Thursday, October 14, 2021 10:34 PM Local Time
Dalibor Dula Wins First Bracelet In Event #26: $1,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em
Dalibor Dula bested Cole Ferraro heads up to take down Event #22: $1,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em for $199,227 and his first WSOP bracelet as well as the biggest score of his career. "It hasn't set in for me yet. I think in a week or so I will feel happy, right now I just feel shocked."
Dula, who hails from the Czech Republic, had been playing poker for five years but came to his first WSOP this year and started with a cash in Event #4: $500 The Reunion for $1,540. With his win here today, he vaults himself into the top 100 all-time Czech Republic earners.
The final table was a star-studded affair, with WSOP Circuit ring leader Maurice Hawkins and high stakes regular Maxx Coleman, but in the end it was the two relatively new faces battling heads up for the bracelet.
Dula was all-in and at risk many times throughout the final table and during heads up.
"I was just so focused, " He said. "I did not really think about the flips. Once you are all in, it is out of your hands, you can't do anything to win that all in or lose it."
The Czech Republic pro said that he would be playing the rest of the series as well as the World Series of Poker Europe, hoping to make deep runs in some more events.
The tournament brought out 1,358 entrants to generate a prizepool of $1,208,620 and paid out 204 places. Action lasted two days with 38 total levels being played until a champion was crowned.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Dalibor Dula | Czech Republic | $199,227 |
| 2 | Cole Ferraro | United States | $123,142 |
| 3 | Edward Welch | United States | $89,875 |
| 4 | Guowei Zhang | United States | $66,335 |
| 5 | Maxx Coleman | United States | $49,519 |
| 6 | Anthony Askey | United States | $37,393 |
| 7 | Nicolo Audannio | United States | $28,565 |
| 8 | Levi Klump | United States | $22,080 |
| 9 | Maurice Hawkins | United States | $17,270 |
Final Table Recap
The first casualty at the final table came when John Roh tried to bluff all-in against Guowei Zhang's flopped set of sevens. Zhang called him and John Roh was eliminated in 10th place ($13,672).
Next to go were 14-time WSOP circuit ring winner Maurice Hawkins in 9th place ($17,270) and start of day chip leader Levi Klump in 8th place ($22,080) when Hawkins' jacks and Klump's ace-queen could not win against Maxx Coleman's king-jack.
Nicolo Audannio was next to go when his all-in got called by the final table chip leader Cole Ferraro. The ace-eight could not find improvement against the pocket jacks and Audannio was eliminated in 7th place ($28,565).
14-time WSOP ring winner Maurice Hawkins remains empty-handed when it comes to bracelets.
Play slowed down significantly six-handed, with Cole Ferraro pulling away with the lead and the other stacks jockeying for middle position, but ultimately it was Anthony Askey who's pocket queens were cracked by Edward Welch's king-jack to leave him very short. He busted shortly after when his last chips got in with king ten-suited only to have the river end him when Ferraro rivered a pair of queens. Askey was eliminated in 6th place ($37,393).
High-stakes regular Maxx Coleman got into a race with the chip leader Ferraro and his king-ten suited could not hold up against Ferraro's queen jack suited when it turned a flush. Coleman exited in 5th place ($49,519) and Ferraro had put considerable distance between himself and the rest of the field.
Guowei Zhang and Dalibor Dula got into many all-ins with each other at this point. Both of them trading stacks and having the other at risk for their tournaments at least once, but Dula's ace-queen managed to beat Zhang's pocket threes and sent him out the door in 4th place ($66,335).
Edward Welch started the day with the second shortest stack out of 38 remaining players and managed to double up many times, get to the final table, and end the tournament with a podium finish in 3rd place ($89,875). His ace-two suited could not improve enough against Ferraro's ace-ten and he found himself leaving with Dula and Ferraro to play heads up.
Cole Ferraro
Heads-Up Play
The match between Dalibor Dula and Cole Ferraro lasted roughly four levels. Ferraro began with the chip lead, but the gap narrowed significantly to when Dula won a few key pots to keep himself neck and neck with Ferraro. A key moment had happened when Dula was ahead by a few pots and had put Ferraro all in for his tournament life when Dula had pocket tens in his hand and Ferraro had flopped three eights on an eight-high board. Dula was unable to improve and Ferarro pulled into the chip lead by a significant margin.
