Wednesday, October 20, 2021 1:39 AM Local Time
Anthony Koutsos Wins First Bracelet In Event #35: $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em ($167,272)
After a back and forth battle heads up, it was real-estate agent Anthony Koutsos besting Charbel Kanterjian heads up in the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #35: $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em for his first World Series of Poker Bracelet and $167,272.
The heads-up match lasted three hours long and involved quite a lot of back and forth between the two players. "I feel strangely level," said Koutsos. "Heads up felt pretty fun, all the back and forth it felt like a home game."
With Koutsos biggest live score prior being just over $5,000, the San Francisco native said "the money doesn't mean much, it was more about the competition and the drive to win."
Though he had played poker for about nine years, this was his first venture down to the World Series of Poker, and only his third time playing a bracelet event. When asked if he was going to play the rest of the series, he said he had plans to leave later this week and was not going to stick around for any other events.
A total of 2,930 entrants had entered into the tournament with 440 players paid out from the prize pool of $1,231,000 and a total of two full days of tournament play.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Anthony Koutsos | United States | $167,272 |
| 2 | Charbel Kanterjian | Canada | $103,402 |
| 3 | Dongsheng Zhang | United States | $77,600 |
| 4 | Jonah Lopas | United States | $58,685 |
| 5 | Sundiata DeVore | United States | $44,725 |
| 6 | Jacob Rich | United States | $34,353 |
| 7 | Ronald Ibbetson | United States | $26,595 |
| 8 | John Moss | United States | $20,753 |
| 9 | Fausto Valdez | United States | $16,324 |
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Final Day Recap
Eliminations at the beginning of day 2 were fast and furious with half of the 132 surviving players, busting before the first break and the final table was reached before the dinner break. Big names saw themselves going out quickly such as Kyna England (73rd-$2,011) and Shaun Deeb (42nd-$3,825). The start of day chip leader Denys Chufarin (11th-$12,944) bubbled the unofficial final table when his ace-queen couldn't improve against the kings of Ronald Ibbetson.
Final Table Recap
The final 10 saw their first elimination rather quickly with the big slick held by Gilad Grinberg colliding with the pocket tens held by Jacob Rich failing to improve, seeing his run end in 10th place for $12,944.
Afterward, it was Fausto Valdez who lost a flip with jack-ten suited versus the pocket sevens of Charbel Kanterjian. Valdez flopped a straight draw, but could not find any improvement against the flopped set of sevens. Valdez was eliminated in ninth place for $16,324.
John Moss was next to go in eighth place for $20,753 when Jonas Lopas rivered broadway against Moss' two pair.
Ibbetson doubled up Sundiata DeVore to lose most of his chips and then lost the remainder when his ten nine off-suit could not catch up to the ace-jack of Dongsheng Zhang, seeing his run come to an end in seventh place for $26,595.
Rich had also lost a big hand to Dongsheng Zhang and got the remainder of his chips in ahead with an ace-three off-suit against Kanterjian's king-nine suited, but a king on the flop spelled the end of Rich's run in sixth place for $34,353.
DeVore came into the final table with the second shortest stack and found himself laddering up a couple of places before running his pocket eights into the pocket tens of Zhang and finding no improvement, ending his run in fifth place for $44,725.
Lopas lost a big pot against Zhang with five players left and was unable to win his last all-in with king-three offsuit versus Koutsos' ace-jack. Jonah shook hands with the table and ended his run in fourth place for $58,685.
Despite knocking out three players, the next player eliminated ended up being Zhang who after losing a big pot to Anthony Koutsos with quads, could not find improvement when his queen-nine ran into Koutsos' ace-queen. Zhang ended his run in third place for $77,600.
Anthony Koutsos and Charbel Kanterjian
Heads-Up Action
Heads up play started with Koutsos in the lead, but the ball quickly shifted to Kanterjian taking the lead. The chip lead switched many times throughout the three-hour-long affair, with both sides seemingly one river card away from their bracelet.
The most notable of which was when Kanterjian had Koutsos all-in and at risk with pocket jacks versus Koutsos' ace-six. The flop and turn only gave Koutsos a pair of sixes, and it wasn't until the river six that Koutsos pulled ahead. A few more instances of this went on, shifting back and forth between the two players.
In the end, it all got in when Kanterjian put his remaining 8,300,000 in chips in with eight-six against Koutsos' pocket queens. Kanterjian was unable to find any improvement and shook his opponent's hand as his run ended in second place for $103,403.
Congratulations to Anthony Koutsos for his victory in Event #35 $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em!
Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for updates on all of the events at the 52nd World Series of Poker at The Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
This concludes our coverage of Event #35. Check out our 2021 WSOP hub here for all info on previous winners and upcoming events.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 12:16 AM Local Time
The Tournament Has Ended
The tournament has come to an end. Full recap to follow.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 12:10 AM Local Time
Charbel Kanterjian Eliminated in 2nd Place ($103,403)
Charbel Kanterjian shoved all-in preflop and Anthony Koutsos called covering him.
Charbel Kanterjian:
Anthony Koutsos:
The board ran out and Koutsos eliminated Kanterjian with two pair queens and threes.
| Anthony Koutsos | 73,250,000 | 22,250,000  |
| Charbel Kanterjian | 0 | -22,250,000  |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 11:47 PM Local Time
Koutsos Finds Another Double
Charbel Kanterjian had pulled ahead thanks to a variety of small raised pots. He held a roughly 2:1 chip lead.
Anthony Koutsos went all in preflop and Charbel Kanterjian called.
Anthony Koutsos:
Charbel Kanterjian:
The board ran out and Koutsos found another double.
| Anthony Koutsos | 51,000,000 | 0 |
| Charbel Kanterjian | 22,250,000 | 0 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 11:31 PM Local Time
Kanterjian Straightens Out To Double
Anthony Koutsos went all-in preflop and Charbel Kanterjian called.
