Friday, July 31, 2020 5:57 AM Local Time
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy Wins First WSOP Bracelet & $245,448 in Event #45: $840 Bounty NLHE
After eleven hours, Event #45: $840 Bounty NLHE has come to an end with Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy claiming his first WSOP gold bracelet for $245,448 which includes $104,680 in bounties. He beat Joshua "kaledak" Pollock heads-up in a field of 2,382 participants who created a prize pool of $1,906,500 in total.
Kennedy seems to be a relatively unknown player in the live scene and has collected just over $5,000 in cashes on GGPoker but crushed the final table with aggressive play at the right times. He got the field down to the final table bubble when he eliminated both Blaaz "Sc4rm4k3r" Azerjav and Jie "MTT0516" Wu with jacks. He lost the chip lead for about a minute when Pollock had him covered by almost 7,000 in chips but took it back immediately to cruise towards the win in the end.
Pollock was the only one on the final who had won a bracelet before and he came close to making it three. He would also be the only one to win one in Las Vegas at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, one on WSOP.com, and one during the 2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events but it wasn't to be.
Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias, Jose "robertoduran" Severino, Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale were the more familiar players at the final table and were joined by Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho, Arie "abush" Kliper, Ho Yin "hoyintai" Tai, and Francesco "Pachamama" Favia.
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelets Event #45: $840 Bounty NLHE Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | Bounties | Total |
|---|
| 1 | Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | United Kingdom | $140,768 | $104,680 | $245,448 |
| 2 | Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | United States | $101,212 | $11,964 | $113,176 |
| 3 | Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | Brazil | $72,772 | $7,530 | $80,303 |
| 4 | Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | Argentina | $52,324 | $10,694 | $63,078 |
| 5 | Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho | Taiwan | $37,621 | $3,169 | $40,790 |
| 6 | Arie "abush" Kliper | Israel | $27,050 | $18,089 | $45,139 |
| 7 | Ho Yin "hoyintai" Tai | Hong Kong | $19,449 | $15,469 | $34,918 |
| 8 | Francesco "Pachamama" Favia | Italy | $13,984 | $15,366 | $29,350 |
| 9 | Jose "robertoduran" Severino | Panama | $10,055 | $3,988 | $14,042 |
Bubble Protection in Action
During the first three hours of the tournament, players could register late or reenter up to two times but once the dust had settled, the prize pool details were determined and 332 players would be in the money from the 900 who were still in it at that time. It would take ninety minutes before it was time for the bubble.
Andrei "Why@" Popugaev three-bet shoved with aces but saw them get cracked by the kings of "dodi papa" in a hand that was a rollercoaster. The king on the flop gave "dodi papa" a set, Popugaev then turned the higher set, but the river gave his opponent a flush. As Popugaev had registered before the start of the tournament, he was protected during the bubble and got his buy-in back on top of the $950 in bounties that he had earned.
Popugaev Bubbles Event #45
From the Bubble to the Final Table
Many players tried to battle their way to the final table but failed. Players like Artur Martirosyan, Simon Higgins, Mike Leah, Simon Lofberg, Fedor Kruse, Danny Tang, Lev Gottlieb, Ana Marquez, Harry Lodge, Dario Sammartino, and Michael Clacher all busted before they could get there.
Kazuki Ikeuchi came second twice in the WSOP events, in 2018, he and his Tag Team finished behind Nikita Luther and Giuseppe Pantaleo and last year he fell short in the Millionaire Maker when John Gorsuch was victorious. Ikeuchi was aiming to finally grab that bracelet but was eliminated in 13th place this time with Alessandro Giannelli bubbling the final table in the first hand after the break.
Kazuki Ikeuchi finished in 13th place for $15,898
The Final Table
Severino was first to go with Favia following in his footsteps. A few minutes later, Tai took off with Kliper kicked out next for four players to bust in a space of 30 minutes. Kennedy had over 40% of all the chips in play and he maintained that stack while the shorter stacks battled each other. Half an hour later, Ho fell to Pollock.
Dias then closed the gap with Kennedy but it was widened again when the latter took out Spitale in fourth place. Pollock doubled up through Kennedy once before a hand where Dias turned two pair and raised the bet of Pollock. He then called the shove of Kennedy once Pollock got out of the way. Kennedy had turned the straight so Dias was hoping the river would bring another ten or seven but instead he bricked. Dias finished in second place in Event #27: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed for $308,166 back in 2017 and will be disappointed to not take it down this time either.
Heads-up went back and forth for a bit before Pollock called the four-bet shove of Kennedy for almost 50 big blinds with tens. Kennedy had the higher pocket pair of jacks which held to deliver him the victory while Pollock's cash today will take him closer to the $1,000,000 mark in WSOP winnings.
This concludes the PokerNews coverage of this event but we'll be back on Saturday with Event #46: $500 Deepstack No Limit Hold'em and the final tables of Event #41: $400 COLOSSUS & Event #42: $400 PLOSSUS so make sure to come back!
