Friday, June 30, 2017 1:27 AM Local Time
Mohsin Charania Completes the Triple Crown in Event #52: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'Em
In a thrilling finish to Event #52: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'Em, it was first-time WSOP bracelet winner, Mohsin Charania, coming out on top to complete the Poker Triple Crown. Charania defeated Cary Katz in a heads-up duel that went past the midnight hour. Katz was also looking for his first WSOP bracelet but will be taking home $225,181 for his efforts today.
Charania battled through a stellar Day 3 field to come out victorious and claim his first WSOP gold bracelet and $364,438. The day started with 23 players and Charania maneuvered his way through the first few levels avoiding any disaster. Once the final table was assembled on the main stage, Charania was able to play more of his game and became a big presence.
Charania started the heads-up match with a sizeable chip lead and didn't slow down. He kept up an aggressive play-style and brought Catz down to under 1,000,000 chips. In the final hand of the night, Catz pushed all-in on the button with and Charania instantly called with . Charania was in a dominating position and the board ran out , securing the win for Charania. He stood by the rail with his friends and a roar could be heard throughout the Brasilia Room when the river hit the felt.
With this win, Charania has now amassed over $5.6 million in earnings, making this his fifth outright win. Impressively, three of those combine to make him a triple crown winner, with Main Event wins on the European Poker Tour, the World Poker Tour and now a World Series of Poker bracelet win. He is just the sixth player in history to win the triple crown, with the likes of Gavin Griffin, Roland De Wolfe, Jake Cody, Bertrand 'Elky' Grospelier and Davidi Kitai.
When asked about the triple crown and finally winning a bracelet Charania said, "This is pretty damn awesome." The rail behind him was exploding at any and every point, and he commented that "This happens when I'm just playing online on Tuesdays, so I'm used to it. Wait 'til you see me go deep in a $109 (tournament)." He laughed and continued, "You learn to block it out. You know when you're gonna win a pot everyone's gonna cheer for you."
Charania commented on feeling pressure coming into the day because he had a big stack, but lost a huge pot to Katz to start the day. He came into the final table sitting in seventh in chips, but felt as though it was "an easy-going and smooth-sailing final table". He continued that it was a challenge playing with Samuel Phillips on his left with the chip lead, but once Phillips was eliminated he felt as though he had more breathing room.
Charania doubled with ace-queen after Ageloff four-bet shoved with ten-nine off suit, and talked about how that was the most important all-in that gave him a 2-to-1 chip lead three-handed. After that, he kept chipping away and eventually sealed the deal.
Cary Katz is a decorated player in his own right, boasting $11.1 million in earnings, with his biggest cash coming from his fifth place finish in the €1 million Big One For One Drop in Monte Carlo in 2016 for $1.9 million USD. He also has a second seven-figure score after coming in eighth place in the $1 million Big One For One Drop in 2014 for $1,306,667. To add to these numbers, Katz also has nine wins in a combination of High Roller and Super High Roller tournaments between the Bellagio and Aria. Katz has come close to winning a bracelet before when he finished as the runner-up in the $5,000 Pot Limit Hold'em event in 2013, losing to Davidi Kitai. It is safe to say it will not be a surprise if Katz finally wins himself a bracelet at some point during his impressive poker career.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player Name | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|
| 1 | Mohsin Charania | United States | $364,438 |
| 2 | Cary Katz | United States | $225,181 |
| 3 | Brandon Ageloff | United States | $161,844 |
| 4 | Andy Frankenberger | United States | $117,611 |
| 5 | Mikhail Rudoy | Russia | $86,424 |
| 6 | Samuel Phillips | United States | $64,226 |
| 7 | Ian Steinman | United States | $48,276 |
| 8 | Yanki Koppel | United States | $36,708 |
| 9 | Milan Simko | Czech Republic | $28,239 |
This $1,500 event attracted many of the top pros and they didn't shy away from making the presence known. Some of those to make the money include Rainer Kempe (15th place - $17,316), Jason Mercier (17th place - $13,807), Richard Seymour (24th place - $11,144), Eugene Katchalov (35th place - $9,107), Dan Heimiller (44th place - $7,536), Tony Dunst (96th place - $3,177), Jesse Sylvia (120th place - $2,884), Barry Greenstein (156th place - $2,477), and Jeff Madsen (187th place - $2,346).
Final Table Summary
When the final table got underway, it was Rudoy and Phillips who set the pace with their aggressive play. Milan Simko (9th place - $28,239) was quiet for his short-lived time on the main stage and eventually got his chips in the middle with against Rudoy's . The flop came and Rudoy never looked back. After a series of double-ups among the small stacks, it would be Yanki Koppel (8th place - $36,708) to fall next. Koppel lost most of his chips to Frankenberger and then, in the next hand, was sent to the rail.
