Russia’s Anatolii Zyrin defeated Michael Lee heads-up in the WSOP 2021 Event #55: $400 Colossus to claim his second bracelet and the $314,705 top prize. The event attracted one of the biggest fields at the WSOP with a massive 9,399 entries that resulted in a hefty prize pool worth $3,101,670.
Zyrin‘s first gold bracelet came in 2019 when he defeated 717 entries in the $1,500 Omaha Mix event. While it wasn’t Zyrin’s largest tournament score, it felt like the most deserved one for him. Talking about his latest bracelet win, he said, “The first one was more luck, but this one was won on skill. I had to defeat such a large field. Really strange feeling when you win against more than 9,000 people.”
Final Day Action
The final day began with 49 players and Rafael Fernandes (23,300,000) in the lead. Each player was guaranteed at least $6,120 but the pay jumps increased quickly with the final 3 tables being reached within just one hour of play. The final table was reached just before the second break of the day, with Robert Mather (11th place for $25,595) exiting as the FT bubble. Following him were Jeffrey Stellwagon (10th for $25,595, Penh Lo (9th for $32,240, & Vincas Tamasauskas (8th for $40,885).
The seven-handed play that continued for over 90 minutes saw several short stacks finding multiple double-ups. Finally, Martin Gavasci, who was left as the shortest stack at the table, ran his ace-jack into the ace-king of Lee who won the pot and eliminated his opponent in 7th place. Up next, Zyrin busted Eric Kim whose pocket tens did not hold up against Ace-Jack of Zyrin on a Q-J-9-2-3 board.
Zyrin continued his rise and eliminated David Ripley in 5th place. Ripley had run his Jack-eight into Ace-seven of Zyrin who found an ace on the turn to take down the pot and bust his opponent.
Phuoc Nguyen was the shortest stack during the four-handed play. Luckily, he found a double-up but it didn’t last long as he was busted in the very next hand by Kevin Rand whose Ace-King bested Ace-ten of Nguyen. Rand had a rollercoaster ride, holding the lead once and also spending time on the short stack. He even got back-to-back double-ups but still found himself at risk against Zyrin who hit a straight to bust Rand in 3rd place ($147,595) and enter the heads-up as the chip leader.
During the heads-up for the title, Lee showed some fierce aggression and was able to overtake the chip lead after the first few hands. However, a couple of timely check-raises on the river by Zyrin ultimately cost Lee. On the final hand, Zyrin turned over 5h 2h for a flush, while Lee turned over Kc 2d for a straight. Zyrin won the title and joined the rail to celebrate his second WSOP gold bracelet.
Team India’s Abhishek Goindi Finishes 47th For $6,120
It was a significant event from India’s point of view and the sizable poker community was following the action, with India’s renowned poker pro and coach Abhishek Goindi featuring prominently on the final day`s lineup. Goindi was in the middle of the pack, holding a stack of 6,300,000. However, he did not get the start he was looking for and was one of the early eliminations on the Final Day.
Goindi’s run ended in a clash against Lithuania’s Vincas Tamasauskas. Goindi ran his 6c 5c into the 10s 6s of Tamasauskas. While both players hit two pairs on a board of 10c 5h 6d Ad Kd, the latter got a better two pair to take down the pot and eliminate Goindi in 47th place ($6,120).
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Anatolii Zyrin – $314,705
- Michael Lee – $194,450
- Kevin Rand – $147,595
- Phuoc Nguyen – $112,730
- David Ripley – $86,650
- Eric Kim – $67,025
- Martin Gavasci – $51,180
- Vincas Tamasauskas – $40,885
- Penh Lo – $32,240