Saturday, June 15, 2019 2:28 AM Local Time
"Silent Assassin" Thomas Cazayous Wins $3K Six-Max ($414,766)
Thomas Cazayous' opponents called him "the silent assassin." In the end, he lived up to that moniker, picking off his final three opponents one by one to win Event #31: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed at the 2019 World Series of Poker for $414,766.
It's the first bracelet for the 24-year-old French pro, and orders of magnitude bigger than his previous biggest cash of $15,000.
An online cash player by trade, this was Cazayous' first time really focusing on tournaments during the summer. While he was playing for big money against experienced opponents like bracelet winners Upeshka De Silva and Angel Guillen at the final table, Cazayous didn't feel at all like a fish out of water.
"If I'm honest, there was good players but I felt very, very confident," he said. "I don't want to say I think I was the best...but I felt pretty sure what I had to do."
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Thomas Cazayous | France | $414,766 |
| 2 | Nicholas Howard | United States | $256,314 |
| 3 | Upeshka De Silva | United States | $172,658 |
| 4 | Wojtek Barzantny | Germany | $118,421 |
| 5 | Angel Guillen | Mexico | $82,726 |
| 6 | Raul Martinez | Spain | $58,881 |
Cazayous held the chip lead for the majority of the final table. His ultra-calm demeanor and minimal way with words caused his opponents to chuckle and bestow the nickname on him, as they repeatedly watched him eye everyone in silence and fire in bets and raises.
According to the newly minted bracelet winner, he's not at all like that away from the felt. It's simply his intense focus.
Due to his online background, he's used to the easy mode of counting stacks, simply looking at numbers. Live, his mind is constantly spinning, calculating depth of stacks, pot-to-stack ratios, and filing away the hand histories that indicate his opponents' tendencies. All that work simply makes it impossible for him to engage in table talk.
"If I speak to a lot of people around, I won't be very focused and I will be oriented in value and I won't have enough bluffs to balance," he said. "I'm not focused and I'll just fold without thinking. If I'm not in the hand, I have to see what people are doing, the sizing they use, the way they're acting."
All of those mental machinations served Cazayous well as he came into the final table with the big stack and never dipped below second place.
The final table of the $3,000 Six-Max.
His real run of dominance started with four players left, busting Wojtek Barzantny in a three-bet pot with an overpair, gutter and flush draw against an overpair.
Ten hands later, Cazayous flopped top pair after calling a three-bet from De Silva and bet-called it off against a check-shove. De Silva had just ace-king and bricked out.
Only Nicholas Howard remained and he was at a monster chip deficit. The French supporters, feeling victory was at hand, began singing and chanting in Cazayous' support. Little did they know, if it were up to him, they'd have been treating the Amazon Room like a library during finals week.
"I think in a perfect world for me, I'd prefer to have no noise," he said. "Zero songs, zero words."
Things began well enough as he hammered Howard down to seven big blinds. However, Howard was able to mount a large comeback, running 880,000 to almost 5 million at 80,000/160,000/160,000.
True to his cold-blooded exterior, Cazayous said the comeback didn't phase him. His only concern was playing well and he said he felt no pressure as the bleeding of chips was caused by "just cards."
In the end, Howard put a stop to the comeback himself when he bet-three-bet all in on a pure bluff after all the cards were out. Cazayous found the call button with two pair and it was time to don the French flag for the photos for the silent assassin, now $414,766 richer.
Saturday, June 15, 2019 1:24 AM Local Time
Nicholas Howard Eliminated in 2nd Place ($256,314)
Hand #101: Thomas Cazayous raised to 350,000 on the button, and Nicholas Howard called in the big blind.
Howard checked the flop, and Cazayous bet 250,000. Howard called.
Both players checked the turn, and the fell on the river. Howard bet 425,000, and Cazayous raised to 1.6 million. Howard three-bet shoved for 3.335 million, which sent Cazayous deep into the tank. After about three minutes, he sighed, then plopped a stack of chips in to call.
"You're going to win the tournament with that call," Howard told Cazayous before turning over for a busted straight draw. Cazayous tabled his for two pair, and Cazayous is our champion!
| Thomas Cazayous | 15,080,000 | 4,180,000  |
| Nicholas Howard | 0 | -4,200,000  |
Saturday, June 15, 2019 1:21 AM Local Time
Hand #100: Cazayous Applies Pressure
Hand #100: Nicholas Howard raised to 400,000 from the button, and Thomas Cazayous called in the big blind.
