Ran Koller s'impose (269,478$), podium pour Florian Guimond
The second and final day of Event #33: $800 Eight-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Deep Stack was one filled with speed and intensity. From the moment the cards were pitched into the air, up until the last river card was dealt, the play was fast and intense. It took less than five hours of poker to reach the final nine players. Then, from the final nine on it was all about the Rans.
Ran Ilani and Ran Koller came to the final table first and seventh in chips, respectively. The former Ran was active en route to his runner-up finish, while the latter laid back and seemingly capitalized on every opportunity that presented itself. This is believed to be the first time that two Israeli’s have competed for a bracelet heads-up at the WSOP, but it is most definitely the first time there have been two Rans heads-up for the title.
Koller said that things just happened the way that they happened at this final table. He was at a loss for words to describe the feeling he has right now after defeating his fellow countryman with a shared given name to win his first WSOP gold bracelet as well as the $269,478 first-place cash prize.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ran Koller | Israel | $269,478 |
| 2 | Ran Ilani | Israel | $166,552 |
| 3 | Florian Guimond | France | $124,671 |
| 4 | Oleg Titov | Russia | $94,028 |
| 5 | Kris Steinbach | Canada | $71,457 |
| 6 | Alex Outhred | United States | $54,722 |
| 7 | Jorge Hou | Panama | $42,231 |
| 8 | Donald Maloney | United States | $32,845 |
“It’s amazing. I do not even have the words for it. It was surreal.”, reminisced Ran.
When asked about his plan for the rest of the series, Ran responded with, “I am here until the end of the series and I am going to play some more events”.
What a tournament win and well deserved WSOP gold bracelet for this young Israeli poker professional.
Please stay tuned to PokerNews for a recap of all of the day’s events, as well as what’s coming up next here at the 2021 WSOP.