Saturday, June 3, 2023 12:03 AM Local Time
Michael Moncek Wins Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha for $534,499
Out of 568 players that entered Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha yesterday, only one remained when the dust settled after 26 hours of play over two action-packed days.
Obviously, a tremendous start at the 2023 World Series of Poker for Michael Moncek, as he took the lion's share of a prize pool that totaled a whopping $2,612,800. Runner up, Fernando Habegger came into the day with the chip lead and managed to navigate all the way to the final heads up. Habegger received $330,344 for his valiant efforts.
PokerGO interviewed Moncek moments after he rang the victory bell. "It means a lot and now I have a decent shot at going for Player of the Year," Moncek said. "Winning a bracelet in the first week, I'm excited about that."
Michael Moncek is no stranger to winning. He has three WSOP circuit rings and this isn't his first bracelet either, he also won Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em last year at the 2022 World Series of Poker.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (USD) |
|---|
| 1 | Michael Moncek | United States | $534,499 |
| 2 | Fernando Habegger | Switzerland | $330,344 |
| 3 | Alex Livingston | Canada | $235,062 |
| 4 | Michael Banducci | United States | $169,674 |
| 5 | Christian Harder | United States | $124,266 |
| 6 | Tyler Brown | United States | $92,362 |
| 7 | Kristen Foxen | United States | $69,683 |
| 8 | Ferenc Deak | Hungary | $53,377 |
Final Day Action
Plenty of skilled hopefuls made it deep into day one but came up short. Brian Rast bust just three from the money in the 17th level. Daniel Negreanu bust Jeremy Ausmus (86th - $8,000) in level 18. Dylan Weisman (74th - $8,000) cashed after making a big fold deep in the tournament. Negreanu later went on to bust without finding a bag (63rd - $8,750). On day two Martin Zamani exited in 21st place in a pair-over-pair altercation (21st - $17,826). Yuval Bronshtein (9th - $41,521), a two-time bracelet winner, finished in 9th place at the unofficial final table.
Final Table Action
Ferenc Deak is a Hungarian player who has cashes in Las Vegas that go as far back as 2011. On the bubble of the final table, he worked a short stack, stealing blinds in both the PLO and NLH rounds every opportunity he could. Unfortunately, when the cards were on their back, he ended up getting his aces cracked in PLO to finish in 8th place.
Shortly after this, the players went on break and when they returned, they were moved to the PokerGO feature table.
No stranger to the lights and cameras, Kristen Foxen could be counted amongst the chip leaders since early on day 1. Losing a big hand to Livingston, where he limped jacks blind vs blind left her with only 390,000 in chips. She went on to be eliminated in 7th place shortly after.
Tyler Brown got some respect from Shaun Deeb on Day 1 but ultimately was eliminated in 6th place when Moncek rivered a set against him on the river.
Long-time crusher Christian Harder fell in 5th place, when he got his last 2,000,000 in chips in against Livingston preflop. Harder went on to say he's still in search of the hardware and will be back on the grind tomorrow.
Michael Banducci, who won a NLH bracelet in 2008 was searching for a repeat 15 years later but Habegger's big slick bested him in a pot over 6,000,000. Banducci will have to settle for 5th place this time.
Alex Livingston,also vying for a new piece of jewelry, ran into Habeggar's trips to lose a big chunk of his stack . It was Moncek who delivered the last blow, leaving Livingston to settle for the bronze.
Heads up play
Early in the heads up match, Moncek had 20,900,000 to Habegger's 7,480,000. Moncek kept the aggression up and whittled Habegger down to 4,450,000 but when Habegger limped jacks in the small blind he was able to find a double. Habegger was whittled down and doubled again in an Omaha hand when he flopped top pair but he was never able to regain the chip lead.
Finally down to his last 2,100,000 in chips, Habegger got it all-in with a suited ace and a pair in an Omaha hand.
Congratulations again to Moncek who started the World Series of Poker off with a bang, defeating Habegger with kings full of jacks.
