Monday, January 4, 2021 2:32 AM Local Time
Hands #23-28: Hebert Gets Some Back
Hand #23: Joseph Hebert raised the button to 6,000 and Damian Salas called to see a flop. Salas checked, Hebert bet 4,500, and Salas folded.
Hand #24: Salas limped the button, Hebert checked, and the flop fell . Hebert checked, Salas did the same, and the appeared on the turn. Action repeated itself and the completed the board on the river. Again it went check-check and Hebert showed the . It was good as Salas mucked.
Hand #25: Hebert raised the button to 5,000 and Salas folded.
Hand #26: Salas raised the button to 6,000, Hebert three-bet to 18,000, and Salas released.
Hand #27: Hebert limped, Salas raised to 6,000, and Hebert called to see a flop of . Salas checked, Hebert bet 5,500, and the Argentinean folded.
Hand #28: Salas raised the button to 6,000, Hebert called, and the flop fell . Hebert checked, Salas continued for 6,000, and Hebert called to see the turn. Both players checked and the completed the board on the river. Again both players checked and Hebert showed for a flush. It was good as Salas mucked.
| Damian Salas | 529,000 | -33,000  |
| Joseph Hebert | 471,000 | 33,000  |
Monday, January 4, 2021 2:21 AM Local Time
Hands #18-22: First Walk of the Match
Hand #18: Damian Salas raised to 4,000, Joseph Hebert called, and the flop fell . Both players checked and the dealer burned and turned the , which paired the board. Hebert bet 3,500, Salas called, and the completed the board on the river. Both players checked and Hebert showed the . Salas then tabled the for the same hand. Chop it up.
Hand #19: Hebert limped, Salas raised to 6,000, and Hebert folded.
Hand #20: Salas limped the button, Hebert checked, and the flop fell . Hebert checked, Salas bet 3,000, and Hebert folded.
Hand #21: Hebert folded and Salas won the pot.
Hand #22: Salas raised to 6,000, Hebert called, and the flop fell . Hebert checked, Salas bet 7,000, and Hebert folded.
| Damian Salas | 562,000 | 10,000 |
| Joseph Hebert | 438,000 | -10,000 |
Monday, January 4, 2021 2:12 AM Local Time
Hands #13-17: Not Much Movement
Hand #13: Joseph Hebert limped the button, Damian Salas checked his option, and the flop fell . Both players checked and the peeled off on the turn. Again both players checked and the completed the board on the river. Salas checked, Hebert bet 1,500, and Salas folded.
Hand #14: Salas limped the button, Hebert raised to 5,000, and Salas folded.
Hand #15: Hebert limped, Salas checked, and the flop came down . Salas checked, Hebert did too, and the appeared on the turn. Salas bet 1,500, Hebert called, and the completed the board on the river. Salas bet again, this time 5,500, and Hebert called. Salas tabled what looked to be a (unfortunately the cards were not shown on the monitor) for a straight and Hebert mucked.
Hand #16: Salas raised to 4,000, Hebert called, and the flop fell . Both players checked, the appeared on the turn, and Hebert bet 6,500. Salas folded.
Hand #17: Hebert raised to 4,000, Salas called, and the flop came down . Salas checked, Hebert bet 2,500, and Salas folded.
| Damian Salas | 552,000 | -2,000 |
| Joseph Hebert | 448,000 | 2,000 |
Monday, January 4, 2021 2:03 AM Local Time
Hands #9-12: Three for Salas, One for Hebert
Hand #9: Joseph Hebert raised to 4,000 and Damian Salas three-bet to 12,000. Hebert called, the flop fell , and Salas continued for 6,500. Hebert folded.
Hand #10: Salas raised to 4,000 and Hebert folded.
Hand #11: Hebert limped the button, Salas checked his option, and the flop came down . Salas checked, Hebert bet 1,500, and Salas folded.
Hand #12: Salas raised to 4,000 from the button and Hebert called to bring about a flop of . Hebert checked, Salas bet 3,500, and Hebert folded.
| Damian Salas | 554,000 | 16,000 |
| Joseph Hebert | 446,000 | -16,000 |
Monday, January 4, 2021 1:57 AM Local Time
Hands #6-8: Salas with a Big Bet
Hand #6: Damian Salas raised to 3,000, Joseph Hebert three-bet to 8,000, and Salas called. On the flop, Hebert bet 5,500, Salas called, and the paired the board on the turn. Hebert checked, Salas bet 21,000, and Hebert called to see the river.
