Friday, July 24, 2020 2:27 AM Local Time
Raymond “avant9201” Avant Wins 2020 WSOP Event #23: $500 NLH Knockout ($93,776)
On Thursday night, the 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #23: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Knockout attracted 1,452 players, which created a $667,920 prize pool. After 11 hours of play, it was New Jersey player Raymond "avant9201" Avant coming out on top to win the bracelet and $93,775.96 first-place prize.
It marked Avant's first-ever WSOP cash, and according to HendonMob, he has no live tournament cashes.
2020 WSOP Online Event #23 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize | KO |
|---|
| 1 | Raymond "avant9201" Avant | $93,776 | $1,700 |
| 2 | Scott "intheblack14" Epstein | $58,074 | $500 |
| 3 | Ryan "im.sorry" Torgersen | $41,243 | $1,100 |
| 4 | Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva | $29,690 | $700 |
| 5 | Byung Jun "YESUM1987" Kim | $21,693 | $900 |
| 6 | Zachary "kings702" Grech | $15,995 | $900 |
| 7 | Dilip Kumar "dogmai" Natarajan | $12,023 | $2,900 |
| 8 | Michael "mikeob81" O'Brien | $9,095 | $400 |
| 9 | Dan "pepperprince" Zack | $7,004 | $400 |
After Toya "HandyCapper" McLeod bubbled in 208th place, the march to the final table began. Among those to cash but fall short of the final nine were Greg "FossilMan" Raymer (191st - $574.99), Calvin "projector52" Anderson (129th - $679.53), Allen "Acnyc719" Chang (84th - $940.89), Daniel "DNegs" Negreanu (25th - $2,770.41), and final table bubble boy Anthony "Fresshh429" Conte (10th - $5,436.28).
Bracelet winner Dan "pepperprince" Zack began the final table second in chips, but he found himself on the short stack after his missed flush-draw bluff was picked off by Scott "intheblack14" Epstein. Not long after, he ran queen-jack into the ace-king of Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva to fall in ninth place.
Michael "mikeob81" O'Brien then busted in eighth place after losing a flip with ace-king against Epstein's pocket tens, and then Avant used pocket tens to dispatch Dilip Kumar "dogmai" Natarajan, who had eights. The latter flopped a set only to see the former river the two outer.
From there the eliminations came quickly with the rest of the competition falling within 20 minutes. Zachary "kings702" Grech lost with nines against the king-six of "avant9201" after a king spiked on the flop, and then Avant used jack-seven suited to bust Byung Jun "YESUM1987" Kim, who had gotten it in with king-queen.
Scott Epstein
De Silva, a two-time bracelet winner, was the next to go when he got his short stack all in with ace-king only to be outdrawn by Epstein's nine-deuce, and then Avant woke up with aces after Ryan "im.sorry" Torgersen had jammed with queen three. Torgersen failed to get lucky and notched a third-place finish to go with his win and runner-up performances earlier in the series (he should now hold a firm lead atop the Championship leaderboard).
Heads-up play began with both players fairly even in chips, but Avant managed to pull out to a big lead before it all came down to a flip. Epstein was at risk and looking to hold with pocket fours against ace-five suited. Unfortunately for Epstein, a five appeared on the flop and he had to settle for second place.
The next tournament on the schedule – Event #24: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed – will take place at 3 p.m. PDT on Friday. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will once again be reporting all the action, so be sure to tune in then to see who captures the next 2020 WSOP bracelet!
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Friday, July 24, 2020 2:22 AM Local Time
Scott "intheblack14" Epstein Eliminated in 2nd Place ($58,074)
Raymond "avant9201" Avant open-jammed for 31,028,466 and Scott "intheblack14" Epstein called off his 5,201,534 from the big blind.
Raymond "avant9201" Avant:
Scott "intheblack14" Epstein:
Epstein was ahead with his made hand until the flop appeared pairing Avant's five.
The turn gave Epstein an open-ended straight draw but the river ended his tournament in second place.
| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 36,300,000 | 5,271,534  |
| Scott "intheblack14" Epstein | 0 | -5,201,534  |
Friday, July 24, 2020 2:15 AM Local Time
Level 42 started
Level: 42
Blinds: 140,000/280,000
Ante: 35,000
Friday, July 24, 2020 2:14 AM Local Time
Ryan "im.sorry" Torgersen Eliminated in 3rd Place ($41,242.60)
Ryan "im.sorry" Torgersen open-jammed for 3,674,257 from the small blind and Raymond "avant9201" Avant called from the big blind.
