Sunday, June 28, 2015 7:42 PM Local Time
EVENT #51: $3,000 buy-in (Six-Handed) No-Limit Hold’em
ENTRIES: 1,043
PRIZE POOL: $2,847,390
FIRST PLACE PRIZE: $640,711
PLACES PAID: 108
DATES: June 25-28, 2015
Justin Liberto Wins WSOP Gold Bracelet in One of Toughest Events of the Year
Baltimore Poker Pro Tops 1,043-Player Field and Collects
Deep Run in “Millionaire Maker” Event Two Years Ago Propels a Later Victory
Runner-Up Seamus Cahill Denied Chance to Become First Irish Gold Bracelet Winner Since 2007
MEET THE LATEST WSOP GOLD BRACELET CHAMPION
Name: Justin Liberto
Birthplace: Baltimore, MD (USA)
Age: 26
Current Residence: Baltimore, MD (USA)
Marital Status: Engaged
Children: None
Profession: Professional Poker Player
Number of WSOP Cashes: 6
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances: 2
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories: 1
Best Previous WSOP Finish: 4th (2013)
Total WSOP Earnings: $1,199,624
Personal Facts: Liberto owns two WSOP Circuit gold rings and finished 4th in the WSOP “Millionaire Maker” back in 2013
[Note: All statistics above include the results of this tournament]
Sometimes, an event in someone’s life can propel even bigger and better things later on.
That
happened to Justin Liberto two years ago, when he came to Las Vegas,
entered a major event at the World Series of Poker, and managed to make
the final table for the first time. Liberto ended up cashing in 4th place in the “Millionaire Maker” championship, which was a staggering accomplishment. He collected a whopping $400,000.
The
big boost to the bankroll and confidence propelled Liberto to play in
more tournaments. This past season, he entered 8 events on the WSOP
Circuit, made 4 final tables, and won 2 gold rings – one of the best
returns on investment by any player on the national tournament
series. In fact, Liberto won the “Best All-Around Player” at the stop in
his hometown of Baltimore, MD (at the Horseshoe Casino), which
qualified him for the upcoming 2014-2015 WSOP Circuit National
Championship tournament, taking place at the end of July at Harrah's
Cherokee in North Carolina.
“Qualifying
for the National Championship was kind of my fallback,” Liberto
said. “Even if things didn’t go well here at the series this year, I
still have that to look forward to.”
Well,
things didn’t just go well at the 2015 WSOP for Liberto. He managed an
even bigger accomplishment, a higher payout, and achieved a career
breakthrough victory in one of this year’s most competitive
tournaments. Liberto won a gold
bracelet in the mega-tough $3,000 buy-in (Six-Handed) No-Limit Hold’em
tournament, which concluded today at the Rio in Las Vegas.
The
latest champ topped a tournament field which drew 1,043 entries,
consisting of many of the world’s most respected No-Limit Hold’em
players from more than 40 countries. The short-handed nature of
Six-Handed play accelerated the skill factor, making this title one of
the most coveted on the entire WSOP schedule.
The
total prize pool amounted to $2,847,390. The top 108 finishers
collected a payout, with the lion’s share of the money going to
Liberto. He earned $640,711 in what was his fifth time to cash at the
series. With this victory, Liberto not only crossed the $1 million mark
in career earnings, at age 29, he is still free-rolling for what could
be another big score and gold bracelet number two in the WSOP Circuit
National Championship.
Liberto
is a graduate of Virginia Tech University. He has gradually moved into
the game full-time, starting out slowly at first, never putting his
bankroll seriously at risk or biting off more than he could handle. In
other words, he’s played his cards right, not just at the table but in
life.
“When I came to the series a few years ago and finished 4th
in the Millionaire Maker that allowed me to bypass some steps that most
players would normally have to go through,” Liberto said. “I was
careful not to overshoot my goals after that. Now, getting this win just
makes things a lot easier.”
Liberto has even bigger plans ahead this summer, not including what happens in poker. He’s engaged to be married on July 25th.
Meanwhile,
Seamus Cahill, from Dublin, finished as the runner up. It looked like
Cahill might get the victory when play was heads up and he was ahead in
chips by close to 2 to 1. However, Liberto staged a late comeback and
denied Cahill the opportunity for a first WSOP win for an Irish player
since the year 2007, when two fellow countrymen won gold bracelets --
Alan Smurfit and Ciaran O’Leary (Note: Marty Smyth, from Belfast,
Northern Ireland won a gold bracelet in 2008). Cahill collected $395,986
for second place.
Following Liberto’s finish in the top spot, the descending order of results was as follows:
Second Place: Seamus Cahill, from Dublin, Ireland came in 2nd. He collected a nice consolation prize, totaling $395,986. This was Cahill’s second time to cash at the series, and first appearance at the payout window since 2010.
Third Place: Kiryl Radzivonau, from Gomel, Belarus finished in 3rd place. He
had the chance to become only the third WSOP winner in history from the
nation of Belarus, but busted out just two spots short of the top
prize. Nonetheless, Radzivonau enjoyed the biggest payout of his poker
career, collecting $251,168 in prize money.
