DANIEL STRELITZ WINS FIRST WSOP BRACELET IN $5,000 NO-LIMIT HOLD

6 June 2019 (Las Vegas) Daniel Strelitz won his first World Series of Poker bracelet Thursday afternoon. He finished in first place in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, earning $442,385. It’s the largest cash of his WSOP career.

Strelitz had, until today, been one of most popular picks for “best player yet to win a bracelet.” He’s come close in the past, finishing runner-up in an event in 2016 and  third-place in 2014. Those are in addition to a deep run in the 2012 Main Event. In order to win his bracelet, he had to defeat another of the best-without-a-bracelet: Shannon Shorr. Shorr finished runner up for $273,416. This is his second career WSOP runner-up finish (his first came in 2008), and his 73rd career WSOP cash.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Strelitz said after the event concluded. “I finally got it off my back.” He clarified, though, that he hadn’t really been feeling pressure to win his first bracelet. “I came close a few times, and it’s kind of disappointing. But it wasn’t like I was desperate. But it’s still just a massive relief. I’m super happy.”

The final table started at noon today with the final six players. At the time, Shorr held the chip lead and Strelitz was fifth. However, late last night, Strelitz was among the leaders. “Yesterday I had about 1/3 of the chips in play with seven [players] left. And then I lost just an insanely large pot to Shannon. So I’m kind of glad we ended the night after that, because I got to rest and recover.”

Once Strelitz and Shorr were heads-up, Strelitz said the cards dictated most of his play. “It was insane how good I ran. I barely had to bluff at all. I just kept getting good hand after good hand.” Partly as a result of that good fortune, heads-up play lasted only about an hour, despite relatively deep stacks.

Strelitz had a big group of supporters on the rail throughout the final table, including his parents and a group of fellow players, some of whom stopped by whenever their own events were on break. “It’s awesome,” Strelitz said of the support system. “My parents are my biggest fans. All my friends have bracelets, so they’ve been needling me about the Bracelet Winners Event this year. And now he’s saying, ‘Now I have a ride to the bracelet winners event,’ since I’m the car. They don’t get to needle me about that anymore.”

The first player eliminated on the final day was Arsenii Karmatckii. He was eliminated about half an hour after Day 4 began, finishing in 6th place for $65,764. This is his best career WSOP performance (his previous best was a 10th-place finish last year).

One of the most famous faces at the final table belonged to Maria Ho. Ho has made several deep runs in the WSOP Main Event, twice finishing as last woman standing (2007 and 2014). She nearly won her first bracelet in 2011, but fell just short, finishing as runner-up. Today, she finished in fifth-place , earning $91,211.

Ali Imsirovic finished in fourth place. He earns $129,108. This is already his second final table and second six-figure score of the 2019 WSOP. He finished runner up in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty a week ago, and is off to one of the hottest starts of the this year’s Series.

The next player eliminated was Ognjen Sekularac, from Serbia, who earned $186,050 for his third-place finish.

The tournament started on Monday, June 3, and attracted 400 players. The total prizepool was $1,860,000, and the top 60 players made the money.

Full Results
Live Updates from the event

Here are the final table results.

1 – Daniel Strelitz – $442,385
2 – Shannon Shorr – $273,416
3 – Ognjen Sekularac – $186,050
4 – Ali Imsirovic – $129,018
5 – Maria Ho – $91,211
6 – Arsenii Karmatckii – $65,764