CHRIS MOORMAN TAKES $3,000 NO-LIMIT HOLD

LAS VEGAS (16 June 2017) – Chris Moorman has captured his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet by winning Event #30 of the 2017 WSOP, $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed.

This win marks the latest addition to Moorman's impressive poker resumé . The United Kingdom pro added this event's $498,682 first-place payday to previous WSOP career earnings of more than $2.4 million. Moorman's live earnings, impressive as they are, still pale alongside the more than $14 million he's won during his online tourney career.

Moorman's triumph came over a talented final table that included former bracelet winners Steve Sung (twice) and Michael Gagliano. Gagliano finished third while Sung placed fourth.

Moorman's final foe, however, was Brazil's Bernardo da Silveira Dias. Da Silveira Dias, making his first-ever WSOP final-table appearance, collected $308,166 for his strong run.

The winner's payday for Moorman was the third-largest of his WSOP career. The English star's previous results include two significant runner-up finishes, both in 2011. Moorman cashed for $716,282 in the WSOP's Event #46: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Championship, and he followed it up that fall by winning €800,000 for another second-place run in the WSOP Europe Main Event - €10,400 No-Limit Hold'em.

The pivotal moment for Moorman might have come early on in the final, when he doubled through against Sung to stay alive during six-handed play. “The ace-king against Steve Sung's jacks. I hit on the river. If I lose that I'm out. I was fortunate enough to win that there.

“The other huge hand was the queens against queen-ten,” said Moorman, referring to a later hand when he flopped a set of queens against Gagliano, who had flopped top two pair, queens and tens. Gagliano moved all in on the river with a possible diamond flush showing, and Moorman pondered before calling and notching another needed double. “He's friends [with me]; I want to win there, but... I would have done exactly the same thing. You've got to feel for the guy. At least he laddered and got to third.”

Moorman also noted, “That hand propelled me into where I was in a position to win. If I hadn't won there, I don't know if I ever would've won one of these things. I had to win it from there."

That referred in part to one of the largest side stories connected to Moorman's triumph: it was a long time coming. Six years have gone by since his two runner-up finishes in major WSOP events. Winning is different, even for an accomplished pro.

“It's kind of surreal.” Moorman then added, “Any time you win live, it's like it's a lot more 'real'. Particularly since a lot of my online success was when I was living in the U.K., and I would be playing all through the night, and maybe win a tournament about five or six in the morning. I would just be there on my own, maybe talking with friends on Skype online, but the money goes into your account. You don't see the money in front of you; you don't have anyone celebrating. I don't know – it's just a great feeling when you win [live].”

Day 3 in this $3,000 no-limit hold'em event began with 21 players still in the hunt, though that was trimmed to 10 within the first two levels. From there the pace slowed, and the final table wasn't determined until early evening with the elimination of Morten Mortenson in seventh.

Moorman himself staved off elimination at this stage of the final with a key double-through against Sung. Instead, the first official finalist to fall was WSOP veteran Max Silver. Silver three-bet all in with pocket kings and was called by Gagliano, who showed pocket queens. However, the     flop turned the tables and the   turn and   river changed nothing, giving Silver sixth-place money.

Virginia's John Gorsuch finished fifth. Gorsuch's evening ended when he moved the last of his chips in with   , only to find Moorman waiting, and calling, with   . The     flop moved Gorsuch ahead, and the   turn kept him there, but the   river gave Moorman the better two pair and the knockout.

Two-time bracelet winner Sung exited in fourth after he moved all in with   . Moorman, a runaway chip leader at this stage, waited with pocket queens, and those held up with ease as the       board ran out.

Gagliano, the other prior bracelet winner in this final, departed in third. Da Silveira Dias claimed this knockout when his    held up against Gagliano's   , with the board showing      . That set the stage for heads-up action, which started with Moorman holding about 70% of the chips in play.

OTHER NOTABLES:

Among those who cashed in this six-max, no-limit tourney but who were eliminated before reaching the final table were Pratyush Buddiga (11th), Nacho Barbero (19th), Tim West (34th), David Sands (42nd), Kyle Cartwright (47th), Brian Yoon (48th), Athanasios Polychronopoulos (53rd), Vanessa Selbst (56th), and Jeremy Ausmus (71st). 

Click here for Full Results.
Click here for live updates from Event #27.

Final Table Payouts (earned POY points in parentheses):

1st: Chris Moorman, $498,682 (208.7)
2nd: Bernardo da Silveira Dias, $308,166 (177.7)
3rd: Michael Gagliano, $210,139 (156.4)
4th: Steve Sung, $145,634 (138.5)
5th: John Gorsuch, $102,605 (123.2)
6th: Max Silver, $73,510 (110.2)