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Shaun Deeb has Phil Hellmuth’s WSOP gold bracelet record in his sights after lifting his 5th World Series of Poker championship title, Deeb bagging the $25k PLO High Roller for the second time – the win worth $1,251,860.
The 35-year-old pro from Troy, New York, was among 212 entries chasing WSOP gold and a share of a prizepool that sneaked over the $5million mark.
There were plenty of other bracelet winners in the field, with Chance Kornuth, Joseph Cheong, Scott Seiver, and Brazil’s Joao Vieira, all making the paid spots.
By the time they reached the final table, Deeb by his own admission was one of the lesser-experienced PLO players there. David Benyamine and Ben Lamb were among a stacked final eight, but they both fell before the end of day three, leaving just five to return in the search for WSOP glory.
It was Deeb’s double-aced hand that saw off Benyamine and he produced them again to double-up on the very first hand of the final day, leapfrogging him into second spot after which he was relentless for the rest of the event.
Aces again accounted for the by-now shortstacked Veselin Karakitukov...
♠♣ ♥ ♦
Deeb: A♥ A♦ J♥ 2♥
Karakitukov: K♣ J♣ 10♠9♦
Flop: 7♣ 5♣ 5♦
Turn: 3♦
River: K♦
Karakitukov took home more than $250k for his 5th place finish, and next to fall under Deeb’s sword was Maxx Coleman, out in 4th spot for just over $380k.
John Beauprez was looking for his second gold bracelet, but he had to settle for 3rd place and a very healthy $537,295 payday when Deeb’s nut straight outgunned his wheel.
That left Deeb heads-up against Ka Kwan Lau for the title and he finished things off in the following hand.
♠♣ ♥ ♦
Deeb: A♣ 7♦ 6♥ 5â™
Lau: A♥ K♦ K♣ 8♦
Lau was ahead on the flop...
Flop: 8♠8♣ 6♣
...and then simply called Deeb’s turn bet...
Turn: 5♦
...but the river gave Deeb an unexpected backdoor full house
River: 5♣
... and Lau couldn’t get away from Deeb’s all-in shove on the river.
Final results
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | $1,251,860 |
| 2 | Ka Kwan Lau | $773,708 |
| 3 | John Beauprez | $537,295 |
| 4 | Maxx Coleman | $381,394 |
| 5 | Veselin Karakitukov | $276,870 |
| 6 | David Benyamine | $205,655 |
| 7 | Ben Lamb | $156,387 |
| 8 | Charles Sinn | $121,816 |
Bracelet number five for Deeb and he has many more in his sights, along with the man at the top of the WSOP heap, Phil Hellmuth.
“Oh, I’m going to pass Phil eventually,” Deeb told PokerGO reporters afterwards. "It’s going to take me a while, but I’m going to pass Phil.”
Deeb added: “He’s a great player when he’s sharp, but he can’t play every day like me. When he wins a bracelet, he’s not hopping in the next event like I’m going to do, and that’s going to help me out.”
He wasn’t finished yet, claiming, “Plus, I think online I’m a stronger player and there are so many more online bracelets. I’m going to catch him one day.”
Deeb did admit it might take a while to match and surpass Hellmuth’s haul of 16 WSOP gold Bracelets: “It’s going to take me a decade or two, but I’ll be there.”
