WSOPC Event #11: $1,700 MAIN EVENT

Nathanael Kogel Wins Second Ring in Back to Back Events at Choctaw Casino

Durant, Oklahoma (January 18, 2017) –  Nathanael Kogel has just defeated a field of 360 entries to take down the World Series of Poker Event #8 at Choctaw Casino, earning his second Circuit ring and $24,841. 

To say Kogel has had a busy past two days would be a grave understatement. Less than 48 hours ago, Kogel won Event #5, taking home his first Career Circuit ring and $26,334. The very next day he registered for Event #8 and the rest is history. 

“I feel amazing. I have little words just because I was here just a day ago and that was the last event that I played. So this is back-to-back for me, which is really something that I have been trying to do - to win back-to-back events,” Kogel said.

Tournament Director Bill Bruce commented on Kogel’s accomplishment and said, “This is really special. To win multiple rings is hard enough. But to win them in back-to-back events, especially with the huge fields here at Choctaw, is a true feat.”

Last time around, Kogel concluded his winner’s interview by saying that he was going to get Casino Champion here at Choctaw. 

 “…I wanted Casino Champion, I told you that I was going to get it, and here we are,” Kogel said with a big smile on his face, “So let’s see if we can accomplish that with this.”

After winning Event #5 Kogel said that one of his goals was to win his first Circuit ring, which he accomplished that day. Today, he accomplished his goal of winning back-to-back rings. When asked what is next, the ever-humble Kogel had this to say:

“I am just going to take some time and get ready for what’s next. I guess a Main Event ring and then a bracelet is next as far as poker is concerned. But I don’t want to devalue what is happening right now. Back-to-back ships is amazing and I am just going to keep grinding and try to keep a level head and not get too overzealous. I’ve learned that overconfidence can drown you,” Kogel said. 

Kogel then went on to explain that he has had the honor of working with Elliot Roe, a renowned poker mind coach. He said that the mental part of his game has always been “a ball-and-chain that has followed him around” and has held him back. While it’s something that he will always have to work at, Kogel credits Roe for a drastic positive shift in his thinking.

“I can see now that when I get tilted, I completely understand what it’s from, and how I can regain control, and keep that focus, not let the tires just spin,” Kogel said about his coaching.

The turning point, the key hand of the tournament, according to Kogel occurred when Camille Brown was eliminated in 3^rd place ($15,357).

“I opened the button with tens. I started the hand with about 1,600,000 and she had about 1,300,000. It was an extremely key hand. I opened button to 45,000 at 20,000 big blind. She made it 145,000. I thought about it for a minute and I figured that since there was a previous hand that I had just taken a pot off of her, that her range was going to be a little bit wider with a five-bet all-in. We were deep enough and I thought she was capable enough to know that she had some fold equity with her stack. I was also really aggressive at that point so it looked like I was just putting chips in there. So I made it 350,000, and she tanked for about 30 seconds and then shoved all in. I wasn’t playing pre-determined, but I had kind of an understanding that she was going to be doing that no matter what, so I went with it, and she ended up having ace-jack off suit. The board came Q7779, so I improved to a full house on the turn and she was eliminated in third,” Kogel explained.  

After Brown’s elimination, when heads up play began, Kogel had Nicholas Pupillo dominated 2.9 million to 700,000. He said that Pupillo was a very strong competitor that he had a lot of respect for, and he had to adjust his game in the beginning after Pupillo doubled up. In the end, the two go it all in, Pupillo’s    against Kogel’s   . Kogel hit a ten on the river to eliminate Pupillo in second place ($15,357) and take down his second ring in 48 hours.

Below are the results of the final table. Full results from this event are available on WSOP.com.

1 – Nathanael Kogel – $24,841
2 – Nicholas Pupillo – $15,357
3 – Camille Brown – $11,203
4 – Brady Thorpe – $8,310
5 – James Stewart – $6,260
6 – Kenneth Lemer – $4,788
7 – Abraham Araya – $3,715
8 – John Nowak – $2,925
9 – Joseph Taylor – $2,335

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At the conclusion of this event, Nathanael Kogel leads the Choctaw Casino Champion race. Kogel won Event #5, the $365 No-Limit Hold'em early yesterday morning, and then took down Event #8 today. He also cashed in Event #2 ($365 Re-Entry) giving him a total of 102.5 points. Christopher Staats and Enrique Melguizo are now tied for second place with 60 points each. The player who accumulates the most overall points in the twelve gold ring tournaments at Choctaw Casino earns the title of Casino Champion, and receives an automatic entry into the $1 million 2017 WSOP Global Casino Championship (seat valued at $10,000). The winner of the Choctaw Main Event earns an automatic entry to the Global Casino Championship as well. All players who cash in ring events will receive points that apply to both the Casino Champion race and the season-long race to claim one of the 50 at-large Global Casino Championship bids awarded to the top point earners throughout the season. More information on the points system is available on WSOP.com.

Here is the list of gold ring winners from Choctaw so far:

EVENT #1: Jorge Nieto defeated 1,096 entries ($365 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack) for $60,005.

EVENT #2: Charles Adkins defeated 5,280 entries ($365 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry) for $237,622

EVENT #3: Wesley Cooper defeated 377 entries ($365 Congress 5-Card Omaha High Low) for $24,882

EVENT #4: Andrew Telfer defeated 506 entries ($365 No-Limit Hold’em One Day) for $32,636

EVENT #5: Nathanael Kogel defeated 399 entries ($365 No-Limit Hold'em) for $26,334

EVENT #6: Christopher Staats defeated 498 entries ($365 No-Limit Hold’em Six Max) for $32,870

EVENT #7: Enrique Melguizo defeated 330 entries ($365 No-Limit Hold’em) for $23,269

EVENT #8: Nathanael Kogel defeated 360 entries ($365 No-Limit Hold’em) for $24,841

With this tournament now wrapped up, there are still 4 more gold ring events before the WSOP Circuit at Choctaw concludes on January 23, 2017.