Ian Steinman (7th place - $48,276) was next to drop after getting it all-in with against the of Ageloff. Ageloff flopped quad queens and Steinman hit the rail next. The start-of-day chip leader, Samuel Phillips (6th place - $64,226), could not win any flips today and found himself as the short stack on the table. Phillips was all-in against Charania but could not connect with the board. Ageloff had a run of cards to get most of the chips in play, including the elimination of Mikhail Rudoy (5th place - $86,424). Rudoy held against Ageloff's . The board ran out and Rudoy was ousted.
Unfortunately for Andy Frankenberger (4th place - $117,611), he could not find a hand for the last couple levels and was dwindled down to just one big blind. When he finally tabled a hand it was too late as he ran into the pocket sevens of Katz. Brandon Ageloff (3rd place - $161,844) began three-handed play with most of the chips but lost a big hand when he four-bet jammed with ten-high and Charania snapped him off with ace-queen. That turned the tide as Ageloff became the new short-stack. He was eventually busted when Charania flopped a straight against his pocket kings and that set up heads-up play.
That wraps everything up for another event at the WSOP, but continue following along with the PokerNews reporting team for all of the live updates on future events.
Friday, June 30, 2017 12:40 AM Local Time
Cary Katz Eliminated in 2nd Place ($225,181)
Hand #169: Katz raised all-in for just under 1,000,000 on the button and Charania instantly called. Katz tabled and Charania was in a dominating position with .
The flop came and Charania was still way out front. The turn card gave Katz a flush draw to hit along with a king. The river bricked out and Katz was eliminated in 2nd place while Charania celebrated with his excited rail.
| Mohsin Charania | 11,700,000 | 900,000  |
| Cary Katz | 0 | -900,000  |
Friday, June 30, 2017 12:32 AM Local Time
Hands #163-168: Katz is Treading Carefully
Hand #163: Cary Katz limped, Mohsin Charania moved all in and Katz mucked.
Hand #164: Katz got a walk.
Hand #165: Katz limped and Charania checked. The flop came and both players checked. The turn was the , Charania bet 125,000 and Katz mucked.
Hand #166: Charania limped and Katz checked. The flop came and both players checked to the on the turn. Katz bet 200,000 and Charania folded.
Hand #167: Charania got a walk.
Hand #168: Charania limped on the button and Katz shipped all-in, forcing a fold from Charania.
| Mohsin Charania | 10,800,000 | 0 |
| Cary Katz | 900,000 | -20,000 |
Friday, June 30, 2017 12:29 AM Local Time
Hands #158-162: Charania Chips Away at Katz
Hand #158: Cary Katz raised to 300,000 and Mohsin Charania called. The flop came and both players checked to the turn. Katz bet 200,000 and Charania called. The river was the and both players checked. Both players had a king with no kicker and chopped the pot.
Hand #159: Charania called from the button and Katz checked. The flop was and Katz bet 120,000. Charania called and the came on the turn. Both players checked and the fell on the river. Katz bet 380,000 and Charania called. Charania tabled to win the hand.
The button was not moved.
Hand #160: Charania limped from the button and Katz checked. The flop came and Katz checked to Charania who bet 125,000. Katz raised to 300,000 and Charania called. The turn was the and Katz led out for 400,000. Charania raised to 2,000,000 and Katz laid his hand down.
Hand #161: Katz called from the button and Charania checked his option. The flop came and both players checked to the turn. Charania checked again and Katz bet 200,000 to take down the pot.
Hand #162: Charania moved all-in on the button and Katz folded.
| Mohsin Charania | 10,800,000 | 2,100,000 |
| Cary Katz | 920,000 | -2,080,000 |
Friday, June 30, 2017 12:13 AM Local Time
Heads-Up Break
Tournament officials are bringing out the gold bracelet and setting the table up for heads-up action. Meanwhile, the two remaining players are taking a 5-minute break.
| Mohsin Charania | 8,700,000 | 0 |
| Cary Katz | 3,000,000 | 0 |
Friday, June 30, 2017 12:11 AM Local Time
Brandon Ageloff Eliminated in 3rd Place ($161,844)
Hand #157: Mohsin Charania raised to 250,000 on the button and Ageloff defended his big blind. The flop came and Ageloff checked. Charania bet 225,000 and Ageloff check-raised to 680,000. Charania moved all in and Ageloff called.
Ageloff was at risk and very behind with , while Charania tabled for a straight. The turn was the and Ageloff picked up a flush draw, but the river was the and Ageloff was eliminated.
| Mohsin Charania | 8,700,000 | 2,520,000 |
| Cary Katz | 3,000,000 | -115,000 |
| Brandon Ageloff | 0 | -2,560,000 |
Friday, June 30, 2017 12:10 AM Local Time
Hand #156: Ageloff Gets No Action
Hand #156; Brandon Ageloff raised to 270,000 on the button and raked in the pot.