Josh Pollock finished as the runner-up for $113,176
Friday, July 31, 2020 5:13 AM Local Time
Joshua "kaledak" Pollock Eliminated in 2nd Place ($101,212 + $11,964)
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy raised to 1,200,000 for Joshua "kaledak" Pollock to three-bet to 4,200,000. Kennedy responded with a shove with the bigger stack for Pollock to make the call for the 24,769,156 he had left.
Joshua "kaledak" Pollock:
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy:
The board ran out for Kennedy to hold with the higher pocket pair to eliminate Pollock for their bounty and the bracelet that comes with winning the tournament.
A recap is to follow.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 59,550,000 | 23,438,456  |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 0 | -23,438,456  |
Friday, July 31, 2020 5:01 AM Local Time
Chip Lead Switched Back to Kennedy Before the Break
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy raised to 1,200,000 from the small blind and Joshua "kaledak" Pollock made the call.
The flop came , Pollock check-called the 711,200 bet of Kennedy.
The turn brought them the , Pollock checked again and Kennedy bet 4,358,640 this time which Pollock called again.
The river completed the board with the , Pollock checked for the last time. Kennedy bet 6,973,824 this time for Pollock to fold before going into the eleventh break of the day.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 36,111,544 | 6,339,840 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 23,438,456 | -6,339,840 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:56 AM Local Time
Pollock Takes Tiny Chip Lead
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy raised to 1,200,000 from the button and Joshua "kaledak" Pollock made the call.
The flop came , Pollock check-called the 711,200 bet of Kennedy.
They then both checked through the on the turn to the on the river. Pollock bet 4,800,000 for Kennedy to fold.
Pollock then won a few more hands in a row to get the stack to pretty even with a tiny chip lead for himself.
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 29,778,296 | 16,375,200 |
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 29,771,704 | -16,375,200 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:50 AM Local Time
Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias Eliminated in 3rd Place ($72,772 + $7,530)
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy limped in on the button and Joshua "kaledak" Pollock completed his small blind while Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias opted to check.
The flop came , they all checked through to the on the turn. Pollock bet 1,005,000 for Dias to raise to 3,015,000. Kennedy responded with a shove for Pollock to quickly fold and for Dias to make the call for the 8,357,500 extra he had behind.
Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias:
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy:
Dias had turned two pair but Kenndy had the straight.
The river completed the board with the to bust Dias in third place.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 46,146,904 | 18,427,500 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 13,403,096 | -3,775,000 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 0 | -14,652,500 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:44 AM Local Time
Pollock Doubles Through Kennedy
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy shoved from the small blind for Joshua "kaledak" Pollock to make the call from the big blind for the 7,884,048 he had behind.
Joshua "kaledak" Pollock:
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy:
The flop came for Pollock to hit a pair of sevens but for Kennedy to pick the open-ended straight draw.
The turn was the to not change things and neither did the on the river as Pollock doubled up.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 27,719,404 | -1,814,048 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 17,178,096 | 4,234,048 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 14,652,500 | -2,420,000 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:40 AM Local Time
Level 37 started
Level: 37
Blinds: 300,000/600,000
Ante: 70,000
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:35 AM Local Time
Kennedy Has the Commanding Chip Lead
Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias raised to 1,050,000 from the small blind and Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy defended his big blind.
The flop came , Dias bet 752,400 for Kennedy to raise to 1,912,144. Dias responded with a reraise to 5,648,500 for Kennedy to make the call.
The turn was the and Dias checked but then folded when Kennedy bet 3,801,560.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 29,533,452 | -351,500 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 17,072,500 | -4,870,400 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 12,944,048 | 5,221,900 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:32 AM Local Time
Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale Eliminated in 4th Place ($52,324 + $10,694)
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy shoved from the small blind and Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale made the call from the big blind for the 2,769,825 he had behind.
Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale:
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy:
The board ran out for Kennedy to hold with the higher kicker to eliminate Spitale in fourth place.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 29,884,952 | 5,460,355 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 21,942,900 | -1,950,530 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 7,722,148 | -120,000 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 0 | -3,389,825 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:29 AM Local Time
Dias Closing in on Kennedy
Joshua "kaledak" Pollock completed his small blind and Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias opted to check.
The flop came , Pollock bet 500,000 which Dias called.
The turn was the and Pollock bet 1,500,000 this time and was called again.
The river completed the board with the and Pollock fired 4,500,000 into the pot. Dias took a few seconds and then made the call. Pollock tabled for Dias to claim the pot with for top pair.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 24,424,597 | -120,000 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 23,893,430 | 8,110,000 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 7,842,148 | -7,620,000 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 3,389,825 | -370,000 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:25 AM Local Time
Dias and Spitale Double Each Other Up
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy raised to 1,00,00 from the cutoff and Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale three-bet shoved from the button for 5,018,270. Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias four-bet shoved for 13,024,985 in the big blind for Kennedy to get out of their way.
Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale:
Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias:
The board ran out for Spitale to double up through Dias.
