Tom Koral has emerged victorious in Event 82: $1,500 No-limit Hold’em Double Stack of the 2019 WSOP. The 35-year old US player defeated a huge field of 2,589 total entries to win his second gold bracelet and $530,164, his biggest live score since earning his first bracelet in a $1,500 Stud in 2017.
The final day had begun with Freek Scholten holding the chip lead with 26,000,000 and Koral was the second shortest stack among the final 8 players. The first to hit the rail was none other than India’s Kalyan Chakravarthy who shoved on the Jh 6d 5s flop holding pocket fours and was snap-called by Adam Hendrix with pocket sixes. The latter hit a set on the flop and another 6 on the turn was icing on the cake. Chakravarthy exited in 8th place for $56,850, which happens to be his third best live score. His best live score had come just last year when he won MonsterStack at the DeepStack Championship Poker Series, Las Vegas and earned a whopping $ 147,233 (1.01 Crore).
Following him in 7th was another Indian, Kunal Punjwani. On the flop 7h 7d 3s, Philip Scaletta bet 2,200,000 with pocket sixes. Punjwani shoved for 5,150,000 with 8c 7c. Scaletta called and got a runner-runner straight as the turn and river were 4c and 5s. Punjwani took home $74,401, his best score till date. His previous best came in the 2018 EPT Main Event where he finished 176th for $ 12,543.
Darren Rabinowitz was the next player to fall in the day The two-time WSOP bracelet winner Barry Shulman shoved holding 10h 10d and the short stack Rabinowitz called with 10s 6s. Rabinowitz paired sixes on the flop, but didn’t improve further and was busted in sixth place ($98,274).
Going out in fifth place was Adam Hendrix. He and the eventual runner-up Freek Scholten got all-in preflop. Scholten had pocket queens against pocket tens of Hendrix. Neither player improved and Scholten’s queens earned him the pot. Hendrix earned $131,001 for his fifth place finish.
Later, Philip Scaletta got his last chips in holding Ah Qd against Ad Kh of Scholten. The board ran out Kc 3c 10d 10s 6c where Scaletta’s AQ got beaten and he was eliminated in fourth place, earning $176,219 for his run. Following him in third place was Barry Shulman. The short stacked player called a shove from Scholten with Ac 7c, which failed to beat pocket tens of Scholten as the board opened Jh 10h 8c 3h 5c. Shulman was eliminated in third place for $239,187 in prize.
After eliminating Scaletta, Scholten began heads-up play with 76,100,000 chips against Tom Koral’s 53,500,000. Koral was able to come back quickly and take the lead. He had taken his advantage to more than a 4-1 lead by the time the final hand arrived. Koral limped with As Ac and Scholten moved all-in for 20,800,000 with Qd 3d and Koral made a snap call. The board ran out Kh 10s 9s 4d 5c where Koral won the title for $530,164. Scholten earned $327,563 for his runner-up finish.
Team India Cashes
A total of 6 players cashed in the event, and apart from Punjwani and Chakravarthy, the 4 other Indians who scored ITM finishes were Goonjan Mall (19th for $17,063), Himmat Singh (120th for $3,654), Karan Radia (209th for $2,911) & Sachidananda Sivakumar (253rd for $2,911).
Final Table Payouts:
- Tom Koral – $530,164
- Freek Scholten – $327,563
- Barry Shulman – $239,187
- Philip Scaletta – $176,219
- Adam Hendrix – $131,001
- Darren Rabinowitz – $98,274
- Kunal Punjwani – $74,401
- Kalyan Chakravarthy – $56,850
- Pablo Fernandez – $43,843