Hebert checked before Salas paused for a few beats and bet 78,000. Hebert leaned back, took a swig of his beer, and pondered the decision before giving it up.
Hand #7: Hebert called, Salas raised to 3,000, and Hebert folded.
Hand #8: In the last hand of the level, Salas raised to 3,000 and Hebert called. On the flop, Hebert checked, Salas bet 2,500, and Hebert called to see the turn. Action went check-check and the completed the board on the river. Hebert opted to bet 17,500 and Salas folded.
| Damian Salas | 538,000 | 30,000 |
| Joseph Hebert | 462,000 | -30,000 |
Monday, January 4, 2021 1:50 AM Local Time
Hands #1-#5: First Blood to Salas
Hand #1: Joseph Hebert limped the button and Damian Salas exercised his option with a raise to 3,000. Hebert called and the flop came down . Salas continued for 3,500, Hebert called, and the appeared on the turn.
Salas kept the pressure on with a bet of 9,000 and Hebert released. First blood to Salas.
Hand #2: Salas raised to 3,000, Hebert called, and the flop fell . Hebert checked, Salas bet 2,500, and Hebert called to see the turn. Hebert checked for the second time and Salas checked back to bring about the on the river. Again action went check-check and the hands were tabled. Unfortunately, they were not shown on the monitor, but we do know Hebert won the pot.
Hand #3: Hebert limped the button and called when Salas raised to 3,500. On the flop, Salas bet 3,500, Hebert called, and the appeared on the turn. Salas checked, Hebert did the same, and the completed the board on the river.
Salas opted to bet 11,500 and Hebert thought for a bit before folding his hand.
Hand #4: Salas raised to 3,000, Hebert called, and the flop came out . Both players checked, the paired the board on the turn, and Hebert checked for the second time. Salas bet 4,000 and Hebert folded.
Hand #5: Hebert raised to 3,000, Salas called, and the flop came down . Action went check-check and the dealer burned and turned the , which paired the board. Again it went check-check and the completed the board on the river. Both players checked and while the cards were not shown on screen, we do know that Hebert won the pot.
| Damian Salas | 508,000 | 8,000 |
| Joseph Hebert | 492,000 | -8,000 |
Monday, January 4, 2021 1:34 AM Local Time
Shuffle Up and Deal!
Cards are in the air here in the heads-up finale of the 2020 WSOP Main Event!
Monday, January 4, 2021 1:04 AM Local Time
Delayed Start
Play was slated to get underway at 5 p.m. PST, but as is often he case with television productions things have been delayed a bit. The good news is the players are in the house doing some pregame interviews. It shouldn't be too much longer until cards are in the air.
Sunday, January 3, 2021 6:32 PM Local Time
Joseph Hebert vs. Damian Salas - Who Will Be the 2020 WSOP Main Event Champion?
It's been a year unlike any other and a World Series of Poker Main Event unlike any other. After poker's most popular series was forced online due to the coronavirus — resulting in a summer full of online bracelet events — the Main Event will crown it's champion live inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Tonight, two men will return to battle for poker's most coveted prize: Joseph Hebert and Damian Salas.
Hebert, winner of the domestic portion of the event, and Salas, winner of the international one, will duke it out for $1 million (on top of their previous winnings), the gold bracelet and the chance to go down in poker history as the official 51st winner of the WSOP Main Event, following in the footsteps of Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Phil Hellmuth and 2019 champ Hossein Ensan.
Originally scheduled to play out on Dec. 30th, the event was postponed to tonight as Salas' entry to the U.S. was delayed due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
Here's how the 2020 WSOP Main Event came about
Joseph Hebert: Doing It #ForLinda
While this hasn't been a traditional event, to say the least, those left standing are certainly worthy of being crowned the new champ. Hebert crushed the domestic portion of the event, starting the final table off with a massive chip lead and never surrendering it along the way to win $1,553,256.
