Anthony Spinella won the WSOP Circuit $1,700 Main Event at Harrah’s Las Vegas Sunday night after defeating two-time WSOP bracelet winner Nipun Java heads-up to earn $192,199 and a WSOP Circuit ring. Currently holding second position on India All Time Money List, Java is one of the top Indian pros. This past Sunday night, he came close to winning his second WSOPC ring but ended up finishing runner-up to Anthony Spinella whose previous Circuit ring came through an online event.
With his runner-up finish in the event, Java took his live tournament earnings to more than $2.7 Million. This was the third final table of the year 2019 for Java who scored his first FT of the year in the WSOP Circuit $ 1,125 NLH Event in Los Angeles (March 2019) where he finished 7th for $5,890. He scored his second FT in April when he finished 7th for $8,165 in THE $2,200 NLH 8-Handed Turbo at Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Hollywood. This past Sunday night, he scored yet another FT by eventually finishing runner-up to Spinella to earn a hefty $118,764 (INR 84.51 lac) prizemoney.
Java shot into international fame in 2017 when he teamed up with Chennai pro Aditya Sushant in the $1,000 Tag Team Event and the duo created history by becoming the first Indians to win the gold bracelet. Java continued his good form and claimed his second bracelet in the same series by winning in the $1,000 No Limit Holdem – WSOP.com ONLINE Championship for $237,668.
Coming back to Spinella, he outlasted a field of 665 entries and took the largest share of the $1,007,475 prize pool, which was shared by top 100 finishers. The final day started with 13 players remaining. On his way to the grand victory, Spinella went on to outlast some tough players like Matt Afflect (13th), Stan Jablonski (10th), Adam Owen (6th), Tim Reilly (5th), Jimmy Lee (3rd) to eventually reach heads-up with Nipun Java who fought well but could not go all the way, finally finishing runner-up.
The heads-up battle began with Spinella holding a dominating 2:1 chip lead (13,200,000). Java made it tough for Spinella to take his chips but the latter went on to eventually take down the title for $192,199 in top prizmoney. The last hand of the event saw Java shoving all-in with Qs Js and Spinella called with Ac 9d. The board ran out 5d Kd 7h 4c 6d, giving the pot as well as the title to Spinella.
Final Table Payouts
- Anthony Spinella – $192,199
- Nipun Java – $118,764
- Jimmy Lee – $87,339
- Raul Martinez – $64,983
- Tim Reilly – $48,923
- Adam Owen – $37,275
- Kfir Nahum – $28,746
- Stephen Graner – $22,442
- Benjamin Craig – $17,738