Raymond "avant9201" Avant:
Ryan "im.sorry" Torgersen:
Avant woke up with aces and the flop left Torgersen drawing to running threes.
The turn left Torgersen drawing dead and he took his exit in third place after the completed the board on the river.
| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 17,943,466 | 3,529,257 |
| Ryan "im.sorry" Torgersen | 0 | -3,489,257 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 2:11 AM Local Time
Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva Eliminated in 4th Place ($29,690.49)
Action on the table folded around to Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva who raised all in for 647,864 from the small blind and Scott "intheblack14" Epstein called from the small blind.
Scott "intheblack14" Epstein:
Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva:
De Silva held the better hand and nothing changed after the flop.
The turn however, paired Epstein and the river eliminated De Silva in fourth place.
De Silva Loses With Big Slick| Scott "intheblack14" Epstein | 18,536,534 | 1,947,864 |
| Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva | 0 | -1,577,864 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 2:09 AM Local Time
Byung Jun "YESUM1987" Kim Eliminated in 5th Place ($21,692.88)
Byung Jun "YESUM1987" Kim moved all in for 1,038,184 from the button and Raymond "avant9201" Avant called from the big blind.
Byung Jun "YESUM1987" Kim:
Raymond "avant9201" Avant:
Kim was ahead and things looked good on the flop. The turn gave Avant a flush draw, but it was the on the river that gave them the win.
| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 14,414,209 | 1,018,184 |
| Byung Jun "YESUM1987" Kim | 0 | -2,028,184 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 2:07 AM Local Time
Zachary “kings702” Grech Eliminated in 6th Place ($15,995.23)
Zachary "kings702" Grech moved all in for 1,581,240 from the cutoff and Raymond "avant9201" Avant called from the big blind.
Raymond "avant9201" Avant:
Zachary "kings702" Grech:
Grech got it in good but fell behind on the flop. Neither the turn nor river helped Grech and they hit the rail in sixth place.
| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 13,396,025 | 1,791,240 |
| Zachary “kings702” Grech | 0 | -1,521,240 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 2:05 AM Local Time
Dilip Kumar “dogmai” Natarajan Eliminated in 7th Place ($12,022.56)
Action on the table folded around to Dilip Kumar "dogmai" Natarajan who raised all in for 3,615,011 from middle position and Raymond "avant9201" Avant gave them isolation after the came over the top for 7,419,774 from the cutoff.
Dilip Kumar "dogmai" Natarajan:
Raymond "avant9201" Avant:
Natarajan was in need of some help and found it with the flop giving them a set of eights.
The turn filled up Natarajan and they were looking good to score a double-up until the appeared on the river ending their tournament in seventh place.
| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 11,604,785 | 4,155,011 |
| Dilip Kumar “dogmai” Natarajan | 0 | -3,645,011 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:58 AM Local Time
Updated Chip Counts at the Break
| Scott "intheblack14" Epstein | 16,588,670 | -1,005,000 |
| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 7,449,774 | 3,659,887 |
| Dilip Kumar “dogmai” Natarajan | 3,645,011 | 655,000 |
| Ryan "im.sorry" Torgersen | 3,489,257 | -1,524,887 |
| Byung Jun "YESUM1987" Kim | 2,028,184 | -1,120,000 |
| Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva | 1,577,864 | -500,000 |
| Zachary “kings702” Grech | 1,521,240 | -140,000 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:53 AM Local Time
Level 41 started
Level: 41
Blinds: 120,000/240,000
Ante: 30,000
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:46 AM Local Time
Michael “mikeob81” O'Brien Eliminated in 8th Place ($9,095.32)
Action on the table folded around to Scott "intheblack14" Epstein who raised all in for 13,648,668 from the button and Michael "mikeob81" O'Brien called off their 2,382,502 stack from the big blind.
Michael "mikeob81" O'Brien:
Scott "intheblack14" Epstein:
Epstein was ahead with his made hand of tens and nothing changed after the flop.