The 38-year old from Louisiana, who won his entry into the $10,000 freezeout through a $300 satellite on WSOP.com, is doing it #ForLinda, his mother who passed away over the summer following a pulmonary embolism. Teary-eyed, Hebert addressed the media after his earlier victory on Dec. 28.
"I really felt like I was dreaming," he said. "And I thought about my mom, and I know that she was here and this was for her. She would be so excited to see it, so I'm just so happy I got it for her."
Joseph Hebert
Damian Salas: A Shot at Redemption
Following his victory, Hebert knew who his opponent would be as Salas already claimed his spot on Dec. 15 after winning the international portion of this event live in King's Resort in Rozvadov. That tournament originally started with 674 entrants on GGPoker.com — slightly shy of the 705 that entered on WSOP.com side — and Salas ultimately defeated the red-hot Brunno Botteon to win $1,550,969.
Salas hails from Chascomús, Argentina, about 80 miles south of Buenos Aires. During his soccer playing days, he received the nickname "Pampa" which stuck. He's a part-time poker player, which he combines with his regular work as a lawyer. Despite not being a full-time professional, Salas sports quite an impressive poker resumé with nearly $2.7 million in lifetime winnings according to The Hendon Mob.
Where Hebert is doing it #ForLinda, Salas has thrived on the support of his family and friends back home and carried a picture of his three children and wife with him during the live portion in King's. His daughter Sol even created a handmade bracelet, which he wore for the winner's photos.
"I was already a winner because I received all this energy," he said after his victory.
Salas' poker winnings are highlighted by two big cashes: the one from three weeks ago, of course, and another the one from the 2017 WSOP Main Event where he finished seventh for $1,425,000. Tonight, Salas gets a shot at redemption and a rare second chance at the Main Event bracelet. Can he follow in the footsteps of John Cynn, who won the event in 2018 after finishing 11th two years earlier?
Damian Salas
Details of the Final Heads-Up
The action will kick off at 5 p.m. local time inside the Amazon Room of the Rio in Las Vegas. The heads-up finale will offer up a $1,000,000 prize added by WSOP and GGPoker, which will be on top of the ~$1.5M each that both players have already won. Play will start off with 500,000 in chips (500 big blinds) and levels will be 20 minutes throughout the night.
There will not be a live stream of the action; ESPN will film all final tables, which are scheduled to be broadcasted at a later date. PokerNews, as always, will be on deck to bring you blow-by-blow coverage as we will crown the winner of poker's most decorated tournament tonight.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | BBs per player |
|---|
| 1 | 500 | 1,000 | 500 |
| 2 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 333 |
| 3 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 250 |
| 4 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 167 |
| 5 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 125 |
| 6 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 100 |
| 7 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 83 |
| 8 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 63 |
| 9 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 50 |
| 10 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 42 |
| 11 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 31 |
| 12 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 25 |
| 13 | 15,000 | 30,000 | 17 |
| 14 | 20,000 | 40,000 | 13 |
2020 WSOP Main Event WSOP.com Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize (USD) |
|---|
| 1 | Joseph Hebert | $1,553,256 |
| 2 | Ron Jenkins | $1,002,340 |
| 3 | Michael Cannon | $529,258 |
| 4 | Ryan Hagerty | $387,130 |
| 5 | Ye "Tony" Yuan | $286,963 |
| 6 | Harrison Dobin | $215,222 |
| 7 | Shawn Stroke | $163,786 |
