Event #45: Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship

The 2021 World Series of Poker is one step closer to crowning the winner of a coveted gold bracelet. Out of a field of 344 total entries, only five players remain in Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship and they have already locked up a decent portion of the $3,207,800 prize pool.

All contenders have locked up a payday of $168,689 but the eyes will be set on the gold bracelet and top prize of $746,477 that comes along with it. Best positioned to claim his second gold bracelet is California's Tommy Le, who already has seven previous final tables appearances and one unofficial final table finish in WSOP PLO tournaments to his name. Le notched up the final elimination of the night when he sent Eli Elezra to the rail and bagged up 7,240,000 in chips.

Le's sole WSOP win so far came in this very event back in 2017 after he defeated a 428-entry strong field and took home the top prize of $938,732. He finished second to Josh Arieh in Event #39: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) just five days ago and now leads the final five in pursuit of more glory.

Second in chips is Russia's Artem Maksimov, who moved to the United States six years ago. Maksimov will return with a stack of 5,080,000 while casino owner Chris Sandrock is third in chips with 3,200,000. The line-up for the final day also includes Jordan Spurlin and Jeremy Ausmus, the latter of who is seeking his third WSOP gold bracelet.

Seat Assignments Final Day Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

Among those to bust on the penultimate tournament day were the WSOP bracelet winners Mike Matusow, Dylan Linde, Daniel Zack, and Anderson Ireland. Arthur Morris recorded his best score on the live poker circuit and departed in seventh place.

There are 10:29 remaining at blinds of 50,000/100,000 with a big blind ante of 100,000.

The final day is scheduled to recommence at 4:00 p.m. local time on the mothership of the Amazon Room. PokerGO will be streaming the conclusion on a delay of one hour and the PokerNews updates will be published in real-time based on showdowns only.

The Action of the Day

Only 18 contenders returned to their seats at 2:00 p.m. local time and it didn't take long for the field to get whittled down to the final two tables. An early double-up through Arthur Morris propelled Tommy Le among the bigger stacks and he then knocked out Mike Matusow when he rivered the nut flush against the flopped nut straight.

Mike Krasienko ran a suited ace-king combo into the aces of Chris Sandrock and Leonid Yanovski had his aces cracked by Daniel Zack. Shortly after, Dylan Linde lost the remainder of his short stack before Zack's demise ended in 13th place. Start-of-the-day chip leader Jonathan Witz never got anything going and ultimately fell prior to the final table.

The same fate also awaited Michael Heritsch and Kyle Montgomery, who departed in the blink of an eye. Down to the final nine, Le held the lead ahead of Sandrock and was responsible for the first knockout after he sent Anderson Ireland to the rail.

What followed was a roller coaster ride for several finalists as Sandrock was involved in most of the action. Ashly Butler never recovered from an all-in contest with Morris and had to settle for 8th place before Morris' fortune ran out against Le. Jeremy Ausmus escaped from elimination and tripled up before four-time WSOP bracelet winner Eli Elezra missed a straight draw against the bottom set of Le to become the final casualty of the night.

Stay tuned right here on PokerNews for the conclusion of Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.

Final Table Result and Remaining Payouts

Chris Sandrock limped in middle position, Tommy Le called from the small blind, and Eli Elezra checked his big blind.

On the     flop, Elezra bet 400,000, Sandrock folded, and Le raised the pot which would be enough to put Elezra all-in.

Elezra quickly made that call to put his tournament life at risk.

Eli Elezra:     
Tommy Le:     

Le had the best made hand with a set of threes, but Elezra had a world of outs with a flush draw and an open-ended straight draw.

The runout however of the   and   missed Elezra completely, and the Poker Hall of Fame nominee was eliminated in 6th place.

Eli Elezra

0

-995,000

After winning a small pot off Tommy Le, Chris Sandrock limped in from under the gun and Jordan Spurlin did so from one seat over. Eli Elezra completed out of the small blind and Jeremy Ausmus checked his option in the big blind. The flop came     and Elezra checked for Ausmus to bet the pot for 500,000 with 95,000 behind.

Sandrock called and Spurlin then asked the floor if the action would be locked if Elezra would go all-in. Since Elezra only had 995,000 behind and was one chip off a full raise, it was capped. Spurlin then called and Elezra jokingly said "I would have raised" before tossing his cards into the muck.

The   on the turn was checked by Ausmus and Sandrock bet 600,000. Spurlin tank-called and Ausmus called all-in. The   river was checked and Ausmus rolled over the      for the nut full house. Sandrock had a flush with the      but earned none of the side pot as Spurlin's      had made the nut flush.

Elezra mentioned in table chat that he had folded a queen after all was done and dusted.

Chris Sandrock	3,550,000	-1,225,000
Jordan Spurlin	3,335,000	-90,000
Jeremy Ausmus	2,285,000	1,035,000
Eli Elezra	995,000	-330,000

Chris Sandrock and Tommy Le called and Eli Elezra checked in the big blind to see a     flop. Elezra took the betting lead for 125,000 and both players called ahead of the   turn. Sandrock bet 300,000 and Le called while Elezra folded, and both remaining players checked the   river. Le revealed      for a flush to regain some chips at Sandrock's expense.

Chris Sandrock	4,775,000	-525,000
Tommy Le	4,500,000	800,000
Eli Elezra	1,325,000	-245,000

A recent big pot between Tommy Le and Artem Maksimov ended in an intersting fashion.

Maksimov raised to 250,000 from the button and got called by Le in the small blind and Eli Elezra in the big blind.

On the     flop, Le led out for 300,000, Elezra folded, and Maksimov called.

The turn came with the   and this time Le checked to Maksimov, who put out a 650,000 chip bet. Le thought for a minute then called.

The river brought the  , and both players checked.

Maksimov said to Le, "You win, I think", but Le didn't seem so sure.

Maksimov hesitantly rolled over      for a small full house, fours full of eights. It was plenty good though, as Le pitched his cards into the muck.

"There it is, the upgrade to the seven-four" commented Chris Sandrock, who recently won a big pot against Jeremy Ausmus with fours full of sevens.

Artem Maksimov	5,050,000	2,070,000
Tommy Le	3,825,000	-1,250,000

The final six players have returned and will now play until one more player is eliminated for the official streamed PokerGO final table Tuesday.

The final six players have gone on a 60-minute dinner break and will return at approximately 9:45 pm local time.

Tommy Le and Chris Sandrock had checked the     flop before action on the   turn. Le bet 300,000, and Sandrock raised the pot to 1,000,000. Le asked for a count of Sandrock's stack before calling, and the   river completed the board. Both players checked and Sandrock revealed    for two pair, but Le turned over      for a better two pair and a pot to swing the chip lead.

Tommy Le	5,400,000	2,000,000
Chris Sandrock	3,900,000	-1,600,000