Alors que la situation politique et économique du Venezuela semble chaque jour un peu plus fragile, Joseph Di Rosa Rojas a hissé bien haut les couleurs de son pays en remportant la première édition du WSOP Marathon !
L'Event #23 de la 48e édition des World Series Of Poker au buy-in de 2620$ (l'équivalent de la distance en miles d'un marathon olympique, ndlr) proposait des niveaux de 100 minutes et il a fallu 53 heures de poker au joueur du Venezuela pour empocher 690 469$ et la première victoire de ce pays d'Amérique du Sud aux WSOP.
Chipleader à l'entame de l'ultime journée de compétition, Di Rosa Rojas a débuté son head's up avec une avance de 8 contre 1 en jetons. Alexander Lynskey s'est bien battu avant de shove ... et de s'empaler sur les du Venezuelien qui avait mis le filet en place avec un limp. Rojas a tremblé sur le flop mais le tournant a permis à son rail d'envahir la place !
Joueur professionnel, le vainqueur a malgré tout été submergé par l'émotion. Pour sa deuxième visite à Las Vegas, il remporte son premier MTT live alors qu'il ne comptait jusque là que 55 000$ de gains en tournois !
264 joueurs se sont partagés le prizepool généré par un field de 1759 entrants. Rojas s'impose à l'issue d'une finale où l'on retrouvait Tim Reilly (4e - 224,316$), Julian Stuer (5e - 165 277$), Faraz Jaka (6e - 123 105$), Maurice Hawkins (9e pour 54 356$) ou encore le vainqueur WSOP de 53 ans, Jeff Tomlinson (3e - 307 728$).
Quatre Français ont atteint l'argent sur ce tournoi. En terminant 73e pour 7602$, Alexandre Reard a marqué de précieux points pour conserver sa place de n°1 tricolore au POY GPI 2017. Ludovic Moryousef (102e - 5 369$), Bertrand Rosique (131e - 4 909$) et Louis Linard (142e - 4 909$) signent aussi une jolie place payée sur un tournoi à la structure exceptionnelle.
Hand #210: Joseph Di Rosa Rojas limped in on the button, and Alexander Lynskey moved all in for about 3,400,000. Rojas snap-called.
Lynskey was at risk with and Rojas tabled .
The flop came and Lynskey pulled ahead with two pair, nines and sixes. The turn was the and Rojas' rail went wild as the board paired, giving Rojas a better two pair. The river was the and Lynskey was eliminated in second place.
Hand #191: Jeffrey Tomlinson raised all-in for 2,600,000 on the button and Joseph Di Rosa Rojas called from the big blind. Tomlinson held and was in a race situation vs Rojas' .
The board ran out and Tomlinson was unable to hit the board. Tomlinson was eliminated in 3rd place but will take home over $300,000 for his strong efforts today.
Hand #155: Jeffrey Tomlinson moved all in for 4,540,000 from under the gun. Tim Reilly was on the button and called for his last 4,270,000, barely covered by Tomlinson.
Reilly was at risk with and Tomlinson had him dominated with .
The rail behind Reilly yelled for an eight, but the board ran out and Reilly was eliminated after a hard-fought battle.
Hand #144: The action was folded to Julian Stuer in the small blind who shipped all-in for 900,000. Jeffrey Tomlinson was in the big blind and asked for a count, and then quickly called.
Tomlinson:
Stuer:
It was an action flop of with Stuer flopping a set and Tomlinson had a flush draw. The turn was the that didn't change anything, but the river fell the and Tomlinson made his flush. Stuer was eliminated in 5th place.
Faraz Jaka shoved all in from middle position for 790,000 and Alexander Lynskey went all in over the top for 1,030,000 in the small blind. Joseph Di Rosa Rojas was in the big blind and asked for counts of both stacks. He thought for a couple moments and folded, so the two remaining hands were tabled.
Lynskey:
Jaka:
Lynskey was in a dominating position and the board ran out . Jaka was unable to connect with the board and was eliminated in sixth place.
Julian Stuer raised to 250,000 from middle position and Andrew Jernigan moved all in for 1,050,000 from the cutoff. Stuer asked for a count and eventually called
Jernigan was at risk with and was behind against Stuer's .
The flop came and Jernigan picked up some outs to chop. The turn was the and the rail yelled, "Heart!" The river was the and Jernigan was unable to improve.
Hand #26: Tim Reilly raised to 225,000 from early position and Joseph Di Rosa Rojas three-bet to 550,000 from the button. Julian Stuer was in the small blind and made a four-bet to 1,400,000. Reilly folded and Rojas called to see the flop come .
Stuer bet 800,000 and Rojas moved all in. Stuer had 3,165,000 left and quickly made the call. Stuer was ahead with vs Rojas' . The turn was the and the river brought the , giving Stuer a huge double-up through the chip leader.
Hand #27: Jeffrey Tomlinson raised to 240,000 from early position and everyone folded.
Hand #28: Joseph Di Rosa Rojas raised to 250,000 and Faraz Jaka called from the button, along with Jeffrey Tomlinson in the big blind. All players checked the flop of and when the fell on the turn, Rojas picked up the pot with a bet of 275,000.
Hand #29: Jeffrey Tomlinson raised to 260,000 from the small blind and Tim Reilly defended his big blind. The flop came and Tomlinson bet 325,000 which was called by Reilly. The turn was the and Tomlinson led out again for 625,000. Reilly called and the river brought the . Tomlinson moved all-in for just over 2,000,000 and Reilly tossed his cards away.
Hand #30: The action was folded around to Tim Reilly in the small blind who bet enough to put his opponent Alexander Lynskey all-in on the big blind. Lynskey folded and Reilly picked up the blinds.
Hand #20: The action was folded to Andrew Jernigan in the small who shoved all in for just over 1,000,000. Pratik Ghatge was in the big blind and squeezed his cards tight. He tossed his remaining 950,000 chips in the middle and the cards were face up.
Jernigan:
Ghatge:
The flop came and Jernigan took the lead with a pair of queens. The turn was the and the river was the bringing no help to Ghatge who was the eighth-place finisher.
Hand #12:Jeffrey Tomlinson raised to 235,000 from early position and Maurice Hawkins called in late position leaving himself with just 95,000 behind.
The flop came and Tomlinson moved all in. Hawkins called and the cards were turned up. Tomlinson was in front with vs Hawkins' .
The turn was the and the river brought the , making top pair for Tomlinson. Hawkins was eliminated in ninth place and is still in search of that elusive WSOP bracelet.
... et de s'empaler sur les 
mais le tournant 
a permis à son rail d'envahir la place !
.
and Lynskey was eliminated in second place.
and was in a race situation vs Rojas' 
.
.
and Reilly was eliminated after a hard-fought battle.
with Stuer flopping a set and Tomlinson had a flush draw. The turn was the 
that didn't change anything, but the river fell the 
and the rail yelled, "Heart!" The river was the 
and Jernigan was unable to improve.
. The turn was the 
and when the 
. Tomlinson moved all-in for just over 2,000,000 and Reilly tossed his cards away.
bringing no help to Ghatge who was the eighth-place finisher.