It seemed all but over for Dula, who had a roughly 9/1 chip deficit, as he called an all-in for his tournament life with ace-five suited against the pocket kings of Cole Ferraro. An ace on the river kept his tournament hopes alive and from that moment forward the momentum was on Dula's side.
Play lasted 40-minutes more after the fortuitous ace on the river, as Dula continued to apply pressure and took the chip lead. It all came to an end when Dalibor Dula went all in from the button with king-three suited and Ferraro called it off with jack-eight suited and found no improvement on the board, giving Dula the victory and eliminating Ferraro in 2nd place ($123,142).
Congratulations to Dalibor Dula on his victory in Event #26: $1,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em!
Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for more updates on all bracelet events for the duration of the World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
Thursday, October 14, 2021 8:39 PM Local Time
Cole Ferraro Eliminated in 2nd Place ($123,142)
With each player down to under 20 big blinds, the decisive hand was finally played.
Dalibor Dula raised all-in from the button, and Cole Ferraro called for his last 9 million chips.
Cole Ferraro:
Dalibor Dula:
The board of brought no help to Ferraro who was eliminated in 2nd place, awarding the title to Dula.
| Dalibor Dula | 27,100,000 | 10,800,000  |
| Cole Ferraro | 0 | -9,800,000  |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 8:30 PM Local Time
Level 38 started
Level: 38
Blinds: 500,000/1,000,000
Ante: 1,000,000
Thursday, October 14, 2021 8:29 PM Local Time
Dula Pulls Ahead Again
Cole Ferraro limped the button and Dalibor Dula checked preflop.
The players checked the flop.
On the turn, Dula checked, and Ferraro bet 800,000 which Dula called.
On the river , Dula checked and Ferraro bet 1.5 million. Dula called.
Ferraro shook his head and Dula showed for the winner to extend his chip lead.
| Dalibor Dula | 16,300,000 | 3,300,000 |
| Cole Ferraro | 9,800,000 | -4,200,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 8:16 PM Local Time
Ferraro Applies Pressure
As has been the standard for their heads-up match, Dalibor Dula and Cole Ferraro played a limped pot preflop, but on this occasion, Ferraro stepped on the gas once the dealer spread the board.
On the flop, Ferraro bet out for 1.6 million into the 2.4 million chip pot, and Dula called.
On the turn, Ferraro bet another 2.5 million, but this time Dula mucked his cards, as Ferraro regained a small lead.
| Cole Ferraro | 14,000,000 | 3,440,000 |
| Dalibor Dula | 13,000,000 | -3,600,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 8:10 PM Local Time
Dula Pulls Ahead
With no raises before the flop, both players saw a flop of which Dalibor Dula bet 1,000,000 from the button and Cole Ferraro called from the big blind.
The turn of the drew a check out of Ferraro and a fold when Dula led out 3,500,000
| Dalibor Dula | 16,600,000 | 7,640,000 |
| Cole Ferraro | 10,560,000 | -7,640,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 8:00 PM Local Time
Level 37 started
Level: 37
Blinds: 400,000/800,000
Ante: 800,000
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:58 PM Local Time
Dula Hits The Ace
Cole Ferraro went all in and Dalibor Dula snap called, tabling the cards.
Dalibor Dula:
Cole Ferraro:
The board ran out , safe for the two kings until the very end, when Dula hit the ace to double up.
| Cole Ferraro | 18,200,000 | -460,000 |
| Dalibor Dula | 8,960,000 | 460,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:49 PM Local Time
Ferraro Doubles Through Dula
Cole Ferraro had called on the button and Dolibar Dula raised to 1,600,000, which was matched by Ferraro.
The flop came down and Ferraro check-called a bet of 1,800,000.
The turn of was checked by Ferraro once more, and Dula went all-in which Ferraro snap-called.