| 8 | Gershon Distenfeld | $125,885 |
| 9 | Upeshka De Silva | $98,813 |
2020 WSOP Main Event GGPoker Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|
| 1 | Damian Salas | Argentina | $1,550,969 |
| 2 | Brunno Botteon | Brazil | $1,062,723 |
| 3 | Manuel Ruivo | Portugal | $728,177 |
| 4 | Ramon Miquel Munoz | Spain | $498,947 |
| 5 | Marco Streda | Switzerland | $341,879 |
| 6 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | $234,255 |
| 7 | Stoyan Obreshkov | Bulgaria | $160,512 |
| 8 | Hannes Speiser | Austria | $109,982 |
| 9 | Peiyuan Sun | China | $75,360 |
Sunday, January 3, 2021 6:27 PM Local Time
World Series of Poker Main Event Champions
| Year | Entries | Champion | Country | | Winning Hand | Prize |
|---|
| 1970 | 7 | Johnny Moss | United States | | - | - |
| 1971 | 6 | Johnny Moss | United States | | - | $30,000 |
| 1972 | 8 | Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston | United States | | | $80,000 |
| 1973 | 13 | Walter "Puggy" Pearson | United States | | | $130,000 |
| 1974 | 16 | Johnny Moss | United States | | | $160,000 |
| 1975 | 21 | Brian "Sailor" Roberts | United States | | | $210,000 |
| 1976 | 22 | Doyle Brunson | United States | | | $220,000 |
| 1977 | 34 | Doyle Brunson | United States | | | $340,000 |
| 1978 | 42 | Bobby Baldwin | United States | | | $210,000 |
| 1979 | 54 | Hal Fowler | United States | | | $270,000 |
| 1980 | 73 | Stu Ungar | United States | | | $385,000 |
| 1981 | 75 | Stu Ungar | United States | | | $375,000 |
| 1982 | 104 | Jack Straus | United States | | | $520,000 |
| 1983 | 108 | Tom McEvoy | United States | | | $540,000 |
| 1984 | 132 | Jack Keller | United States | | | $660,000 |
| 1985 | 140 | Bill Smith | United States | | | $700,000 |
| 1986 | 141 | Berry Johnston | United States | | | $570,000 |
| 1987 | 152 | Johnny Chan | United States | (born in China) | | $625,000 |
| 1988 | 167 | Johnny Chan | United States | (born in China) | | $700,000 |
| 1989 | 178 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | | | $755,000 |
| 1990 | 194 | Mansour Matloubi | Iran | | | $895,000 |
| 1991 | 215 | Brad Daugherty | United States | | | $1,000,000 |
| 1992 | 201 | Hamid Dastmalchi | Iran | | | $1,000,000 |
| 1993 | 220 | Jim Bechtel | United States | | | $1,000,000 |
| 1994 | 268 | Russ Hamilton | United States | | | $1,000,000 |
| 1995 | 273 | Dan Harrington | United States | | | $1,000,000 |
| 1996 | 295 | Huck Seed | United States | | | $1,000,000 |
| 1997 | 312 | Stu Ungar | United States | | | $1,000,000 |
| 1998 | 350 | Scotty Nguyen | United States | (born in Vietnam) | | $1,000,000 |
| 1999 | 393 | Noel Furlong | Ireland | | | $1,000,000 |
| 2000 | 512 | Chris Ferguson | United States | | | $1,500,000 |
| 2001 | 613 | Carlos Mortensen | Spain | (born in Ecuador) | | $1,500,000 |
| 2002 | 631 | Robert Varkonyi | United States | | | $2,000,000 |
| 2003 | 839 | Chris Moneymaker | United States | | | $2,500,000 |
| 2004 | 2,576 | Greg Raymer | United States | | | $5,000,000 |
| 2005 | 5,619 | Joe Hachem | Australia | | | $7,500,000 |
| 2006 | 8,773 | Jamie Gold | United States | | | $12,000,000 |
| 2007 | 6,358 | Jerry Yang | United States | (born in Laos) | | $8,250,000 |
| 2008 | 6,844 | Peter Eastgate | Denmark | | | $9,152,416 |
| 2009 | 6,494 | Joe Cada | United States | | | $8,547,042 |
| 2010 | 7,319 | Jonathan Duhamel | Canada | | | $8,944,310 |
| 2011 | 6,865 | Pius Heinz | Germany | | | $8,715,638 |
| 2012 | 6,598 | Greg Merson | United States | | | $8,531,853 |
| 2013 | 6,352 | Ryan Riess | United States | | | $8,361,570 |
| 2014 | 6,683 | Martin Jacobson | Sweden | | | $10,000,000 |
| 2015 | 6,420 | Joe McKeehen | United States | | | $7,683,346 |
| 2016 | 6,737 | Qui Nguyen | United States | (born in Vietnam) | | $8,005,310 |
| 2017 | 7,221 | Scott Blumstein | United States | | | $8,150,000 |
| 2018 | 7,874 | John Cynn | United States | | | $8,800,000 |
| 2019 | 8,569 | Hossein Ensan | Germany | | | $10,000,000 |
Hossein Ensan