
1. Ben Heath (UK) $1,484,085
2. Andrew Lichtenberger (USA) $917,232
3. Sam Soverel (USA) $640,924
4. Dmitry Yurasov (Russia) $458,138
5. Nick Petrangelo (USA) $335,181
6. Chance Kornuth (USA) $251,128
7. Elio Fox (USA) $192,794
8. Cary Katz (USA) $151,755
Meanwhile, DanZack shipped 2019 WSOP Event #6 $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw. The mixed variation included a rotation of three games: Deuce-to-Seven, Ace-to-Five, and Badugi. Event #6 attracted 296 entries and a prize pool worth a devilish $666,000. Only the top 45 places paid out.
Zack's final table also included Sumir Mathur, Jon Turner, Brayden Gazlay, Jesse Hampton, and Jake Schwartz. Turner busted in fourth place. Zack picked off Sumir Mathur heads-up to win his first bling.
Zack had made eight WSOP final table before finally taking one down. He was on the short list of best pros who went deep and made multiple final tables, but never stepped into the winner's circle. Until now. Zack earned a payout worth $160,447 for winning Event #6.
