WSOP | Tournaments | Event Updates
Auto Refresh Rate:
Competition:
GO

2021 52nd Annual World Series of Poker The Official WSOP Live Updates

Tuesday, November 16, 2021 to Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Event #77: FIFTY STACK No-Limit Hold'em

download official winner photo
  • Buy-in: $1,500
  • Prizepool: $2,003,835
  • Entries: 1,501
  • Remaining: 0

EVENT UPDATES

view updates for day:
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 11:20 PM Local Time
Paulo Joanello Wins Event #77: $1,500 Fifty Stack No-Limit Hold'em ($321,917)

Paulo Joanello

Paulo Joanello has topped a field of 1,501 players to capture his World Series of Poker gold bracelet in Event #77: $1,500 Fifty Stack No-Limit Hold'em. Joanello defeated Toby Price after a back and forth heads-up match that saw Joanello walk away with the first-place prize of $321,917.

This is Joanello's fourth WSOP cash of his career, but this one will go down as his largest by far to date. The Brazilian has played poker for the majority of his career in his home country and usually only travels to the United States for the WSOP. He's been attending the annual event in Las Vegas since 2013 but this was his first final table and he wasn't about to let the bracelet escape him.

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Paulo JoanelloBrazil$321,917
2Toby PriceUnited States$198,970
3Martin BicanikCzech Republic$146,061
4Ron MoisescuIsrael$108,349
5Roongsak GriffethUnited States$81,228
6Axel HallayFrance$61,550
7Elio FoxUnited States$47,145
8David MorelUnited States$36,508
9Scott HallUnited States$28,585

"When he came back in heads-up, I thought I was going to lose. But I looked at the bracelet and my rail and I said "No" this is going to Brazil and these people and I'm very happy."

Joanello specifically came to the WSOP this year for the Main Event but was eliminated on Day 3. He made a deep run in Event #75: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, finishing in 74th place just yesterday. After jumping into this tournament shortly after, Joanello said everything just fit into place.

"Today, I ran good. It feels awesome," Joanello shared with PokerNews after his victory.

Joanello had one of the most boisterous rails at the 2021 WSOP and the Brazilians seem to never disappoint. When the final river card was dealt, Joanello was jumping around with his rail and the echoes could be heard throughout the Amazon Room. He admitted afterward what this means to him and the country of Brazil.

"It's a dream, a dream come true. I have no voice left because I was yelling, but it's a dream for all of us." Joanello could barely fight back the tears but he was still grinning from ear to ear.

Final Day Action

There were 114 players that returned to the felt for the second and final day of this event. The action was fast and furious right from the start with players all over the room being eliminated in the first hand. Some of the early exits included Bart Lybaert (107th place), Anthony Spinella (87th place), Ari Engel (86th place), Martin Jacobson (71st place), Gal Yifrach (56th place), and Damian Salas (44th place).

It was a sprint to the final table which occurred prior to the dinner break in level 32. Scott Hall started the final table third in chips but sent a big double to Price in the early going. On the very next hand, his pocket sevens fell to the pocket kings of Joanello. He was quickly followed to the payout desk by David Morel in eighth place who was also a victim of Joanello's hot streak.

On the last hand before the dinner break, Elio Fox bowed out in seventh place. Fox was the shortest stack remaining on the table and decided to get his chips in the middle before the blinds came around one more time. Unfortunately for him, Joanello woke up with pocket tens in the big blind and Fox was unable to recover.

Elio Fox finished in seventh place
Elio Fox finished in seventh place

Once the players returned from dinner break, Axel Hallay, Roongsak Griffeth, and Ron Moisescu filed their way to the payout desk in short order. Hallay lost a coin flip, Griffeth bluffed his stack after missing a combo draw, and Moisescu ran into kicker problems after flopping top pair.

With only three players remaining, Price held a commanding lead with around 80% of the chips in play. However, those chips got splashed around a bit, with the majority of them going to Joanello. Martin Bicanik and his rail were enjoying watching the action unfold but eventually, the blinds got too big for the short stack. Bicanik got it in good with ace-king against the ace-jack of Joanello, but a jack on the flop would put Joanello in the lead and Bicanik was ousted in third place.

