James Obst a attendu sa 21e place payée aux WSOP pour finalement remporter un bracelet. Comme John Racener, l'Australien quitte donc la liste des bons joueurs sans victoire aux Championnats du Monde de poker.
Avec plus de 2 millions de gains en carrière, Obst s'impose pour la première fois hors d'Australie... à l'issue de son 3e head's up aux World Series Of Poker. Demi-finaliste 11 fois aux WSOP, le joueur de 26 ans a finalement rasé la totalité d'un field de 97 entrants, sur le Razz Championship à 10.000$.
"C'est une nouvelle expérience de gagner ce bracelet. [...] Je ne fête pas cela de manière extraordinaire et sauvage car ce n'est pas ma nature. Pour le moment je ne sais pas trop comment réagir, c'est génial et je vais essayer de gagner une deuxième fois avant la fin du festival", a commenté celui qui a empoché 265 138$ après avoir dominé une finale où l'on retrouvait Anthony Zinno, Brandon Shack-Harris ou encore Nick Shulman.
Sixième sur 38 à l'issue du Jour 1, Obst était chipleader à l'issue du Jour 2 du Razz Championship. Finalement runner-up, Eric Kurtzman n'a pas réussi à conclure après avoir eu 75% des jetons à 3 left.
Obst s'est relancé en sortant David "ODB" Baker, il a ensuite joué très vite et mis la pression sur son adversaire américain. En moins d'une heure, l'Australien avait refait son retard, il ne mettre ensuite que quelques minutes à conclure un tournoi où aucun Français n'a atteint l'argent.
Eric Kurtzman came in for the full completion, and James Obst called.
Obst check-called a bet from Kurtzman on fourth street, Kurtzman bet fifth street, Obst raised, Kurtzman called, and Kurtzman bet his remaining 30,000-ish on sixth street. Obst called and showed .
"You have a wheel?" asked Kurtzman, as he looked across the table.
"Nope," said Obst. "Eight."
"Ah," replied Kurtzman. "That's because I have all the fours." He showed .
Obst paired up with an on seventh street, but Kurtzman couldn't catch up, as a officially ended his run in second place.
Eric Kurtzman was the bring-in. Obst completed. Kurtzman raised, and Obst called.
On fourth street, Obst bet, and Kurtzman called. On fifth, Obst checked. Kurtzman bet, and Obst called. On sixth, Obst checked again. Kurtzman bet, and Obst folded.
The two players are currently within one big bet of each other.
Eric Kurtzman completed. Baker made it two bets. Kurtzman made it three bets. Baker made it four bets, and Kurtzman capped the betting action. Baker called all in for the remainder of his stack, and the hands were turned up.
Baker was holding , while Kurtzman held .
"Well, I guess I'm a little bit ahead," Kurtzman said.
Baker's board completed with , giving him a nine-seven low, but Kurtzman's board ran out better, completing with , making him a seven-low and eliminating Baker from the tournament in third place. Baker too home $112,645 for his finish in this event.
James Obst: / /
Eric Kurztman: / /
David "ODB" Baker: / — Folded
David Baker completed. James Obst and Eric Kurtzman both called. Obst bet fourth street, and both Baker and Kurtzman called. On fifth, Obst bet again, but this time, Baker folded. Kurtzman called, though. Both players checked on sixth street. On seventh, Kurtzman bet, and Obst went deep into the tank.
"What did you think of that seven?" Obst asked.
"Oh yeah," Kurtzman said. "That seven is good. It beats your eight. I don't think you paired your eight either, because I have two of them."
"Well, I'm just confused at this point," Obst said. After giving the hand some more thought, he scooped up his cards and folded. Kurtzman extended well into the lead after the hand, while Baker slipped further.
Andrey Zhigalov: / /
Eric Kurtzman: / /
David "ODB" Baker: / /
Andrey Zhigalov completed. Next to act was Eric Kurtzman, and he raised. David "ODB" Baker called, and Zhigalov called all in for his last 20,000.
On fourth and fifth streets, Baker bet, and Kurtzman called. On sixth, both players checked. On seventh, Baker bet once more, and Kurtzman called again.
Baker showed for a seven-low. Kurtzman was forced to show his for a nine-low. Zhigalov turned up for a jack-low, and with the worst hand of the bunch, he was eliminated from the tournament. Zhigalov collected $79,616 for his fourth-place finish.
Andrey Zhigalov: / - fold
Anthony Zinno: /
Eric Kurtzman: /
Andrey Zhigalov completed on third street, Anthony Zinno raised all in for his remaining 35,000, Eric Kurtzman called, and Zhigalov called.
Kurtzman bet on fourth street, Zhigalov called, Kurtzman bet on fifth street, and Zhigalov folded.
Zinno showed for an eight-seven draw, while Kurtzman tabled for a nine-seven with a better draw than Zinno.
Kurtzman's runout completed with a and a to keep him with a nine-seven, but Zinno found no help from a and runout, ending his tournanemt in fifth place.
Brandon Shack-Harris: / /
James Obst: / /
David "ODB" Baker: / /
Brandon Shack-Harris moved all in for less than the completion. David "ODB" Baker completed to the full amount. James Obst called, creating heads-up action on the side.
Both players checked on fourth street, but on fifth street, Obst bet, and Baker called. Obst bet again on sixth, and Baker called. Both players checked on seventh street.
Baker revealed for a ninety-eight low, and that got a muck from Obst. Shack-Harris showed and paint, and that was no good either. He was eliminated from the tournament in sixth place.
(The immediate hand following Brandon Shack-Harris' double)
Andrey Zhigalov completed on third street, Eric Kurtzman raised, Brandon Shack-Harris called, Jyri Merivirta called all in for 3,000, and Zhigalov called.
Kurtzman bet on fourth street, Shack-Harris called, and Zhigalov called.
Zhigalov took the on-board lead on fifth street and bet. Both Kurtzman and Shack-Harris called.
Zhigalov bet on sixth street, Kurtzman folded, and Shack-Harris called.
Zhigalov bet on seventh street, Shack-Harris raised, Zhigalov reraised, and Shack-Harris called after a few moments.
Zhigalov tabled for a 6-5-4-3-A, while Shack-Harris showed a defeated 6-5-4-3-2. Merivirta showed and was eliminated in seventh place, while Zhigalov collected the hefty pot.
Jack Duong completed. David "ODB" Baker raised it up. James Obst made it three bets, and Duong and Baker both called.
On fourth street, Baker took the betting lead, and he led out. Both Obst and Duong called quickly. On fifth, Obst bet, and Duong raised. Baker folded. Obst raised again, enough to put Duong all in, and Duong called.
Duong showed under for a draw to an eight-low, but Obst already had a nine-low with . Unfortunately for Duong, his draw bricked out, finishing with another and , while Obst drew for the winning hand.
Duong hit the rail in eighth and collected $26,674 for his finish.
.
officially ended his run in second place.