Both players checked the flop, and Cazayous bet 750,000 on the turn. Howard folded.
Saturday, June 15, 2019 1:12 AM Local Time
Hands #95-99: Howard's River Bet Wins
Hand #95: Thomas Cazayous called and then folded to 400,000 from Nicholas Howard.
Hand #96: Cazayous got a walk.
Hand #97: Cazayous called and Howard checked. Cazayous bet 300,000 on the flop and Howard called. No sooner had the turn hit the felt than Howard put in 200,000. Cazayous made it 800,000 and Howard gave it up fairly quickly.
Hand #98: Howard completed and Cazayous checked. Cazayous check-folded on the flop to a min-bet.
Hand #99: Cazayous completed and Howard checked. Howard checked the and then called 300,000 from Cazayous. He led out again on the turn for 300,000. This time, Cazayous called. On the river, Howard bet 1 million and Cazayous folded.
| Thomas Cazayous | 10,900,000 | 700,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 4,200,000 | -700,000 |
Saturday, June 15, 2019 1:02 AM Local Time
Level 30 started
Level: 30
Blinds: 80000/160000
Ante: 160000
Saturday, June 15, 2019 1:00 AM Local Time
Hands #90-94: Last Hands of Level 29; Howard Back to Five Million
Hand #90: Nicholas Howard limped in on the button, and Thomas Cazayous checked his option in the big blind.
Cazayous bet 120,000 on the flop.
"What is that, a donk bet?" Howard said, before raising to 425,000. Cazayous called. Cazayous check-called 600,000 on the turn, and both players checked the river. Cazayous turned up , but he was pipped by Howard's .
Hand #91: Howard got a walk.
Hand #92: Howard limped in from the button, and Cazayous checked. Cazayous check-folded to a bet of 125,000 on the flop.
Hand #93: Cazayous raised to 250,000 on the button, and Howard called in the big blind. Howard check-called a bet of 200,000 on the flop, and both players checked the turn. Howard led out for 675,000 on the river, and Cazayous folded.
Hand #94: Howard limped in from the button, and Cazayous checked. Cazayous overbet the pot on the flop with a 500,000 bet, and Howard called. The turn and river were checked down, and Howard said, "Just an ace." Cazayous turned up for a pair and the winner.
| Thomas Cazayous | 10,200,000 | -2,250,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 4,900,000 | 2,250,000 |
Saturday, June 15, 2019 12:49 AM Local Time
Hands #83-89: Another Dub for Howard
Hand #83: Thomas Cazayous shoved and Nicholas Howard folded.
Hand #84: Cazayous took a walk.
Hand #85: Cazayous jammed and won.
Hand #86: Howard shoved for 880,000 and Cazayous called with . Howard had but the flop brought nada.
"Nine," someone called out from Howard's rail.
Sure enough, the appeared. The was a brick on the river and Howard doubled.
Hand #87: Howard got a walk.
Hand #88: Howard shoved and won.
Hand #89: Cazayous completed and Howard checked. Both checked the , bringing a . Howard bet 140,000 and Cazayous called. On the river, Howard bet 320,000 and Cazayous called with a sigh.
"Queen," Howard said.
Cazayous indicated it was a winner and Howard showed .
| Thomas Cazayous | 12,450,000 | -1,150,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 2,650,000 | 1,150,000 |
Saturday, June 15, 2019 12:41 AM Local Time
Hands #79-82: Howard Doubles
Hand #79: Thomas Cazayous jammed the button, and Nicholas Howard folded.
"It's going to be a hell of a come back," Howard told Cazayous.
Hand #80: Howard limped in from the button, and Cazayous checked.
Cazayous checked the flop, and Howard bet 125,000, leaving himself just 705,000 behind. Cazayous limp-jammed, and Howard called.
Nicholas Howard:
Thomas Cazayous:
No four came on the turn or river, and Howard doubled.
"That's how it starts!" Howard said.
Hand #81: Cazayous limped in from the button, and Howard checked. Howard check-folded to a bet of 120,000 on the flop.
Hand #82: Howard limped in from the button, then folded when Cazayous jammed.
| Thomas Cazayous | 13,600,000 | -500,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 1,500,000 | 500,000 |
Saturday, June 15, 2019 12:34 AM Local Time
Hands #76-78: Howard on Life Support
Hand #76: Unknown action.