The heads-up battle started with Price in the lead but the two players exchanged the chip lead multiple times over the course of the two-hour battle. Price was slowly getting shorter near the end of the last level and it all came to a halt when he flopped top pair against the overpair of Joanello. An explosion of cheers could be heard throughout the rail and Price was forced to head to the payout desk in second place.

That wraps up our coverage for this event but there is still one more week of tournaments to be played at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Keep it locked here for all of the updates at PokerNews.

Wednesday, November 17, 2021 11:18 PM Local Time
Toby Price Eliminated in 2nd Place ($198,970)

Toby Price

Paulo Joanello raised to 3,300,000 and Toby Price called to see a flop of    . Price checked and Joanello bet 3,200,000.

Price moved all in for around 15,000,000 more and Joanello snap-called with   . Price had    for a pair of queens.

The   on the turn took away some of Price's outs, and the   on the river sealed the win for the Brazilian as his rail exploded in celebration.

Paulo Joanello75,100,00023,900,000
Toby Price0-23,800,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 11:11 PM Local Time
Joanello Chipping Away

Paulo Joanello raised to 3,200,000 on the button and Toby Price defended from the big blind. The flop came     and Price checked to Joanello who continued for 3,000,000. Price called and the   landed on the turn.

Price checked again and Joanello splashed in a bet of 7,000,000. Price looked back at his cards and then ditched them to the muck, sending the pot to Joanello.

Paulo Joanello51,200,0007,100,000
Toby Price23,800,000-7,200,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 11:05 PM Local Time
Joanello Starts Shoving

Toby Price raised to 3,500,000 before Paulo Joanello re-raised all in. Price quickly let his hand go.

This was the third time in the last four hands Joanello had gone all in without getting called. He has now retaken the chip lead from Price.

Paulo Joanello44,100,00021,200,000
Toby Price31,000,000-21,100,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:59 PM Local Time
Price Takes Two from Joanello

Paulo Joanello raised to 3,400,000 on the button and Toby Price called from the big blind. The flop came     and Price checked to Joanello who continued with a bet of 3,000,000. Price check-raised all in and Joanello folded.

Two hands later, Joanello opened to 3,400,000 on the button again and Price defended. The flop fell     and both players checked to the   on the turn. Price led out with a bet of 5,000,000 and Joanello let his hand go.

Toby Price52,100,00012,800,000
Paulo Joanello22,900,000-12,900,000
Gorilla Gaming
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:48 PM Local Time
Level 40 started
Level: 40
Blinds: 800,000/1,600,000
Ante: 1,600,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:47 PM Local Time
Price Back in the Lead

Toby Price

Toby Price raised to 2,600,000 and Paulo Joanello called. The flop came     and Price continued for 2,000,000.

Joanello raised to 5,000,000 before Price shoved all in. Joanello quickly folded.

The next hand, Joanello made it 2,600,000 preflop and Price three-bet to 6,000,000. Joanello called as the flop came    . Price led out for 7,000,000 and Joanello again quickly let go of his hand.

Toby Price39,300,00012,400,000
Paulo Joanello35,800,000-12,300,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:44 PM Local Time
Joanello Makes Three Queens

Toby Price limped in on the button and Paulo Joanello checked his option. The flop came     and Joanello checked to Price who bet 2,000,000. Joanello called and the   paired the board on the turn.

Joanello checked again and Price checked it back this time. The river was the   and Joanello led out with a bet of 5,000,000. Price called and Joanello showed    for trip queens to take the pot.

Paulo Joanello48,100,00010,500,000
Toby Price26,900,000-10,600,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:34 PM Local Time
Price Four-Bet Shoves, Back to Even

Toby Price raised to 2,700,000 and Paulo Joanello three-bet to around 6,000,000. Before his hand even left his chips Price announced he was all in and Joanello folded just as quickly.

Paulo Joanello37,600,000-10,500,000
Toby Price37,500,00010,600,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:30 PM Local Time
Joanello Shoves on Price

Paulo Joanello opened to 2,500,000 on the button and Toby Price called from the big blind. The flop fell     and Price led out with a bet of 2,800,000 which Joanello called.

The turn brought the   and Price checked this time. Joanello shoved all in, putting Price to the test for his remaining 27,000,000 chips. Price opted to fold and Joanello flashed the   as he raked in the pot.