Friday, June 2, 2023 11:36 PM Local Time
Fernando Habegger Eliminated In 2nd Place ($330,344)
Pot-Limit Omaha
Michael Moncek opened on the button for 1,200,000 and Fernando Habegger moved all in for his last 2,100,000, which Moncek called.
Fernando Habegger:
Michael Moncek:
The equities ran close preflop, but when the board ran out , it was the full house for Moncek that forced Habegger to settle for a runner-up finish.
| Michael Moncek | 28,400,000 | 7,650,000  |
| Fernando Habegger | 0 | -7,350,000  |
Friday, June 2, 2023 11:14 PM Local Time
Habergger Doubles Again
Pot-Limit Omaha
In a series of raises preflop, Fernando Habegger got his remaining stack in the middle and was called by the bigger stack of Michael Moncek.
Fernando Habegger:
Michael Moncek:
Moncek was slightly in the lead, but when the board ran out , it was the ace-king for Habegger that scored the pot and full double up to stay alive once again.
| Michael Moncek | 20,750,000 | 2,400,000 |
| Fernando Habegger | 7,350,000 | -3,150,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 11:05 PM Local Time
Level 33 started
Level: 33
Blinds: 200,000/400,000
Ante: 400,000
Friday, June 2, 2023 10:57 PM Local Time
Habegger Scores Double With Jacks
No-Limit Hold'em
Fernando Habegger limped in on the button and Michael Moncek moved all in from the big blind, covering the remaining 4,450,000 for Habegger, who quickly called.
Fernando Habegger:
Michael Moncek:
The board ran out clean for the jacks on a and Habegger scored the double up.
| Michael Moncek | 18,350,000 | -2,550,000 |
| Fernando Habegger | 10,500,000 | 3,020,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 10:48 PM Local Time
Heads-Up Chip Counts
The action has slowed down with many pots going back and forth preflop.
| Michael Moncek | 20,900,000 | 1,650,000 |
| Fernando Habegger | 7,480,000 | -2,450,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 10:31 PM Local Time
Alex Livingston Eliminated in 3rd Place ($235,062)
Pot Limit Omaha
Michael Moncek shoved from the small blind and Alex Livingston called in the big blind his final 4,200,000.
Alex Livingston:
Michael Moncek:
The flop spread a , pairing Moncek. The turn was a sweat as the peeled, giving Livingston a flush draw to go along with his over card. The on the river was a brick and Livingston was met at the sideline for an interview, finishing in 3rd place.
| Michael Moncek | 19,250,000 | 10,390,000 |
| Alex Livingston | 0 | -4,810,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 10:30 PM Local Time
Level 32 started
Level: 32
Blinds: 150,000/300,000
Ante: 300,000
Friday, June 2, 2023 10:12 PM Local Time
Break Time
The final three players are now on a 15-minute break. The action will resume shortly.
Friday, June 2, 2023 10:05 PM Local Time
Michael Banducci Eliminated In 4th Place ($169,674)
No-Limit Hold'em
The action folded to Michael Banducci in the small blind who moved all in for just over 3,000,000 and Fernando Habegger made the call in the big blind with a bigger stack.
Michael Banducci:
Fernando Habegger:
It was a classic flip situation, but when the board ran out , it was the eights for Habegger that held to send Banducci out in fourth place.
| Fernando Habegger | 9,930,000 | 2,830,000 |
| Michael Banducci | 0 | -6,310,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 9:53 PM Local Time
Habegger Finds a Double Up Off Livingston
No-Limit Hold'em
Alex Livingston open-jammed from the button, covering both his opponents in the blinds. Fernando Habegger took a few seconds before making the call for his last roughly 3,300,000 in the big blind.
Fernando Habegger:
Alex Livingston:
Habegger was in great shape with the better kicker, and when the board ran out , it was the flopped trips for Habegger that scored the pot and full double up.
| Fernando Habegger | 7,100,000 | 2,240,000 |
| Alex Livingston | 4,810,000 | -4,160,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 9:50 PM Local Time
Level 31 started
Level: 31
Blinds: 125,000/250,000
Ante: 250,000
Friday, June 2, 2023 9:29 PM Local Time
Christian Harder Eliminated In 5th Place ($124,266)
Christian Harder moved all in for just over 2,000,000 from under the gun and it folded around to Alex Livingston in the big blind who made the call with the bigger stack.