Charbel Kanterjian:
Anthony Koutsos:
The flop of it seemed all but over for Kanterjian, but the turn brought straight draw and flush draw outs. The river of made him a straight and Kanterjian's rail erupted in cheers as he stayed alive in the tournament.
| Anthony Koutsos | 51,000,000 | -17,250,000 |
| Charbel Kanterjian | 22,250,000 | 17,250,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 11:25 PM Local Time
Koutos Rivers Trips
The action was picked up with both players' hole cards face up on a board reading
Charbel Kanterjian:
Anthony Koutsos:
Koutos won with three of kind sixes.
| Anthony Koutsos | 68,250,000 | 31,250,000 |
| Charbel Kanterjian | 5,000,000 | -31,250,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 11:17 PM Local Time
Level 41 started
Level: 41
Blinds: 1,000,000/2,000,000
Ante: 2,000,000
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 11:11 PM Local Time
Koutsos Finds A Ten To Double
Anthony Koutsos went all-in for 18,500,000 preflop and Charbel Kanterjian called.
Anthony Koutsos:
Charbel Kanterjian:
The flop and turn came out meaning a likely chop for both players, but the river gave Koutsos two pair to double through.
| Anthony Koutsos | 37,000,000 | 12,000,000 |
| Charbel Kanterjian | 36,250,000 | -12,000,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 11:03 PM Local Time
Updated Chip Counts
| Charbel Kanterjian | 48,250,000 | 9,250,000 |
| Anthony Koutsos | 25,000,000 | -9,250,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 10:51 PM Local Time
Chip Counts Even Up
No pots have gone to showdown, but Charbel Kanterjian has raised a few pots and bet rivers in some pots that Anthony Koutsos has folded too.
| Charbel Kanterjian | 39,000,000 | 16,250,000 |
| Anthony Koutsos | 34,250,000 | -16,250,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 10:47 PM Local Time
Level 40 started
Level: 40
Blinds: 800,000/1,600,000
Ante: 16,000,000
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 10:36 PM Local Time
Koutsos Doubles
Anthony Koutsos raised to 5,500,000 preflop and Charbel Kanterjian raised all-in. Koutsos called and the cards were tabled.
Anthony Koutsos:
Charbel Kanterjian:
The board ran out which did not improve Kanterjian giving Koutsos the chip lead.
| Anthony Koutsos | 50,500,000 | 22,250,000 |
| Charbel Kanterjian | 22,750,000 | -22,250,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 10:25 PM Local Time
A Few Raised Pots
Charbel Kanterjian raised and took down three pots and Anthony Koutsos won one pot. No pots have gone to showdown.
| Charbel Kanterjian | 45,000,000 | 4,000,000 |
| Anthony Koutsos | 28,250,000 | -4,000,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 10:16 PM Local Time
Level 39 started
Level: 39
Blinds: 600,000/12,000,000
Ante: 12,000,000
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 10:01 PM Local Time
Chip Counts At Break
The players have gone on a 15-minute break while they relocate the final table.
| Charbel Kanterjian | 41,000,000 | 12,750,000 |
| Anthony Koutsos | 32,250,000 | -12,750,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 9:54 PM Local Time
Koutsos Doubles
After lots of smaller pots going Charbel Kanterjian's way, Anthony Koutsos was down to about 22,000,000.
Kanterjian raised to 2,800,000 and Koutsos called and they took a flop.
and the action was checked through. The turn and Koutsos bet 5,000,000 which after some thinking, Kanterjian called.
The river brought the and Koutsos bet 4,000,000. Kanterjian raised all-in and Koutsos called.
Charbel Kanterjian:
Anthony Koutsos:
Kanterjian had rivered three of a kind, but it was no good against Koutsos' turned straight. Koutsos took the pot and regained the chip lead.
| Anthony Koutsos | 45,000,000 | 1,450,000 |
| Charbel Kanterjian | 28,250,000 | -1,450,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 9:33 PM Local Time
Level 38 started
Level: 38
Blinds: 500,000/1,000,000
Ante: 1,000,000
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 9:31 PM Local Time
A Rare River Pot
The flop was called and checked preflop.
The flop came down and Charbel Kanterjian bet 1,100,000 which Anthony Koutsos called.
The turn of checked through and the river was bet at by Kanterjian for 5,500,000. Koutsos instantly released his hand giving Kanterjian the pot.
| Anthony Koutsos | 43,550,000 | 18,850,000 |
| Charbel Kanterjian | 29,700,000 | 1,300,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 9:21 PM Local Time
Dongsheng Zhang Eliminated in 3rd Place ($77,600)
Dongsheng Zhang shoved all-in preflop for about 1,500,000 and Anthony Koutsos called having him covered.
Dongsheng Zhang:
Anthony Koutsos:
The board ran out and Koutsos eliminated Zhang with ace high.
| Anthony Koutsos | 24,700,000 | -23,800,000 |
| Dongsheng Zhang | 0 | -1,500,000 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 9:14 PM Local Time
Koutsos Pulls Ahead With Quads
Anthony Koutsos defended his big blind against a 3,400,000 raise from Dongsheng Zhang in the small blind.
The flop came down which checked through to the turn. Zhang led the turn for 4,000,000 which after some time Koutsos called.
The river was checked by Zhang and bet at by Koutsos for 6,000,000. Zhang called and Koutsos showed for quad nines. Zhang mucked his hand and Koutsos pulled together a large lead.
| Anthony Koutsos | 48,500,000 | 25,500,000 |
| Dongsheng Zhang | 1,500,000 | -18,300,000 |