Paulo Joanello48,100,00010,500,000
Toby Price26,900,000-10,600,000
Playtika - Jason Alexander
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:24 PM Local Time
Joanello's Kicker Plays

Toby Price raised to 2,500,000 and Paulo Joanello defended. Both players checked the     flop before Joanello led out for 2,500,000 on the   turn.

Price called and the   fell on the river. Joanello checked, then called when Price bet 4,200,000.

"King," Price said, turning over   . But Joanello had him out-kicked with   .

"I wasn't asking if you had a king. I was saying I had a king," Price joked after the hand. The two players are now virtually even in chips.

Paulo Joanello37,600,0007,200,000
Toby Price37,500,000-7,200,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:18 PM Local Time
Level 39 started
Level: 39
Blinds: 600,000/1,200,000
Ante: 1,200,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 10:05 PM Local Time
Players on Break

Toby Price and Paulo Joanello have taken a 15-minute break. Action should resume around 10:15 p.m. PST.

Price leads with 44,700,000.

Toby Price44,700,000-3,550,000
Paulo Joanello30,400,0003,600,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 9:49 PM Local Time
Price Picks Up a Fan

Toby Price raised to 2,300,000 from the button. "I'm just following your suit. That's your raise so I thought that's what you're supposed to do," he told Paulo Joanello, who called.

The flop came     and Price continued for 2,500,000. Joanello called, then both players checked down the   turn and   river.

"Four-fifths of a straight flush," Price said, showing    for a flush to take the pot.

Price has added a rail to counter Joanello's large and passionate Brazilian following, a player who happened to be on break from another tournament and stopped to watch.

"You can root for me. Otherwise I have nobody," he said. "It's now 12 on two instead of 12 on one."

Toby Price48,250,0004,850,000
Paulo Joanello26,800,000-4,800,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 9:42 PM Local Time
Price Battles Back to the Lead

After winning the previous two hands as well, Toby Price raised to 2,300,000 on the button. Paulo Joanello defended from the big blind and the flop came    .

Joanello check-called a bet of 3,000,000 from Price and the   landed on the turn. Both players checked and the   rolled off on the river. Joanello checked once more and Price made a small bet of 2,000,000 which Joanello paid off. Price showed    for a pair of tens and Joanello mucked his cards.

Toby Price43,400,00014,550,000
Paulo Joanello31,600,000-14,600,000
Playtika - Jason Alexander
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 9:35 PM Local Time
Level 38 started
Level: 38
Blinds: 500,000/1,000,000
Ante: 1,000,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 9:35 PM Local Time
Price Shows a King

Paulo Joanello raised to 2,000,000 and Toby Price defended to see the     flop. Price checked and Joanello bet 1,500,000.

Price responded by shoving forward a stack of chips and Joanello laid his hand down. Price showed a king and claimed to have two pair.

Paulo Joanello46,200,000-4,000,000
Toby Price28,850,0004,050,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 9:31 PM Local Time
Back and Forth

Paulo Joanello raised to 1,600,000 on the button and Toby Price called. The flop came     and both players checked to the   on the turn. Price checked again and Joanello bet 1,500,000 which got a fold from Price.

Two hands later, Joanello raised to 1,600,000 on the button again. Price called and the flop fell    . Price check-called a bet of 1,500,000 from Joanello and the   paired the board on the turn.

Both players checked and the   completed the board. Price led out with a bet of 4,200,000 and Joanello quickly folded.

Paulo Joanello50,200,000700,000
Toby Price24,800,000-750,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 9:24 PM Local Time
Joanello Raises Big on the Flop

Paulo Joanello raised to 2,000,000 and was called by Toby Price. The flop came     and Joanello continued for 1,500,000 after Price checked.

Price came back with a raise to 3,200,000. Joanello quickly reraised to 10,500,000. "I have a really good hand," Price said before sliding his cards into the muck after a few moments.

Paulo Joanello49,500,0002,000,000
Toby Price25,550,000-2,000,000
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 9:14 PM Local Time
Joanello Lays Down an Ace

Paulo Joanello raised from the button to 2,000,000 and Toby Price defended his big blind. Price led out for 1,500,000 on the     flop and Joanello called.

Both players checked the   turn before the   fell on the river. Price bet 3,200,000 and Joanello showed the   and folded.

Paulo Joanello47,500,000-4,700,000
Toby Price27,550,0004,750,000
Playtika - Jason Alexander