Christian Harder:
Alex Livingston:
The flop gave hope for Harder when the dealer fanned out , however when the turn fell the , Harder was in need of a nine to stay alive. The peeled off on the river and Harder was forced to settle for a fifth place finish.
| Alex Livingston | 8,970,000 | 2,180,000 |
| Christian Harder | 0 | -2,065,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 9:24 PM Local Time
Banducci Doubles Through Habegger
No-Limit Hold'em
The action folded to Michael Banducci on the button who moved all in for 2,300,000 and Fernando Habegger elected to move all in over the top from the small blind. The big blind got out of the way and the cards were shown.
Michael Banducci:
Fernando Habegger:
It was a fair fight preflop, but when the board ran out , it was the two pair for Banducci that scored the pot and full double up off Habegger.
| Michael Banducci | 6,310,000 | 3,905,000 |
| Fernando Habegger | 4,860,000 | -3,405,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 9:17 PM Local Time
Five Handed Updated Chip Counts
| Michael Moncek | 8,860,000 | 3,350,000 |
| Fernando Habegger | 8,265,000 | 3,675,000 |
| Alex Livingston | 6,790,000 | 120,000 |
| Michael Banducci | 2,405,000 | -3,005,000 |
| Christian Harder | 2,065,000 | -3,515,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 9:04 PM Local Time
Tyler Brown Eliminated in 6th Place ($92,362)
No-Limit Hold'em
Tyler Brown moved all-in under the gun and it folded to Michael Moncek in the small blind, who also went all in, barely covering Brown.
Tyler Brown:
Michael Moncek:
The flop spread clean for Moncek with the , to which Brown said, "I'll take a spade...", hoping to sweat more outs on the turn.
Instead it brought the , pulling Brown into the lead. He remained composed as the peeled on the river, sending him off the main stage and catapulting Moncek up in the chip counts.
| Michael Moncek | 5,510,000 | 2,110,000 |
| Tyler Brown | 0 | -2,190,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 8:47 PM Local Time
Habegger Hits Lucky Six to Stay Alive
No-Limit Hold'em
The action folded to Michael Banducci in the small blind who moved all in, covering the just over 2,000,000 for Fernando Habegger in the big blind, who after a long tank made the call for his tournament life.
Fernando Habegger:
Michael Banducci:
Banducci was in the lead preflop, but when the board ran out , it was the turned pair of sixes that turned the tables to score Habegger the full double up.
| Michael Banducci | 5,410,000 | -2,170,000 |
| Fernando Habegger | 4,590,000 | 1,035,000 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 8:46 PM Local Time
Level 30 started
Level: 30
Blinds: 100,000/200,000
Ante: 200,000
Friday, June 2, 2023 8:45 PM Local Time
Brown Steals the Blinds
Pot-Limit Omaha
Tyler Brown raised in middle position with the . No one had a hand to clash with and the blinds quickly folded.
Earlier in the day, with four tables left, Brown had a runner-runner boat against trips to catapult him up into the chip counts, fueling his run to this final table.
| Alex Livingston | 6,670,000 | 2,620,000 |
| Michael Moncek | 3,400,000 | -50,000 |
| Tyler Brown | 2,190,000 | 0 |
Friday, June 2, 2023 8:35 PM Local Time
Kristen Foxen Eliminated In 7th Place ($69,683)
Pot-Limit Omaha
Kristen Foxen moved all in for 460,000 from the cutoff with and both Christian Harder in the small blind with and Michael Banducci in the big blind holding made the call.
Harder and Banducci checked through on a board showing and the two pair for Banducci took down the pot to send Foxen out in seventh place.
| Michael Banducci | 7,580,000 | -450,000 |
| Christian Harder | 5,580,000 | -1,205,000 |
| Kristen Foxen | 0 | -390,000 |