Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller

The final six players from a 230-entry field (181 unique entries plus 49 reentries) in the 2018 World Series of Poker Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller returned to the ESPN main stage on Saturday to play down to a winner.

The final table included heavyweights like defending champ James Calderaro, Poker Hall of Famer Scotty Nguyen, and the red-hot Jason Koon. However, none of those players made it to the final two. Instead, it was a rematch of the 2017 WSOP Event #34: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship — when Ben Yu beat Shaun Deeb heads up to win his second bracelet.

The duo collided once again, each looking to join the ranks of Sammy Farha, David "Chip" Reese, and David Sklansky as three-time bracelet winners. The fourth edition of the tournament, which for the first time allowed for a single reentry, ended with Deeb getting his revenge.

"I made a joke to him at the unofficial final table," Deeb revealed. "I said we both missed the $10K 2-7, the event we got heads up in last year. I go, 'We might be able to do it again, another game I'm a favorite on you heads up.' Ben's a great poker player but I have so much experience playing mixed games longer."

The $1,402,683 blew away Deeb's previous best cash (not counting the $1 million he won in a One Drop satellite) of $318,857 for winning the 2015 WSOP Event #15: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship. His other bracelet came at the 2016 WSOP when he took down Event #49: $1,500 Seven Card Stud for $111,101.

"I had a great start to the day, got the chip lead," Deeb said after the win. "No one really ever put me in a bad spot. I was able to control the pot sizes the way I wanted to almost every hand. That really helps, to not get in an inflated pot with a marginal hand. Everyone played their best game, I just ran the best."

He added: "I think I have a great shot at Player of the Year right now so I think I'm gonna battle, hop in every event I can and just enjoy myself."

It took just four hands for the first player to fall. It happened when the short-stacked Ryan Tosoc raised pot preflop and just called Yu's three-bet to 900K. Tosoc then jammed his last 325,000 after flopping middle pair with a flush draw and Yu looked him up with top pair of aces. Neither the turn nor river helped Tosoc and he hit the rail in sixth place for $215,718.

On Hand #31 of the final table, Deeb raised and then called a three-bet from Koon. The latter shoved the nine-high flop with queens and Deeb snap-called him with top two pair, nines and sevens. Koon picked up a straight draw on the turn but failed to get there on the river. Koon took home $295,606 for his fifth-place finish.

Calderaro was looking to go back-to-back in arguably one of the toughest tournaments of the year, but his quest came up three spots shy thanks to a nasty river card. It happened when both he and Deeb got it in with top two on the flop. The odds favored a chop, but running cards wound up giving Deeb a backdoor six-high straight to win the pot. Calderaro's $414,134 for finishing fourth brought his two-year total up to $1,703,208 in prize money.

Three-handed play lasted for a while before Yu double through Nguyen, which left the Poker Hall of Famer short. The 1998 WSOP Main Event champ soon got it in with two kings and a ten-nine and was up against Yu's queens with an ace-three. An ace hit the flop and Nguyen was eliminated in third place for $592,875, the fourth-largest score of his illustrious career.

Yu and Deeb both held the chip lead during the short heads-up match. Before long, Deeb got his opponent on the ropes before delivering the final blow. It happened on a five-four-deuce two-heart flop when Yu called all in holding a jack-six-six-five with two hearts against Deeb, who held aces with a gutshot to a seven. The black deuce and eight on the turn and river respectively sent Yu to the rail as runner-up for a career-high $866,924.

History of the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller

Shaun Deeb raised to 600,000 on the button and Ben Yu called. The action went check-check on the     flop and the dealer burned and turned the  .

Yu bet 800,000 and Deeb called. When the   completed the board on the river, Yu bet 1.7 million and Deeb called.

Yu showed      for a pair of sixes and Deeb rolled over      for two pair and the win.

Shortly after, Yu raised to 900,000 and Deeb three-bet the pot to 2.7 million, which Yu called. Deeb immediately bet the pot for 5.4 million on the     flop and Yu folded.