Cole Ferraro:
Dolibar Dula:
Dula had the better pre-flop hand, but Ferraro pulled ahead by flopping three eights. The river did not improve Dula and Ferraro pulled ahead in the match.
| Cole Ferraro | 18,660,000 | 11,160,000 |
| Dalibor Dula | 8,500,000 | -11,000,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:40 PM Local Time
Dula Goes For the Overbet
Dalibor Dula has been steadily chipping away at Cole Ferraro, and in a recent limped pot, Dula and Ferraro checked both the flop and turn on a board that read .
On the river however, Dula led out for two million into the 1.2 million chip pot.
Ferraro went deep into the tank to consider the bet, which represented a little over a quarter of his remaining stack.
Ultimately he folded, preserving his remaining 7.5 million chips.
| Dalibor Dula | 19,500,000 | 3,670,000 |
| Cole Ferraro | 7,500,000 | -4,790,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:33 PM Local Time
Updated Chip Counts to Begin Level 36
| Dalibor Dula | 15,830,000 | -1,370,000 |
| Cole Ferraro | 12,290,000 | 2,390,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:30 PM Local Time
Level 36 started
Level: 36
Blinds: 300,000/600,000
Ante: 600,000
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:27 PM Local Time
Dula Maintains His Momentum
Cole Ferraro completed, and Dalibor Dula checked to see a flop of . Dula checked, and called Ferraro's bet of 1,000,000. The turn saw another check from Dula, and Ferraro took his time before betting 1,600,000. Ferraro raised to 3,200,000, and Ferraro took a few more minutes before folding his hand.
| Dalibor Dula | 17,200,000 | 3,200,000 |
| Cole Ferraro | 9,900,000 | -3,260,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:22 PM Local Time
Dula Hero Calls To Take Lead
Cole Ferraro called in the small blind and Dalibor Dula checked his option in the big blind.
The flop came down and Dula check called a bet of 1,000,000 from Ferraro.
The turn of was checked through and the river was bet at once more by Ferraro.
Dula thought about the hand for a short time before ultimately pulling out a stack to call. "Queen high," declared Ferraro and turned over . Dula turned over for King high, good enough to take the pot.
| Dalibor Dula | 14,000,000 | 1,500,000 |
| Cole Ferraro | 13,160,000 | -1,440,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:15 PM Local Time
Ferraro Gets a Bit Of Value
Dalibor Dula limped his button and Cole Ferraro checked his option to see a flop of .
The players checked both the flop, and the turn , before Ferraro led out for the minimum 500,000 on the river.
Dula called, and Ferraro showed for jacks and tens to take the pot.
| Cole Ferraro | 14,600,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Dalibor Dula | 12,500,000 | -1,000,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:08 PM Local Time
Dula Hits the River
Cole Ferraro completed from the button, and Dalibor Dula checked to see a flop of . Dula checked, and took some time before calling Ferraro's bet of 900,000. The action was repeated on the turn, with Ferraro betting 2,000,000 and Dula calling again. Both players checked the river.
Cole Ferraro
Dalibor Dula
Dula made two pair on the river, pulling into a virtual tie for the chip lead.
| Cole Ferraro | 13,600,000 | -2,900,000 |
| Dalibor Dula | 13,500,000 | 2,900,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 7:01 PM Local Time
Play Back Underway
Cole Ferraro and Dalibor Dula have resumed play with blinds of 250,000 and 500,000 with a 500,000 big blind ante.
Thursday, October 14, 2021 6:48 PM Local Time
Players Taking a Short Break
The players are taking a short break before level 35, with Cole Ferraro in the lead.
| Cole Ferraro | 16,500,000 | 2,600,000 |
| Dalibor Dula | 10,600,000 | -2,600,000 |
Thursday, October 14, 2021 6:47 PM Local Time
Level 35 started
Level: 35
Blinds: 250,000/500,000
Ante: 500,000
Thursday, October 14, 2021 6:45 PM Local Time
Ferraro Regains the Lead
Dalibor Dula limped the button and was raised to 1.2 million by Cole Ferraro. Dula made the call.
They saw a flop of , and Ferraro continued with a bet of 800,000. Dula called.
The players both checked the turn, then on the river Ferraro led out again, this time for 2 million.
Dula deliberated, but eventually folded to concede a slight lead back to Ferraro.
| Cole Ferraro | 13,900,000 | 1,640,000 |
| Dalibor Dula | 13,200,000 | -1,700,000 |