The turn however, gave Epstein a sweat as it O'Brien the nut flush draw but the completed the board on the river ending their tournament in eighth place.
| Scott "intheblack14" Epstein | 16,331,170 | 3,457,502 |
| Michael “mikeob81” O'Brien | 0 | -2,032,502 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:36 AM Local Time
Level 40 started
Level: 40
Blinds: 100,000/200,000
Ante: 25,000
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:31 AM Local Time
Daniel "pepperprince" Zack Eliminated in 9th Place ($7,004.44)
Daniel "pepperprince" Zack open-jammed for 463,996 from early position and was called by "avant9201" from the small blind before Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva gave Zack isolation after he came over the top for 2,385,062 from the big blind.
Daniel "pepperprince" Zack:
Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva:
Zack held live cards but couldn't find a pair with the runout ending his tournament in ninth place.
Zack Fails to Pair| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 7,583,391 | 954,504 |
| Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva | 3,493,024 | 1,167,992 |
| Daniel "pepperprince" Zack | 0 | -543,996 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:28 AM Local Time
Epstein Makes Strong River Call to Double Into the Lead
Scott "intheblack14" Epstein raised to 400,000 from the hijack and Daniel "pepperprince" Zack called from the button. Both blinds folded and the flop came down .
Epstein bet 915,000, Zack called, and the peeled off on the flop. Epstein check-called a bet of 1.3 million and then checked on the river.
Zack moved all in and Epstein called off for 2,898,884. Zack showed the for a missed flush draw and Epstein doubled into the lead with his .
| Scott "intheblack14" Epstein | 11,447,768 | 6,733,884 |
| Daniel "pepperprince" Zack | 543,996 | -5,778,884 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:22 AM Local Time
Level 39 started
Level: 39
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 20,000
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:22 AM Local Time
Final Table Draw and Counts
Event #23 Final Table| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 6,628,887 | 0 |
| Daniel "pepperprince" Zack | 6,322,880 | -15,000 |
| Dilip Kumar “dogmai” Natarajan | 5,330,631 | -165,000 |
| Scott "intheblack14" Epstein | 4,713,884 | -172,500 |
| Ryan "im.sorry" Torgersen | 3,789,772 | -1,172,993 |
| Byung Jun "YESUM1987" Kim | 3,038,292 | -97,000 |
| Zachary “kings702” Grech | 2,869,371 | 1,230,000 |
| Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva | 2,325,032 | 15,000 |
| Michael “mikeob81” O'Brien | 1,281,251 | -800,000 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:21 AM Local Time
Anthony "Fresshh429" Conte Eliminated in 10th Place ($5,436.28)
Anthony "Fresshh429" Conte open-jammed under the gun for 991,122 and was called by "avant9201" from the small blind.
"avant9201":
Anthony "Fresshh429" Conte:
Conte held live cards and the flop paired "avant9201's" aces but also gave Conte a broadway draw.
The turn was no help to Conte nor was the river ending his tournament in 10th place.
Conte Bubbles Final Table| Raymond “avant9201” Avant | 6,628,887 | 2,992,122 |
| Anthony "Fresshh429" Conte | 0 | -1,703,622 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:12 AM Local Time
Dennis "WhiteRuntz" Zollo Eliminated in 11th Place ($5,436.28)
Dennis "WhiteRuntz" Zollo limped from the small blind and then called off for 631,648 when "mikeob81" jammed from the big blind.
Dennis "WhiteRuntz" Zollo:
"mikeob81":
Zollo was out in front but he experienced max pain as the board ran out to pair "mikeob81's" ace on the river.
| Michael “mikeob81” O'Brien | 2,081,251 | 691,648 |
| Dennis "WhiteRuntz" Zollo | 0 | -781,648 |
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:06 AM Local Time
Level 38 started
Level: 38
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 15,000
Friday, July 24, 2020 1:05 AM Local Time
Jordyn "ThLstCrdBndr" Miller Eliminated in 12th Place ($5,436.28)
Action on the table folded around to Jordyn "ThLstCrdBndr" Miller who raised all in for 2,004,804 from the small blind and was called by Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva from the big blind.
Jordyn "ThLstCrdBndr" Miller:
Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva:
It was a race with Miller falling behind after the flop not only paired De Silva's ace but also gave him the nut flush draw.
The turn didn't change a thing as Miller was drawing to one out and the on the river wasn't it ending his tournament in 12th place.
| Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva | 4,084,608 | 498,140 |
| Jordyn "ThLstCrdBndr" Miller | 0 | -2,264,804 |