Shaun Deeb	21,350,000	5,700,000
Ben Yu	7,400,000	-5,800,000

Shaun Deeb raised to 600,000 and Ben Yu called to see a     flop. Yu check-called a bet of 500,000 and then check-called one of 1.3 million on the   turn.

Both players then checked the   river and Yu tabled the      for kings and threes. It was no good though as Deeb had a bigger two pair with his     .

Ben Yu	14,800,000	-3,300,000
Shaun Deeb	13,950,000	3,300,000

On the button, Ben Yu raised to 1 million and Scotty Nguyen three-bet the pot to 3.3 million with 50,000 behind. Yu set him in and Nguyen called it off.

Scotty Nguyen:     
Ben Yu:     

Yu's rail asked for an ace and got their wish granted with the     flop. Nguyen had a gutshot and his rail now asked for an eight. The   appeared on the turn and Yu's rail demanded, "Pair the board!" That didn't happen, but they were equally happy about the blank   on the river.

Nguyen was eliminated in third place for a payday of $592,875 and there will now be a short break to set up the duel for the title and coveted gold bracelet. Both Yu and Shaun Deeb already have two of their own and aim to make it three with a payday of $1,402,683 up top.

Ben Yu	16,000,000	3,300,000
Shaun Deeb	12,750,000	350,000
Scotty Nguyen	0	-3,100,000

Shaun Deeb limped in and Ben Yu checked in the big blind. On the     flop, Deeb bet 250,000 and Yu called. On the   turn, Deeb bet 550,000 and Yu called. The river was the   and Deeb bet 950,000. Yu gave him a staredown for more than a minute and eventually tossed in a single chip for the call.

Deeb rolled over the      for a king-high flush and won the pot.

One hand later, Deeb raised to 600,000 and Yu's three-bet to 2,040,000 forced a fold from Deeb.

Shaun Deeb	12,400,000	1,200,000
Scotty Nguyen	10,800,000	200,000
Ben Yu	5,800,000	-700,000

Scotty Nguyen limped in from the button, Shaun Deeb filled up from the small blind, and Ben Yu checked his option. The     flop was checked and the   fell on the turn. Again all three players checked, which also applies to the   river. Deeb showed      and that won the pot.

Deeb raised to 840,000 from the button the next hand and that scooped the blinds without showdown.

Nguyen made it 520,000 to go from the small blind and Deeb reraised the pot for 1,560,000 in total from the big blind. Nguyen called and they headed to a flop of    . Nguyen checked and Deeb bet the pot for 3,120,000. Nguyen had fewer than that behind and called all in.

Scotty Nguyen:     
Shaun Deeb:     

Nguyen had flopped the full house and doubled after the blank   turn and   river runout brought no sweat. Nguyen's double was for 2,365,000 and that vaulted him back to 32 big blinds, ahead of Yu. Despite this setback, Deeb still has as many chips as his two remaining opponents combined.

Shaun Deeb	14,400,000	-3,100,000
Scotty Nguyen	7,800,000	3,400,000
Ben Yu	6,500,000	200,000

Shaun Deeb raised to 500,000 on the button and Scotty Nguyen called out of the big blind to head to a flop of    . Nguyen checked and Deeb's continuation bet of 625,000 won the pot uncontested.

Nguyen limped in from the small blind and Deeb checked. On the     flop, both players checked and did so again on the   turn. Nguyen also checked the   river, as did Sheeb. Nguyen turned over the      for kings and tens, and that won the pot.

Ben Yu limped in and Nguyen raised to 640,000 in the big blind, Yu called. The flop came     and both players checked to see the   on the turn. Yu checked, Nguyen bet 500,000, and Yu called.

After the   river, the action went check, check, and Yu showed      for a queen-high straight and that won the pot for Yu.

Shaun Deeb	16,600,000	300,000
Ben Yu	6,300,000	1,200,000
Scotty Nguyen	5,900,000	-2,300,000

The final three players are now on a short break. Cards should be back in the air soon.