Having crossing its halfway point, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2021 is now in high gear. Farzad Bonyadi was the latest decorated player to add to their bracelet collection at the series. The 62-year-old topped a 122-entry field in Event #49: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship to take home his fourth WSOP gold bracelet and the $297,051 first-place prize. With his latest bracelet win, Bonyadi became the 55th player to have won four or more bracelet events in WSOP history.
Bonyadi, an Iranian-born poker professional based in California, has amassed over $4 million in live tournament earnings. He won his first bracelet in the $2,000 buy-in limit hold ’em event at the 1998 WSOP. His second bracelet came in the 2004 $1,000 buy-in triple draw deuce-to-seven lowball event. The following year he then championed the $2,500 buy-in no-limit hold ’em event for $594,960.
Talking about his fourth gold bracelet win, Bonyadi said, “I don’t play tournaments that much. This was my first tournament this year,” Bonyadi told PokerGO after coming out on top. “I haven’t been playing poker for two years. I haven’t played mixed games for so long. Feels good to know that you’re not too rusty. It’s good to have the fourth one. I like it. Who doesn’t like it? I’m happy about it,” Bonyadi added.
Final Day Action
The final day of the event began with Bonyadi in third chips and eight players remaining. Six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu was the first to fall. Following him were Ben Diebold and Julien Martini. They could not build any momentum with their short stacks and busted in the process.
It was the fifth FT of the series for Jake Schwartz, who managed to nurse a short stack for some time before being busted by Becker in fifth. Schwartz is a strong contender for the WSOP Player of The Year title – having moved to second place just behind Phil Hellmuth following his latest result.
The next to fall was Dustin Dirksen who shoved pre-draw and ran into the pat jack of Farzad Bonyadi. Dirksen drew to an ace-low and was eliminated. Bonyadi continued his momentum by doubling through Benny Glaser with a pat ten in a big pot and eliminating him to enter the heads-up.
The heads-up began with Bonyadi holding over a 2:1 chip lead over Becker. Bonyadi maintained his lead and managed to win the title. On the final hand, Becker shoved over a three-bet by Bonyadi, who held a pat nine and called. Becker peeled a jack and was eliminated in second place.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Farzad Bonyadi- $297,051
- Johannes Becker- $183,591
- Benny Glaser- $132,685
- Dustin Dirksen- $97,199
- Jake Schwartz- $72,185
- Julien Martini- $54,359
- Ben Diebold- $41,515
- Daniel Negreanu- $32,162