Thursday, May 11, 2017 10:47 PM Local Time
Ring winner Jason Rivkin notches another near-miss, another runner-up finish
Nikhil Kumar is the newest first-time winner on the WSOP Circuit. Kumar outlasted a field of 179 entries in the $365 no-limit hold’em event, earning a new piece of jewelry and the top prize of $14,500. He also collected 50 points in the season-long race to claim one of the limited seats in the Global Casino Championship.
Kumar is a 25-year-old self-employed professional from Fairfax, Virginia. Being self-employed means that he more or less gets to set his own schedule, and that gives him the luxury of carving out time for poker when the tournaments come to town.
Although he’s only been posting live results for about two months, Kumar certainly seems to know his way around the felt. He’s finished in the money in four tournaments since March, adding more than $20,000 to his bankroll. The majority of that, of course, came courtesy of this career-best result.
Event #11 was held over the course of two days, and Kumar ended Day 1 in fourth place with 23 players remaining. He was nipping at the heels of the two chip leaders when they reached the final table of nine, and by the time there were four players left, he had nearly half the total chips in play.
At the end of the night, Kumar found himself heads-up against ring winner Jason Rivkin, who is an accomplished tournament player with more than $700,000 in live earnings. Unfortunately for Rivkin, he’s best known as for being a bit of a recurring bridesmaid lately, finishing as the runner-up in three more ring events and one WSOP bracelet event during the past year.
Rivkin was forced to settle for second place once again this time, as Kumar ran white hot down the stretch. The final hand was a microcosm of that trend, with Kumar’s jack-nine out-flopping Rivkin’s king-nine to seal the victory.
Monday, May 8, 2017 9:20 PM Local Time
Jason Rivkin has barely more than 250,000 chips left when he moves all in for just over 10 big blinds on the button. Nikhil Kumar calls to put Rivkin at risk, but the latter has the dominating hand.
Rivkin:
Kumar:
The flop is bad news for Rivkin, and the turn and river fail to save his tournament life. Kumar wins the pot and the tournament with jacks up. He collects the first ring of his career along with the top prize of $14,500.
Rivkin (below) is forced to settle for the runner-up consolation prize of $8,960.
Monday, May 8, 2017 8:55 PM Local Time
Lara Eisenberg is eliminated in third place by Nikhil Kumar, and Kumar is now heads-up against ring winner Jason Rivkin for the title in Event #11.
Nikhil Kumar - 1,100,000 (46 bb)
Jason Rivkin - 690,000 (29 bb)
Lara Eisenberg - Eliminated
Monday, May 8, 2017 8:24 PM Local Time
Monday, May 8, 2017 8:01 PM Local Time
Jason Rivkin moves all in for 248,000 under the gun, and Nikhil Kumar calls in the big blind to put Rivkin at risk on a coin flip.
Rivkin:
Kumar:
The board runs out , and Rivkin's little pair holds to earn him a double-up.
Jason Rivkin - 512,000 (32 bb)
Nikhil Kumar - 390,000 (24 bb)
Monday, May 8, 2017 7:59 PM Local Time
Jason Rivkin opens the button to 34,000, and Lara Eisenberg defends her big blind.
The flop is . Eisenberg checks, Rivkin continues for 64,000, and Eisenberg check-raises all in for 189,000 total. Rivkin quickly calls, putting Eisenberg at risk.
Rivkin: (double gutter)
Eisenberg: (pair of kings)
The on the turn doesn't really change much, though it does make Eisenberg's hand a little prettier with a set of kings, and the river is the blank . Eisenberg doubles up with kings full.
Lara Eisenberg - 462,000 (29 bb)
Jason Rivkin - 250,000 (16 bb)
Monday, May 8, 2017 7:36 PM Local Time
Action folds around to the blinds where Jeff Fotakis moves all in for about 255,000 in the small and Nikhil Kumar calls in the big to put Fotakis at risk.
Fotakis:
Kumar:
The board runs out , and Kumar wins the race with two pair, jacks and nines. Fotakis is eliminated in fifth place, while Kumar is closing in on half the chips in play with four left.
Nikhil Kumar - 800,000 (50 bb)
Jeff Fotakis - Eliminated
Monday, May 8, 2017 7:23 PM Local Time
Phil Stavrakis moves all in for 147,000 in the cutoff, and Lara Eisenberg re-shoves for 150,000 on the button. The blinds fold, and Stavrakis is heads-up for his tournament life. He's run into a big one, much to his chagrin.
Stavrakis:
Eisenberg:
"How do I keep running into these big hands?" Stavrakis laments. One of those treys is a heart, though, and he manages to turn a flush draw on the board. But the river is the blank and Eisenberg wins the pot with aces up. Stavrakis is eliminated in sixth place.
