Canada's Sebastien Aube Takes Down Event #78: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em ($499,636)
After three long days of play in a brand new event stacked with notables, Sebastien Aube has joined the ranks of WSOP bracelet winners. Aube bested a field of 1,364 entries in Event #78: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em to take home a first place prize of $499,636 and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
Aube was in the top five chip counts to begin Day 3 and although it got a little rocky for a while in the earlier levels of the day, he slowly climbed back up. Heading into the final table, Aube had a dominating chip lead that he never relinquished throughout the rest of the day.
There were many big names and former champions in this tournament including James Gilbert ($20,585), Kenny Hallaert ($20,585), David Miscikowski ($25,474), Ran Koller ($52,240), Matt Berkey ($68,102) and Brian Keith Etheridge ($222,762) who all cashed in the top 25.
Event #78: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastien Aube | Canada | $499,636 |
| 2 | Jilien Loire | France | $308,817 |
| 3 | Brian Keith Etheridge | United States | $222,762 |
| 4 | Axel Hallay | France | $162,627 |
| 5 | Leandro Vlastaris | United States | $120,177 |
| 6 | Santiago Plante | Canada | $89,905 |
| 7 | Matt Berkey | United States | $68,102 |
| 8 | Ran Koller | Israel | $52,240 |
| 9 | Jonathan Zarin | United States | $40,588 |
Winners Reaction
This was Aube’s first WSOP bracelet and only the second cash of his poker career, the first one being $2,815. “I played recreationally in my 20’s and when I opened my last business in the pandemic, I came upon the MasterClass of Daniel Negreanu. I always liked the guy so was like alright, let's go. He really psyched me up. It’s the same recipe to succeed in poker as it is in business so it really called to me.”
Aube came out to test the skills he picked up in his studies at the WSOP Main Event. It was his first time playing in the series and while the cards didn’t fall right for him in the Main, they sure did in this one. He was radiating happiness and excitement after his win, “I’m extremely psyched. I was in it for the bracelet mostly and I’m very glad that I got it. I’m so excited, it’s a very good accomplishment for my second live cash in a tournament; a pretty good one to do it in.”
His girlfriend and his 11-month-old child are back at home in Montreal, Canada, and were getting updates on his status throughout the day. “I can’t wait to celebrate with my friends and family. My girlfriend is asleep now but she is going to wake up and be so excited with the amazing news of my win.”
Final Day Recap
WSOP bracelet winner Miscikowski was the chip leader heading into Day 3. Six other players busted out within the first two levels and the remaining 16 played for another few hours before Hallaert was eliminated in 16th place. Miscikowski was taken out in 13th and, within an hour, the remaining ten went over to the unofficial final table.
Brien Lee was the first one knocked out when his queen-high straight was beaten by Aube’s king-high straight. Jonathan Zarin followed shortly after when an unlucky river gave Etheridge a straight, running over his ace-king (top two pair).
Koller was next to go when the bracelet winner was taken out by Berkey's runner-runner two pair. After the dinner break, Berkey was eliminated by Aube in a race with ace-ten which ended with Aube hitting a set to knock him out.
Another player from Montreal, Santiago Plante, was short-stacked throughout most of the final table play but managed to capture sixth place when he came up against pocket nines and the deck didn’t give him any help.
Leandro Vlastaris was knocked out in fifth after a roller coaster ride of highs and lows throughout the day, ending up all in against Aube who knocked him out with pocket jacks.
The final four went rather quickly with Axel Hallay going up against and losing to Aube and his monster stack. Etheridge busted out shortly after Julien Loire hit Broadway against him in an all-in hand.
On the final hand, the seven on the river hit for both Aube and Loire. When Aube moved all in, Loire quickly called and tabled his straight. Aube flipped over nines full of sevens and that was it as he took down the hand and the tournament.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action from the last handful of 2022 WSOP bracelet-awarding events.