Friday, June 30, 2017 12:05 AM Local Time
Level 31 started
Level: 31
Blinds: 60000/120000
Ante: 20000
Friday, June 30, 2017 12:02 AM Local Time
One Last Break
The final three players are on their last break of the day.
Mohsin Charania holds more than half of the chips in play, with Cary Katz and Brandon Ageloff within close proximity of one another.
The remaining players will play for thirty more minutes, and if the tournament has not concluded, they will come back at noon tomorrow to play it out.
| Mohsin Charania | 6,180,000 | -420,000 |
| Cary Katz | 3,115,000 | 375,000 |
| Brandon Ageloff | 2,560,000 | -90,000 |
Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:58 PM Local Time
Hands #153-155: Ageloff Raises Katz Twice
Hand #153: Mohsin Charania called from the small blind and Cary Katz checked his option. Both players checked the flop of and the came on the turn. Charania checked and Katz bet 150,000. Charania called and the fell on the river. Charania checked for the third time and Katz bet 420,000. Charania called and Katz showed him the for a full house.
Hand #154: Katz called from the small blind and Brandon Ageloff checked. The flop came and Katz led out for 150,000 and Ageloff called. The turn was the and Katz bet 150,000 again. Ageloff raised to 360,000 and Katz quickly called. The river was the and Katz led out for 100,000. Ageloff shoved all-in for 1,300,000 and Katz folded.
Hand #155: Charania received a walk.
Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:49 PM Local Time
Hands #148-152: Charania Keeps Raising
Hand #148: Mohsin Charania raised to 215,000 on the button and got no action.
Hand #149: Cary Katz limped in on the button and Charania raised to 385,000 from the big blind. Katz mucked.
Hand #150: Charania raised to 325,000 from the small blind and Katz mucked his big blind.
Hand #151: Katz raised to 300,000 from the small blind and Brandon Ageloff folded his big blind.
Hand #152: Katz raised to 200,000 on the button and Charania defended his big blind. The flop came , Charania checked, Katz bet 250,000 and Charania folded.
Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:43 PM Local Time
Hands #143-147: Chips Go Around and Around
Hand #143: Brandon Ageloff limped in the small blind and Mohsin Charania checked his option. The flop came and Ageloff checked to Charania who bet 100,000. Ageloff folded and Charania scooped the pot.
Hand #144: Ageloff raised all-in from the button and picked up the blinds and antes.
Hand #145: Charania raised to 215,000 on the button and Katz called from the small blind along with Ageloff in the big blind. The flop came and the action was checked to Charania who bet 240,000. Katz raised to 750,000 and Ageloff folded. Charania also folded and Katz won the hand.
Hand #146: Ageloff called from the small blind and Charania checked. The flop was and Ageloff bet 125,000. Charania called and the came on the turn. Both players checked to the river and then checked again. Charania tabled to take down the pot.
Hand #147: Ageloff raised to 200,000 and Katz called from the big blind. The flop came and Katz checked to Ageloff who bet 130,000 to earn him the pot.
Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:34 PM Local Time
Hands #138-142: Charania Keeps Chipping Away
Hand #138: Mohsin Charania limped from the small blind and Cary Katz checked his option in the big blind. The flop came and Charania checked. Katz bet 200,000 and Charania called. The turn was the and both players checked to the on the river. Both players checked and Charania tabled for two pair to scoop the pot.
Hand #139; Charania raised to 215,000 on the button and Brandon Ageloff defended his big blind. The flop came and both players checked to the on the turn. Ageloff checked, Charania bet 250,000 and Ageloff folded.
Hand #140: Katz raised to 250,000 on the button and Charania defended his big blind. The flop came , Charania checked, Katz bet 200,000 and Charania mucked.
Hand #141: Ageloff moved all in on the button and got no action.
Hand #142: Katz raised to 200,000 from the small blind and Ageloff defended his big blind. The flop came and Katz bet 250,000. Ageloff mucked.
Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:25 PM Local Time
Hands #133-137: Check-Raising Works!
Hand #133: Cary Katz called from the small blind and Brandon Ageloff raised to 250,000. Katz called and the flop came . Both players checked to the turn and Katz checked again. Ageloff bet 270,000 and Katz raised to 700,000, getting a fold from Ageloff.
Hand #134: Katz raised to 250,000 on the button and Mohsin Charania called in the big blind. The flop came and Charania checked. Katz bet 400,000 and Charania laid his hand down.
Hand #135: Charania limped from the small blind and Katz checked. The flop came and Charania checked to Katz who bet 125,000. Charania raised to 300,000 and Katz folded.