Fourth Place: Alexander Delbus, from Lorsh, Germany came in 4th. He was in contention to be the second WSOP winner this year from Germany. He scooped $164,863 from the prize pool.
Fifth Place: Cornel Cimpan, from League City, TX posted his first WSOP cash in three years with a 5th-place finish in this event. Cimpan collected $111,475 in prize money.
Sixth Place: Benjamin Heath, from the U.K. ended up in 6th
place. This was his first time to cash at the WSOP, which paid out
$77,591. Had Heath won, he would have been the second winner at this
year’s series from England.
Seventh Place: Harley Thrower, from Cummings, GA rounded out the official final tables as the 7th-place finisher, earning $55,552 for the effort.
OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS
Aside from the final table finishers, other gold bracelet winning players who cashed included – Taylor Paur (18th), Rep Porter (19th), Amir Lehavot (23rd), Tim Adams (26th), Leo Wolpert (42nd), Bryn Kenney (44th), Tyler Patterson (47th), Jared Jaffe (49th), Jeff Madsen (53rd), Joe Hachem (66th), Sean Getzwiller (68th), Alex Bolotin (78th), Antonio Esfandiari (86th), Jim Collopy (106th), and Chris Dombrowski (108th).
Tom McCormick, a.k.a. “The Shamrock Kid” cashed in this event, which was the 52nd time for his career. McCormick ranks second on the all-time cashes list among players without a gold bracelet victory.
EVENT DIRECT LINKS:
For this event’s results, visit:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/results.asp?grid=1136&tid=14251
For Justin Liberto’s official player profile page, visit:
http://www.wsop.com/players/playerprofile.asp?playerID=142458
For photos from this event, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/photos.asp?grid=1136&tid=14251
For official winner photo, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/pdfs/reports/14251-winner-photo.jpg
For the live stream archive of this event, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/videos/?vcat=51
(Note: Will appear 48 hours after event concludes)
Written by Nolan Dalla (WSOP Media Staff)
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:53 PM Local Time
Justin Liberto moves all in and Seamus Cahill calls all in.
Liberto:
Cahill:
The board comes to make Liberto a pair of queens.
Cahill claims Ireland's second runner-up finish at this year's series and will take home $395,986. A delighted Liberto wins $640,711 and his first ever WSOP gold bracelet.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:46 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill raises to 200,000 before Justin Liberto three-bets to 590,000. Cahill comes back with a four-bet to 1,475,000 and calls when Liberto shoves for 7,480,000.
Cahil:
Liberto:
The board runs to hand the huge pot to Liberto. Cahill is left with just 650,000 chips.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:42 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill gets a walk.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:41 PM Local Time
Justin Liberto gets a walk.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:41 PM Local Time
Justin Liberto opens to 200,000 and Seamus Cahill calls. The flop is
and Cahill check-calls 200,000. Liberto fires another 435,000 and that's enough to get Cahill to fold.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:32 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill raises to 200,000 and calls when three-bet to 540,000 by Justin Liberto. The flop fans
and Liberto leads for 365,000. Call. He calls another 625,000 on the
turn before both check the
river. Liberto opens
and Cahill mucks.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:29 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill receives a walk.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:28 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill limps in and Justin Liberto checks. The flop comes
and both players check. The turn is the
and Liberto check-calls 150,000. The board completes with the
and Liberto check-calls another 350,000 but mucks when Cahill opens
for a full house.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:25 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill receives a walk.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:24 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill raises to 200,000 and Justin Liberto defends his big blind. The flop comes
and Cahill check-calls 200,000. The board runs out
and both players check it down. Liberto opens
and Cahill mucks.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:22 PM Local Time
Justin Liberto raises to 200,000 and Seamus Cahill calls to a flop. Liberto continues for 175,000 and Cahill check-calls before both check the turn and river. Cahill opens for a pair of threes and Liberto mucks.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:19 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill raises to 200,000 and Justin Liberto calls. The flop comes
and Liberto check-calls 110,000. The
turn is checked through and Cahill folds to a 225,000 bet on the
river.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:18 PM Local Time
Justin Liberto raises to 200,000 and takes the pot down.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:17 PM Local Time
Justin Liberto folds to a button raise from Seamus Cahill.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:16 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill folds to a button raise from Justin Liberto.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:15 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill raises to 200,000 and Justin Liberto calls. The flop comes
and Cahill takes the pot with a 110,000 bet.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:13 PM Local Time
Justin Liberto wins the pot with a 200,000 button raise.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:13 PM Local Time
Seamus Cahill raises his button to 200,000 and Justin Liberto calls. The flop fans
and both players check to the
turn where Liberto leads for 150,000. Cahill calls and both check the
river. Liberrto opened
for a pair of jacks but loses out to Cahill's
for a straight.
Sunday, June 28, 2015 1:09 PM Local Time
Justin Liberto is on the button the first hand and raises to 200,000. Seamus Cahill calls to see a
flop and check-calls 165,000. The
turn is checked through to the
river where Cahill check-folds to a 585,000 bet.