Lara Eisenberg - 333,000 (21 bb)
Phil Stavrakis - Eliminated
Monday, May 8, 2017 6:32 PM Local Time
Kyle McCarthy moves all in for 78,000 (6.5 bb) in middle position, and he almost gets it through. Jason Rivkin wakes up with an easy call in the big blind, though, and he does so to put McCarthy at risk.
McCarthy:
Rivkin:
The board runs out , and Rivkin wins the pot with a set of kings. McCarthy is eliminated in seventh place.
Jason Rivkin - 360,000 (30 bb)
Kyle McCarthy - Eliminated
Monday, May 8, 2017 6:29 PM Local Time
Monday, May 8, 2017 5:46 PM Local Time
Monday, May 8, 2017 5:43 PM Local Time
With the elimination of Raj Chidambaram in 10th place, the final table is set in Event #11. Here's the lineup:
Seat 1: Rommel Liscano - 253,000 (25 bb)
Seat 2: Phil Stavrakis - 394,000 (39 bb)
Seat 3: Jack Cooper - 68,000 (7 bb)
Seat 4: Kyle McCarthy - 79,000 (8 bb)
Seat 5: Lara Eisenberg - 296,000 (30 bb)
Seat 6: Jeff Fotakis - 71,000 (7 bb)
Seat 7: Steve Fox - 67,000 (7 bb)
Seat 8: Nikhil Kumar - 330,000 (33 bb)
Seat 9: Jason Rivkin - 231,000 (23 bb)
Blinds are 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante as Level 21 begins, putting the average stack just under 20 big blinds. Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $1,292 this evening.
Monday, May 8, 2017 2:26 PM Local Time
It took more than a full level of hand-for-hand play to get there, but the Event #11 field has finally been trimmed to 18 players. They're now in the money, with each of them guaranteed to earn at least $720.
Monday, May 8, 2017 1:12 PM Local Time
The final 23 players are back in their seats and back in action. Cards are in the air for Day 2, with the series' penultimate ring up for grabs this afternoon at Horseshoe Baltimore.
Monday, May 8, 2017 1:34 AM Local Time
Monday, May 8, 2017 1:33 AM Local Time
The clock has run out on Day 1, and the field of 179 entries has been reduced to 23 survivors. They'll return Monday to play it out to a winner.
The remaining field is littered with ring winners and other Circuit standouts, led by Jason Rivkin and his stack of 163,500 chips. The New Jersey pro won a ring in St. Maarten earlier this season, and he followed it up with two second-place finishes later in the season. Rivkin also finished as the runner-up to Tony Dunst in a bracelet event last summer, too.
Here's the top of the overnight leaderboard:
1. Jason Rivkin - 163,500
2. Mayb Sersland - 149,500
3. Kyle McCarthy - 135,500
4. Nikhil Kumar - 123,500
5. Phil Stavrakis - 120,000
Day 2 chip counts | Day 2 seat draw
Only the final 18 will finish in the money, so bursting the bubble will be the day's first order of business. Blinds will be 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante when play resumes, putting the average stack around 25 big blinds. Day 2 begins at 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 7, 2017 9:13 PM Local Time
Registration is closed for Event #11, and the numbers are in. This $365 no-limit hold'em event drew a field of 179 entries, creating a prizepool worth $53,700 to be shared by the final 18 players. Each of them will earn at least $720, and the prizes escalate all the way up to $14,500 in addition to the ring that are reserved for the winner.
There are 70 players left as Level 9 ticks off the clock, and play continues tonight until the end of Level 15. Horseshoe Baltimore ring winners Daniel Pearlman and Nick Verderamo are among the remaining field.
Sunday, May 7, 2017 7:54 PM Local Time
Level 8 is just getting started, and this level represents the last chance for registration in Event #11. There is a 30-minute break following this level, after which the window will close on late entry and re-entry. There are 175 players so far this evening, with about an hour left for that to grow.
Sunday, May 7, 2017 4:12 PM Local Time
Cards are in the air for the start of Event #11.
Sunday, May 7, 2017 3:30 PM Local Time
For those who are otherwise unoccupied in the Main Event, this afternoon's ring event provides the perfect opportunity to try to chase down more of those precious POY points. Another $365 no-limit hold'em event is set to begin shortly inside the Harbor Room.
Here are the details:
- This is a two-day event
- Players begin with 10,000 in tournament chips
- Levels 1-12 are 30 minutes apiece
- Levels 13-21 are 40 minutes apiece
- Late registration and single re-entry are available until the start of Level 9 (8:30 p.m.)
- Day 1 concludes after Level 15 (1 a.m.)
Cards go in the air at 4 p.m.