Hand #136: Katz called from the small blind and Ageloff checked. The flop came and Katz bet 150,000. Ageloff called and the turn was the . Katz bet 300,000 and Ageloff shoved all-in, forcing Katz to lay his hand down.
Hand #137: Ageloff raised to 275,000 from the small blind and Charania folded his big blind.
Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:15 PM Local Time
Hands #129-132: Ageloff Four-Bet Jams With Ten-High to Double Charania
Hand #129: Mohsin Charania got a walk.
Hand #130: Brandon Ageloff raised to 225,000 on the button and Charania three-bet to 650,000 from the small blind. Ageloff moved all in and Charania took one last look at his cards before he quickly called for 3,195,000.
Charania was at risk with , up against Ageloff's .
The board ran out and Charania doubled up to take over the chip lead.
Hand #131: Ageloff got a walk.
Hand #132: Charania got a walk.
| Mohsin Charania | 6,600,000 | 3,470,000 |
| Cary Katz | 2,740,000 | 1,140,000 |
| Brandon Ageloff | 2,650,000 | -2,950,000 |
Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:08 PM Local Time
Hands #124-128: They All Take Turns
Hand #124: Brandon Ageloff raised to 180,000 and Cary Katz called from the big blind. The flop came and both players checked to the turn and the river. Katz bet 225,000 and Ageloff mucked his cards.
Hand #125: Cary Katz limped from the small blind and Ageloff raised to 250,000 from the big blind. Katz called and the flop came . Katz check-called a bet of 205,000 from Ageloff and the came on the turn. Katz checked again and Ageloff bet 340,000. Katz shoved all-in and Ageloff quickly folded.
Hand #126: Ageloff called from the small blind and Mohsin Charania checked his option. The flop came and both players checked to the turn. Ageloff checked again and Charania bet 120,000. Ageloff folded and Charania raked in a pot.
Hand #127: Ageloff raised to 225,000 and Charania re-raised to 650,000 from the small blind. Ageloff folded.
Hand #128: Charania raised to 215,000 on the button and Ageloff called from the big blind. The flop came and Ageloff checked to Charania who bet 135,000. Ageloff called and the turn was the . Both players checked to the on the river and Ageloff led out for 330,000. Charania folded and the pot was shipped to Ageloff.
Thursday, June 29, 2017 11:00 PM Local Time
Level 30 started
Level: 30
Blinds: 50000/100000
Ante: 15000
Thursday, June 29, 2017 10:58 PM Local Time
Andy Frankenberger Eliminated in 4th Place ($117,611)
Hand #123: Cary Katz raised to 200,000 from under the gun. Andy Frankenberger called for his remaining 70,000, and Charania called from the big blind.
The flop came . Charania checked, and Katz bet 250,000. Charania folded.
Katz won the side pot, and Frankenberger was at risk with , in a flip with Katz's . The turn was the and the river was the , sending Frankenberger to the rail in fourth place.
| Cary Katz | 1,600,000 | 300,000 |
| Andy Frankenberger | 0 | -80,000 |
Thursday, June 29, 2017 10:53 PM Local Time
Hands #118-122: Frankenberger Folds Down to One Big Blind
Hand #118: Mohsin Charania raised to 175,000 from under the gun, and Andy Frankenberger mucked seven-deuce in the big blind.
Hand #119: Cary Katz raised to 200,000, and Brandon Ageloff called on the button. Charania defended his big blind. The flop came , and all three players checked to the on the turn. Charania led out for 240,000 and got no action.
Hand #120: Ageloff raised to 200,000 from under the gun and got no action.
Hand #121: Katz limped, and Ageloff checked his option. The flop came , Katz checked, Ageloff bet 90,000, and Katz called. The turn was the , and Katz checked again. Ageloff bet 160,000 this time, and Katz called again. The river was the , and both players checked. Katz tabled for two pair and scooped the pot.
Hand #122: Ageloff raised to 300,000 from the small blind, and Frankenberger mucked his big blind, leaving himself with just 80,000 behind.
Thursday, June 29, 2017 10:44 PM Local Time
Hands #113-117: Frankenberger Left with Four Big Blinds
Hand #113: Mohsin Charania limped on the button, and Cary Katz moved all in from the small blind. The big blind and Charania both folded.
Hand #114: Brandon Ageloff raised all in from the small blind, and Andy Frankenberger folded the big blind with just 360,000 left behind.
Hand #115: Charania got a walk in the big blind.
Hand #116: Charania limped in from the small blind, and Katz checked his option. The flop came , and both players checked to the turn. Charania bet 100,000, and Katz folded.
Hand #117: Katz raised to 200,000 from the small blind, and Ageloff called from the big blind. The flop was , and Katz led out for 260,000. Ageloff laid his hand down.