Saturday, November 12, 2022 12:15 AM Local Time
Orpen Kisacikoglu Wins First Bracelet After Conquering Diamond High Roller For €748,106
Event #11: €50,000 Diamond High Roller No-Limit Hold’em has come to an end after a Day 2 that lasted a total of 10 hours and saw the 45 entries become one champion.
That one champion was Orpen Kisacikoglu who conquered the field of high rollers to win his first WSOP bracelet and the €748,106 first place prize after using a late final table surge to the chip lead and end with an impressive close out of the tournament.
Kisacikoglu, is a well known high roller regular as he often participates in the biggest buy in tournaments around Europe. This win is the third largest score of his career, just behind a Triton Madrid second-place earlier this year and a PokerStars win here in Rozvadov back in 2019. It also adds to his staggering number of 25 six-figure and above tournament scores.
The €748,106 is just enough to send his total career tournament earnings above the $10 million mark, making him by far the world’s most successful poker player from Turkey.
But despite all the accolades that preceded him this particular win is a bit special because it ended with a bracelet. “ It feels incredibly special. Playing with friends makes things more relaxed at the table but yeah when we got to the final few I was starting to feel anxious about finishing second again (referencing his Triton second place result) “
Kisacokoglu also expanded on what it is like to be amongst friends when he plays the high roller events. “I remember what it was like to be a loner at these events. Trying to go it alone. I really don’t miss those days, “ he said after his win with a little bit of emotion coming through. And made friends he certainly has as many of the players he had just defeated congratulated him on his victory.
Final Results
1. Orpen Kisacikoglu - €748,106
2. Sam Grafton - €462,363
3. Shaun Deeb - €313,919
4. Nick Petrangelo - €220,045
5. Timothy Adams - €159,413
6. Daniel Pidin - €119,492
7. Daniel Dvoress - €92,787
Action of the Day
The day began with 22 players with registration still open and a few more jumped in to create the final tally of 45 entries which generated a prizepool of €2,116,125.
The final table would be reached around dinnertime, as two more eliminations would be needed to reach the seven in the money. Jorryt Van Hoof exited first from the final table in ninth place and then the bubble boy became Paul Phua who was unable to parlay his bracelet in the 25K Platinum high roller into a cash in the diamond one.
Daniel Dvoress was the first elimination in the money in seventh place and Daniel Pidun was next in sixth as he was unable to emulate his brother’s bracelet win in the 8-game mix from last night.
Timothy Adams entered the day as chip leader and continued to build from the start of the day as he rode that chip lead into the final table. He had the lead all the way down until five handed before losing a key hand that would ultimately be the catalyst for Kisacikoglu’s victory and one that knocked Adams from his perch down to the short stack where he would last for only a bit longer before busting in fifth place.
Shaun Deeb had a bit of a run during the final table as his string of knocking players out continued as he felled Nick Petrangelo after Petrangelo had been able to manage a short stack from the bubble to a fourth place finish.
Deeb was going for a much-desired sixth WSOP bracelet and for a while it looked as though he was on track for it as he took the chip lead on a few occasions during the final table. However, during three-handed play he would become the victim of a preflop cooler as he ran pocket jacks into the pocket kings of Kisacikoglu to end his bid in third place.
Kisacikoglu would face-off against Sam Grafton heads-up, who laddered his way from a short stack at the start of the final table all the way to the final two. It was a battle between two in-form veteran high stakes players who were both searching for that elusive first WSOP bracelet. But the battle turned out to be a short one as Kisacikoglu would need only a few hands to use his 89 to 24 big blind advantage to deplete Grafton. Culminating when he made a straight on the river on the final hand to end things as the two high roller adversaries and friends embraced after the final card with genuine happiness coming from both players.
That wraps up WSOP.com's coverage of the Diamond High Roller in yet another exciting event here in Rozvadov. Stay tuned for more in the coming days, including from the Main Event.