Hand #77: Thomas Cazayous completed the blind and Nicholas Howard made it 520,000. Cazayous called and the flop brought . Howard bet 275,000 and Cazayous called. Howard checked the and Cazayous bet 300,000.
Howard quickly folded, and it sounded like he told his rail he was at the bottom of his range.
Hand #78: Howard completed the blind and Cazayous checked. The prompted Cazayous to check-called a min-bet. He came out betting with 150,000 on the turn and Howard called. On the river, Cazayous bet 225,000.
"That's how you win tournaments, huh?" Howard said with a sigh. "Runouts like that."
He folded, leaving just a few big blinds back.
| Thomas Cazayous | 14,100,000 | 1,400,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 1,000,000 | -1,400,000 |
Saturday, June 15, 2019 12:28 AM Local Time
Upeshka De Silva Eliminated in 3rd Place ($172,658)
Hand #75: Thomas Cazayous raised to 250,000 on the button, and Upeshka De Silva three-bet to 950,000 in the big blind. Cazayous called.
On the flop, De Silva checked, and Cazayous bet 600,000. De Silva check-jammed for 2.805 million, and Cazayous called.
Upeshka De Silva:
Thomas Cazayous:
Cazayous turned trips with the , but De Silva stayed live with a flush draw. The river filled up Cazayous, and he now takes a massive chip lead heads up against Nicholas Howard, while De Silva will have to wait for his third WSOP bracelet.
| Thomas Cazayous | 12,700,000 | 3,900,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 2,400,000 | -200,000 |
| Upeshka De Silva | 0 | -3,500,000 |
Saturday, June 15, 2019 12:19 AM Local Time
Hands #73-74: Howard Doubles Through Cazayous
Hand #73: Nicholas Howard shoved for around 1.3 million on the button and Thomas Cazayous called in the big blind with . Howard had slightly the best of it with and saw a very friendly flop. The turn brought a small sweat but the river was a .
Hand #74: After unknown preflop action, Howard checked in the big blind on and Upeshka De Silva bet 125,000. Howard peeled and they checked through the , bringing a . Howard checked and De Silva bet 235,000. Howard tanked around a minute before releasing.
| Thomas Cazayous | 8,800,000 | -1,400,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 2,600,000 | 1,200,000 |
Saturday, June 15, 2019 12:15 AM Local Time
Hands #66-72: Cazayous Over Ten Million
Hand #66: Upeshka De Silva got a walk.
Hand #67: Thomas Cazayous got a walk.
Hand #68: De Silva raised to 245,000 on the button, and Nicholas Howard called in the big blind. Howard check-folded to a bet of 145,000 on the flop.
Hand #69: Cazayous raised to 250,000 on the button, and De Silva called. De Silva check-called a bet of 200,000 on the flop, and both players checked the turn. De Silva bet 335,000 on the river, and Cazayous called. De Silva showed , but Cazayous binked the river with his to win the pot.
Hand #70: Cazayous got a walk.
Hand #71: Cazayous raised to 360,000 from the small blind, and Howard folded his big blind.
Hand #72: Cazayous raised to 250,000 from the button, and De Silva called in the big blind. De Silva check-folded to a 450,000 bet on the flop.
| Thomas Cazayous | 10,200,000 | 2,200,000 |
| Upeshka De Silva | 3,500,000 | -1,000,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 1,400,000 | -725,000 |
Friday, June 14, 2019 11:58 PM Local Time
Level 29 started
Level: 29
Blinds: 60000/120000
Ante: 120000
Friday, June 14, 2019 11:48 PM Local Time
Wojtek Barzantny Eliminated in 4th Place ($118,421)
Hand #65: Thomas Cazayous opened for 205,000 on the button and Wojtek Barzantny made it 750,000 in the small blind. Cazayous called and they saw a flop. Barzantny jammed for about 2.6 million and Cazayous quickly called.
Cazayous was drawing big with against . The turn and river each improved him, rendering Barzantny to a fourth-place finish.
Players are on break for 15 minutes.
| Thomas Cazayous | 8,000,000 | 3,400,000 |
| Upeshka De Silva | 4,500,000 | 175,000 |
| Nicholas Howard | 2,125,000 | -1,475,000 |
| Wojtek Barzantny | 0 | -3,600,000 |
Friday, June 14, 2019 11:45 PM Local Time
Hands #63-64: Cazayous Takes Two
Hand #63: Thomas Cazayous got a walk.
