LAS VEGAS (26 June 2017) – Phoenix, Arizona's Christopher Vitch has defeated Benny Glaser during heads-up play to win $320,103 in the 2017 World Series of Poker's Event #48, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.
The win is the second WSOP bracelet title for Vitch, who also took down the 2016 WSOP's Event #40, $2,500 Mixed Lowball Triple Draw.
Vitch's win here was the largest payday of his WSOP career, and it swelled those career earnings to $913,164. For Vitch, 34, a limit- and mixed-games specialist, this was his sixth WSOP final-table appearance and 21st overall cash.
Glaser, from Southampton, England, narrowly missed out on his own fourth career WSOP bracelet. Glaser's second-place cash of $197,838 was still enough to move him over the million-dollar mark in lifetime WSOP earnings, to a total of $1,083,397.
Third place went to Abe Mosseri, who collected $138,608 here. Mosseri was looking for his second gold bracelet of the 2017 series, having already won Event #9, the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.
Event 48's final table looked like it would end in a rout, with Mosseri being eliminated in third ad Glaser pushed to the brink. However, Glaser fought back from six all-ins early in the duel against Vitch, taking the lead for a stretch. As the players entered an extended level of play, Vitch reassumed control, closing out the victory with a couple of late, big hands. In the final collision, Glaser three-bet all in on third street. At that point Glaser held / to Vitch's / . From there Glaser caught / for two pair, but Vitch pulled / for the winning full house.
Early in the final day, Vitch told his followers on Twitter that he was hoping for a “Wheely wheely good day,” and it certainly turned out that way, though not without the heads-up struggle against Glaser.
“It certainly did [turn out that way], said Vitch. “Things went really smoothly all day. Mostly I had plenty of chips throughout the whole thing. Only in the heads-up it did it get where Benny had the advantage for a while. Overall it was just one of those days where everything went my way.”
Vitch assumed control during the three-handed stretch where Mosseri was bounced, and that was an important part of the run. “I feel comfortable short-handed, I play a lot of short-handed stud-eight-or-better. To me it was a very comfortable game, and obviously I made a lot of good hands to make everything seem easy.”
Vitch noted that his final foe, Glaser, “... played great and got lucky there, a couple of times, on the all-in pots. But I really wanted to put him away because I knew anything could happen. Then it was like anything was going to happen for a while, because he had me outchipped at one point. But I was prepared. I feel like the fact that I won one last year. I was a lot more comfortable heads-up. I was a lot more ready to play as long a time as needed. I really never felt like it got away from me.
“I knew it was going to be a battle. Benny's a great player. He told me that he's never lost one of these (a heads-up duel for a bracelet) at the World Series. I'm glad to say I'm the first one to be able to defeat him heads-up. Either one of us could have won, especially as the levels got high at the end.”
The official final table of eight was set two hours into Day 3 action with the elimination of 14-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who exited here with $26,938. Hellmuth brought the shortest stack to the unofficial final table of nine and was unable to move north from there.
About one hour later, France's Alex Luneau became the first of the final eight to depart. Luneau, who now lives in London, hit the rail when his 2-6-A-7 start never made a low, and the pair of deuces he had for a high was well behind Brock Parker's two pair.
Three-time bracelet winner Parker was bounced soon after. Parker pushed his last chips in on the initial betting round in a hand where Mosseri and Glaser also played. Parker ended up with , but he mucked when Mosseri showed three queens and scooped the pot.
Within moments, A.J. Kelsall followed Parker to the payout window. Kelsall's second final table of this WSOP ended when he was all in against Mosseri on fifth street, showing / against Mosseri / . Kelsall missed his low, catching for two pair, while Mosseri pulled the better two pair with the and for the knockout.
The bustout flurry continued with Jonathan Duhamel's exit in fifth. The 2010 Main Event champion lost his own shot at a fourth overall bracelet here in a four-way hand that also included Vitch, Glaser, and Jameson Painter. Vitch took the high with eights and sevens and Glaser grabbed the low with an 8-6-5-4-2 while Glaser shook his head in a “no” to his rail after peeking at his last down card.
Painter barely survived Duhamel's elimination hand and was soon on the rail himself. In a hand where Mosseri made three queens on fifth, Painter had a wide-open, two-way draw on seventh with his / . Instead, he caught the , no good either way with the last of his chips at stake.
Mosseri still entered three-handed play slightly trailing both Glaser and Vitch. From there, Vitch stretched his lead while Mosseri's stack dwindled. Mosseri was finally forced to bring in for his last chips while holding / . Glaser called with / , and he eventually improved to two pair, kings and queens. Mosseri was drawing dead by seventh, with no low possible and not even a draw or an ace to go with his starting pair of threes.
That left Vitch and Glaser, with Vitch enjoying better than a 2:1 edge, which he quickly expanded on to push Glaser to the brink, before Glaser began his own hot run.
The 2017 WSOP's $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship drew 125 of the world's best stud hi-lo players. Nineteen of them cashed, splitting up the tourney's $1,175,000 prize pool among them.
Other Notables:
Those who cashed in Event #48 but who came up short of the official final table were Hellmuth (ninth, in his 125th WSOP cash), Dan Shak (10th), Randy Ohel (11th), Chris Ferguson (12th), Chris Wallace (13th), Todd Brunson (14th), Richard Ashby (15th), Mack Lee (16th), John Monnette (17th), Daniel Negreanu (18th, in his 100th WSOP cash), and Brett Richey (19th).
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Final-Table Payouts (earned POY points in parentheses):
1st: Christopher Vitch, $320,103 (147.3)
2nd: Benny Glaser, $197,838 (125.5)
3rd: Abe Mosseri, $138,608 (111.4)