Following four days of grueling action, Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2022 concluded on Wednesday with Team Leonard comprising Patrick Leonard and Espen Jørstad emerging as the champions! The winning story of the Team Leonard was interesting one. The team entered the final table among the ten teams on Day 3 with the second shortest sack and they held on to make it to the fourth and final day with the third biggest stack among the five teams.
The heads-up was a roller coaster ride where Team Leonard began the battle with a 1:6 chip deficit against Team Paggeot (Jamie Kerstetter and Corey Paggeot), who enjoyed a dominant run on the final table. However, the former battled it back and managed to snatch the chip lead and finally the title. This was a career-first bracelet for Leonard and Jørstad and both players banked $74,042 each.
The first elimination on the final day came in Day 2 chip leaders Team Kraemer. Mackenzie Kraemer shoved all-in with pocket nines, which could not hold up against pocket jacks of Jamie Kerstette. A little later, Team Spitale exited in fourth place after Franco Spitale’s A-3 losing to Jamie Kerstetter’s Q-10 on the K-J-10-9-4 board. Up next, Team Tsugaru exited the event in third place, leaving Team Paggeot (15,600,000) and Team Leonard (2,650,000) in the heads-up battle for the coveted title.
The heads-up turned out to be a roller-coaster battle where Team Leonard steadily managed to build their stack and ship the title. On the final hand, Patrick Leonard moved all-in with pocket sevens from the big blind. Corey Paggeot tanked for a while before calling with K-J and putting his team at risk. The board ran out 8c Ac 8h 4d 3d, giving the pot as well as the title to Team Leonard.
Team India
From India, Team Luther comprising former Tag Team bracelet champion Nikita Luther & Indo-Swiss player Dinesh Alt exited on Day 2, finishing 124th and earning $1,611 for their efforts.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Patrick Leonard & Espen Jørstad – $148,067
- Jamie Kerstetter & Corey Paggeot – $91,513
- Yutaro Tsugaru & Taichi Ichikawa – $65,059
- Franco Spitale & Martin Pochat – $46,904
- Mackenzie Kraemer & Jon Schiller – $34,299