But two hands later, Dias raised to 1,000,000 from the button and Spitale shoved from the big blind with the bigger stack for Dias to make the call for the 6,646,715 he had behind.
Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias:
Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale:
The board ran out in Dias' favor this time to double him back up.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 24,544,597 | -1,930,000 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 15,783,430 | 2,688,445 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 15,462,148 | 560,000 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 3,759,825 | -1,318,445 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:20 AM Local Time
Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho Eliminated in 5th Place ($37,621 + $3,169)
Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho shoved from the button for 6,541,828 and was called by Joshua "kaledak" Pollock in the big blind with the slightly bigger stack.
Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho:
Joshua "kaledak" Pollock:
The flop came to keep Pollock ahead.
The turn was the for Ho to pick up the flush draw but he bricked the river as the completed the board.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 26,474,597 | 2,040,000 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 14,902,148 | 6,931,828 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 13,094,985 | 957,500 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 5,078,270 | -1,910,000 |
| Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho | 0 | -8,019,328 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:13 AM Local Time
Level 36 started
Level: 36
Blinds: 250,000/500,000
Ante: 60,000
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:07 AM Local Time
Dias Wins One
Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias completed his small blind for Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy to raise to 1,150,000 from the big blind and was called.
They both checked through the flop and the on the turn to the on the river. Dias checked for the last time. Kennedy bet 884,000 which Dias called. Kennedy tabled for Dias to pick up the pot with for the pair of nines.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 24,434,597 | -2,134,000 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 12,137,485 | 2,634,000 |
| Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho | 8,019,328 | -100,000 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 7,970,320 | -300,000 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 6,988,270 | -100,000 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:02 AM Local Time
Play Resumes
The five remaining players have resumed play with 14 hands left in this level.
Friday, July 31, 2020 3:59 AM Local Time
Pollock Doubles Before the Tenth Break
Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale shoved from the small blind for Joshua "kaledak" Pollock to make the call in the big blind for the 3,610,160 he had behind.
Joshua "kaledak" Pollock:
Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale:
The flop came for Spitale to hit the higher pair but it also gave Pollock a flush draw.
The turn was the for Pollock to add some extra outs as he now also had a gutshot to a straight.
The river completed the board with the for Pollock to hit his flush to double up with just before the players were sent for their tenth break of the day.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 26,568,597 | -777,500 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 9,503,485 | 1,459,000 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 8,270,320 | 3,810,160 |
| Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho | 8,119,328 | -850,000 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 7,088,270 | -3,641,660 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 3:55 AM Local Time
Kennedy Increases Chip Lead
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy raised to 800,000 from the cutoff and Joshua "kaledak" Pollock defended his big blind.
Pollock then check-called the 400,000 bet of Kennedy on the flop.
The turn was the and Pollock checked again. Kennedy bet 998,00 this time and was called again.
The river completed the board with the and both players checked. Pollock tabled for the missed straight and flush draw for Kennedy to pick up another pot to build his chip lead with for the higher kicker.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 27,346,097 | 2,548,000 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 10,729,930 | 950,000 |
| Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho | 8,969,328 | -300,000 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 8,044,485 | -100,000 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 4,460,160 | -3,098,000 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 3:50 AM Local Time
Arie "abush" Kliper Eliminated in 6th Place ($27,050 + S18,089)
Arie "abush" Kliper shoved from the cutoff for 5,838,781 and Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy three-bet shoved for more in the small blind for Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho to fold his big blind and let them battle it out.
Arie "abush" Kliper:
Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy:
The board ran out for Kennedy to hold with the nine to eliminate Kliper in sixth place.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 24,798,097 | 5,888,781 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 9,779,930 | 450,000 |
| Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho | 9,269,328 | 1,770,000 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 8,144,485 | -850,000 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 7,558,160 | 50,000 |
| Arie "abush" Kliper | 0 | -7,308,781 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 3:46 AM Local Time
Ho Yin "hoyintai" Tai Eliminated in 7th Place ($19,449 + $15,469)
Ho Yin "hoyintai" Tai shoved from the cutoff for 4,172,092 and was called by Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale in the big blind with the slightly bigger stack.
Ho Yin "hoyintai" Tai:
Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale:
The board ran out for Spitale to hold with the pocket kings for two pair to bust Tai in seventh place.
| Patrick "Muddington" Kennedy | 18,909,316 | -905,000 |
| Franco "pelaguacha" Spitale | 9,329,930 | 4,962,092 |
| Bernardo "GGeKKo" Dias | 8,994,485 | 1,440,000 |
| Joshua "kaledak" Pollock | 7,508,160 | 595,000 |
| Chi Chung "chipuker" Ho | 7,499,328 | -610,000 |
| Arie "abush" Kliper | 7,308,781 | 195,000 |
| Ho Yin "hoyintai" Tai | 0 | -5,677,092 |
Friday, July 31, 2020 3:43 AM Local Time
Level 35 started
Level: 35
Blinds: 200,000/400,000
Ante: 50,000