Hand #64: Cazayous opened for 325,000 in the small blind and won.
Friday, June 14, 2019 11:43 PM Local Time
Hands #58-62: Barzantny Doubles Through De Silva
Hand #58: Wojtek Barzantny jammed for 1.29 million on the button and the blinds folded.
Hand #59: Nicholas Howard limped in from the button, Upeshka De Silva limped in from the small blind, and Thomas Cazayous checked his option in the big blind.
Action checked to Howard on the flop, and he bet 135,000. Only De Silva called. Both players checked the turn, and De Silva bet 245,000 on the river. Howard called, only to muck after De Silva tabled .
Hand #60: Cazayous jammed in the small blind and Barzantny folded his big blind.
Hand #61: De Silva raised to 220,000 from under the gun, and Barzantny jammed for 1.355 million in the small blind. De Silva folded.
Hand #62: Barzantny raised to 220,000 from the button, then quickly called off his last 1.775 million after De Silva jammed in the big blind.
Wojtek Barzantny:
Upeshka De Silva:
De Silva couldn't find a king on the runout, and Barzantny doubled up.
| Upeshka De Silva | 4,325,000 | -2,475,000 |
| Wojtek Barzantny | 3,600,000 | 2,100,000 |
Friday, June 14, 2019 11:30 PM Local Time
Hands #51-57: De Silva Train Gets Rolling
Hand #51: Thomas Cazayous got a walk.
Hand #52: Upeshka De Silva raised to 200,000 on the button and won the pot.
Hand #53: Wojtek Barzantny shoved in the small blind for 1,255,000 and Nicholas Howard folded.
Hand #54: Cazayous raised to 205,000 under the gun and won.
Hand #55: De Silva completed the blind and Cazayous checked. The board ran out and they checked down until Cazayous bet 200,000 on the river. De Silva called with and was good against .
Hand #56: De Silva raised to 220,000 on the button and took the pot.
Hand #57: De Silva opened again for 220,000. Cazayous made it 675,000. De Silva shoved all in for nearly 6 million, covering Cazayous. He folded after about 30 seconds.
| Upeshka De Silva | 6,800,000 | 2,320,000 |
| Thomas Cazayous | 4,600,000 | -250,000 |
Friday, June 14, 2019 11:19 PM Local Time
Hand #50: De Silva Nearing the Chip Lead
Hand #50: Thomas Cazayous raised to 205,000 from under the gun, and Upeshka De Silva called in the big blind.
De Silva check-called a bet of 150,000 on the flop, and the turn was checked through.
De Silva fired 525,000 on the river, and Cazayous called, only to muck after De Silva showed .
| Thomas Cazayous | 4,850,000 | -1,050,000 |
| Upeshka De Silva | 4,480,000 | 1,680,000 |
Friday, June 14, 2019 11:16 PM Local Time
Angel Guillen Eliminated in 5th Place ($82,726)
Hand #49: Angel Guillen jammed for 900,000 from the small blind, and Nicholas Howard called in the big blind.
Angel Guillen:
Nicholas Howard:
Guillen bricked the flop, but found an open-ended straight draw on the turn. His rail called for some help, but the bricked off, and Guillen headed off to the rail to celebrate his deep run with a crowd of friends.
"This place is going to get real quiet now, sorry, y'all!" Lynn Gilmartin told the rest of the crowd.
| Nicholas Howard | 3,600,000 | 850,000 |
| Angel Guillen | 0 | -900,000 |
Friday, June 14, 2019 11:09 PM Local Time
Hands #42-48: Not a Single Flop Was Seen
Hand #42: Upeshka De Silva raised to 220,000 on the button and won the pot.
Hand #43: Nicholas Howard raised to 225,000 under the gun. De Silva made it about 700,000 to go and everyone folded.
Hand #44: Angel Guillen jammed for 650,000 in the small blind and won the pot.
Hand #45: De Silva got a walk.
Hand #46: Guillen shoved again and won.
Hand #47: Howard opened for 225,000 in the cutoff. Thomas Cazayous shoved in the small blind. Howard tank-folded.
Hand #48: Wojtek Barzantny shoved in the small blind and Guillen conceded.
| Nicholas Howard | 2,750,000 | 250,000 |
| Wojtek Barzantny | 1,500,000 | -870,000 |
| Angel Guillen | 900,000 | -300,000 |