Event #75: Freezeout No-Limit Holdem

Chad Himmelspach of North Dakota earned his first-ever World Series of Poker bracelet and a payday of $270,877 on Wednesday, Nov. 17 by taking down Event #75: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em after a roller-coaster three-hour heads-up battle against Germany's Stefan Reiser. Himmelspach had to get through a field of 1,191 players in a tournament that generated a total prize pool of $1,589,985.

Himmelspach, who previously had $93,065 in live tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob, entered the final table fourth in chips and stayed quiet in the early hours of Day 3. The eventual champion picked up steam by eliminating Tarun Gulati in sixth place when Gulati moved all-in with ace-nine. and Himmelspach re-jammed with pocket tens and held up.

Later, Himmelspach sent Day 2 chip leader Renmei Liu out in third when Liu moved in with queen-jack and Himmelspach called with pocket fives. Himmelspach's fives held up after the board ran out and he entered heads-up play with almost three-quarters of the chips in play.

Event #75: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em Final Results

Intense Heads-Up Battle

Reiser, who was also after his maiden WSOP bracelet, quickly leveled out the playing field, including by catching a river bluff from his heads-up opponent. Reiser eventually took the chip lead and had Himmelspach down to a few big blinds at one moment.

The turning point came when Himmelspach picked up aces in the big blind and got it in against the pocket jacks of Reiser. The double-up gave him a lease on life and he used it to regain the chip lead and lean on his opponent.

Reiser eventually chipped down to a few big blinds himself and moved all-in with nine-three. Himmelspach called with pocket eights and Reiser couldn't catch a nine to stay alive. It would have been the second victory for Germany in the Amazon room on Wednesday, as Koray Aldemir a few yards away had been crowned the Main Event champion just minutes earlier.

In an interview with PokerNews, Himmelspach said he was "feeling good" about earning his biggest-ever tournament score, which was previously $30,730.

"It was (a) really back and forth (heads-up match), but, you know, we came through and had to stick it out," said Himmelspach.

Himmelspach noted that he had gotten down to a single blind toward the end of Day 1, "and I tripled up, and then doubled up again right away, and then I just rode it out."

"It's just a mindset," he said. "You're never really out of it. You always have a chance, you know. A chip and a chair. And you've just got to battle. It's a battle, you've got to battle it out and you can't give up."

Himmelspach's victory comes after years of dedication to the game. He told PokerNews he began playing poker in 2003 after the Moneymaker Boom and started off by making $5 and $10 deposits on online poker sites.

"So I've been kind of a veteran, actually, at this point, since 2003," he said. "It's kind of crazy."

That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of Event #75: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em. Be sure to check out the team's coverage of other WSOP events in the meantime.

Stefan Reiser limped, Chad Himmelspach made it 1,000,000 more and Reiser called.

Both players checked the flop     to the turn  . Himmelspach led for 1,500,000 and Reiser called.

On the river  , Himmelspach bet 2,500,000 and Reiser called.

Himmelspach tabled    for a straight and Reiser mucked.

Chad Himmelspach	25,975,000	5,200,000
Stefan Reiser	3,800,000	-5,200,000

Stefan Reiser limped in and Chad Himmelspach made it 800,000 more to go. Reiser called and the flop came down    .

Himmelspach continued for 800,000 and Reiser called to see the turn  . Himmelspach bet again, this time 1,800,000 and Reiser called again.

The river was the  , Himmelspach bet 3,000,000 and Reiser called. Himmelspach showed    and Reiser mucked.

Chad Himmelspach	23,975,000	9,975,000
Stefan Reiser	5,800,000	-9,975,000

Chad Himmelspach opened on the button and Stefan Reiser called.

Reiser checked on the     flop and Himmelspach bet 600,000. Reiser raised to 1,800,000 and Himmelspach responded with a re-raise to 3,000,000. Reiser called.

Reiser checked on the   turn and Himmelspach moved all-in for around 6,000,000. Reiser folded.

Stefan Reiser	15,775,000	-5,125,000
Chad Himmelspach	14,000,000	5,125,000

Stefan Reiser has won a series of small and medium pots to re-take the lead, including a hand where he opened to 900,000 on the button. Chad Himmelspach called.

Himmelspach led out with a bet of 800,000 on the     flop and Reiser raised to 2,200,000. Himmelspach laid it down.

Stefan Reiser	18,775,000	5,975,000
Chad Himmelspach	11,000,000	-5,975,000

Stefan Reiser limped in on the button and Chad Himmelspach raised to 1,000,000. Reiser raised to put Himmelspach all-in for around 4,500,000 and he called.

Chad Himmelspach:   
Stefan Reiser:   

Himmelspach was in a great spot to double up and did so as the board ran out      .

Stefan Reiser	18,775,000	-2,225,000
Chad Himmelspach	11,000,000	1,225,000

Chad Himmelspach opened to 900,000 on the button and Stefan Reiser called.

Reiser checked on the     flop and called a bet of 800,000 from Himmelspach. Reiser checked again on the   turn and called a bet of 1,300,000 from his opponent.

The river brought the   and Reiser led out with a bet of 3,300,000. Himmelspach immediately flicked his cards to the dealer.

Stefan Reiser	21,775,000	3,250,000
Chad Himmelspach	8,000,000	-3,250,000

The remaining two players have agreed to take a 45-minute dinner break. They will return around 7:15 p.m. Pacific Time.

Stefan Reiser raised to 650,000 on the button and Chad Himmelspach three-bet to 1,400,000 in the big blind. Reiser called.

The flop came     and Himmelspach continued with a bet of 1,000,000. Reiser folded.

Stefan Reiser	18,775,000	2,025,000
Chad Himmelspach	11,000,000	-2,025,000