Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi Low

The third day of Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo at the 2023 World Series of Poker has come to a close with Houston native William Leffingwell taking home the $253,651 first-place prize and his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Leffingwell had no easy task navigating his way through this final table with bracelet winners Shaun Deeb, Joey Couden, Raj Vohra and 2019 Main Event finalist Zhen Cai attempting to stand in his way, but by night's end, he'd be hoisting a bracelet over his head and carrying the Houston PLO scene on his back.

Leffingwell had a huge rail, and it was clear how much it meant to him to have people that he cares about behind him to witness him stepping into the spotlight and clinching the top spot. In fact, he hadn't even planned to come to Las Vegas for the WSOP until the main event, but his best friend Scott Dulaney won a bracelet last week and told him he needed to come win a bracelet before the main event. Leffingwell's response? "Ok, I'll come win the $1,500 Mixed Omaha event."

One week after calling his shot, he stands atop a field of 1,091 players as the last man standing. After coming into Day 3 in the middle of the 33 returning players, Leffingwell steadily built a stack and marched toward the final table. Once there, he put on a clinic by picking his spots well, being disciplined when needed, and getting max value when it counted.

Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Final Table Results

"Putting Houston on the Map"

When asked what it meant to him to be standing in the Thunderdome with a bracelet in hand and the people he cares about in his corner, Leffingwell said, "Man, I love these people, and I love Houston. We've been through a lot these last couple of years, and poker down there is the best in the world."

He even laid an open invitation to anyone in the world, saying, "PLO is our game, and we invite everyone in the world to come play at any stakes." Before letting him get back to his celebration, his last parting words with PokerNews mentioned plans to win another bracelet this summer, so we'll have to keep a look out for Leffingwell to see if he can call two shots in one summer.

Final Table Action

The first casualty of the final table was John Zable when he was ousted by the eventual runner up, Zhen Cai.

Following him to the door was Benjamin Miner, who got a very short stack in before the flop and couldn't find the help he needed to extend his run at the final table.

Raj Vohra was next to the payout desk after getting short and mounting a big comeback that ultimately fell short of helping him win a second bracelet.

Five-handed play lingered for some time, but it was eventually another bracelet winner in Shaun Deeb who exited after coming into the final table with a big chip lead. All eyes were certainly on Deeb to see if he could add a seventh lifetime bracelet and a second of the summer to his legacy, but he would eventually fall in a big confrontation with the eventual champion.

Another bracelet winner, Joey Couden, was sent to the rail in fourth place when he couldn't dodge the scoop outs of his opponent, Carlos Guerrero, and while Guerrero would come out the victor in that confrontation, he was also the next to exit the final table in what became a massive confrontation with Zhen Cai.

The heads up battle between Cai and Leffingwell lasted a total of seven hands with a massive swing taking place on the second hand dealt that would allow Leffingwell to take command of the momentum and the chip lead before ending Cai's run in second place to take the title.

To say this event was exciting would be an understatement, and with half the summer still left, there will be many more stories just like this jumping to the forefront, and PokerNews is the one and only place to get up-to-date coverage of every event left on the schedule!

Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

Zhen Cai raised to 600,000 and William Leffingwell called.

Both players checked the     flop before Leffingwell potted the   turn, sliding forward 1,200,000.

Cai called to the   river and Leffingwell potted again for 4,200,000. Cai, with around 2,600,000 remaining, gave it some thought before mucking as Leffingwell opened a massive lead.

William Leffingwell	24,600,000	2,400,000
Zhen Cai	2,600,000	-2,400,000

Big O

Zhen Cai limped in, then called when William Leffingwell raised to 500,000.

The flop came     and Leffingwell bet another 500,000. Cai called and the   fell on the turn.

Leffingwell now checked and Cai put in a bet of 1,200,000. Leffingwell quickly slid forward a raise to 3,000,000, and Cai's hand quickly hit the muck.

Zhen Cai	14,000,000	-3,300,000
William Leffingwell	13,200,000	3,300,000

Big O

On the last hand before tournament officials were going to force the players to bag up for the night, Zhen Cai bet 300,000 on a flop of     before Carlos Guerrero potted to 1,200,000.

Cai called to the   turn, where Guerrero potted again for 2,900,000, a bet representing most of his stack. Cai stood up and studied the board for a moment before raising, and Guerrero called for the rest of his chips.

Guerrero had       for the low and two pair, while Cai had       for a straight. The players were preparing to chop until the river came the  , counterfeiting Guerrero's low and sending him to the rail in third place.

The floor gave Cai and William Leffingwell the option to continue, and they agreed to take a short 10-minute break before starting heads-up.

Zhen Cai	17,300,000	5,300,000
William Leffingwell	9,900,000	800,000
Carlos Guerrero	0	-7,200,000

Omaha Hi-Lo

William Leffingwell raised on the button, then called when big blind Zhen Cai reraised.

The flop came     and Cai continued with a bet. Leffingwell called and both players checked the   turn.

The river came the   and Cai bet again. Leffingwell this time slid his cards into the muck as Cai took the pot.

Zhen Cai	12,000,000	2,100,000
William Leffingwell	6,800,000	-2,200,000

Omaha Hi-Lo

Zhen Cai and William Leffingwell just battled in back-to-back confrontations with differing results.

In the first, Leffingwell bet on a flop of     and was called by Joey Couden and Cai. The turn came the   and Cai now opened the betting, with only Leffingwell calling.

The river was the  , and Cai bet again. Leffingwell called, and Cai turned over      for a straight and the low to scoop the pot.

A few hands later, Leffingwell and Cai saw a flop of    , with Cai calling a bet. Leffingwell also bet the   turn and Cai called.

The river came the  , and Leffingwell bet for a third time. Cai now tanked for about a minute before folding.

Zhen Cai	9,900,000	1,300,000
William Leffingwell	9,000,000	-1,600,000

Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

Zhen Cai raised to 350,000 from under the gun and Joey Couden defended his big blind.

The flop came     and Cai bet another 200,000. Couden called to the   turn, where he faced a bet of 750,000.

Couden again called and the   fell on the river. He asked Cai how much he had behind before checking. Cai then slid forward two towers of chips for a bet of 2,100,000.

Couden spent several minutes in the tank before releasing his hand as Cai continued his comeback with another big pot.

Zhen Cai	7,500,000	1,800,000
Joey Couden	5,200,000	-1,550,000

Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

Joey Couden raised to 300,000 and Zhen Cai called from the button leading to a     flop.

Action checked through to see the   fall on the turn. Action checked through once more and both player arrived at the   river.

Couden put a bet of 450,000 out and after a briefmoment, Cai announced pot, putting himself all in.

Couden looked at the board for a few seconds before announcing a call and turning up the      which was good enough to split the pot with Cai's     .

Joey Couden	6,750,000	-2,050,000
Zhen Cai	2,500,000	-200,000

Big O

All four players limped in and headed to the     flop. William Leffingwell bet 420,000 and Carlos Guerrero, Joey Couden, and Zhen Cai all called.

The   fell on the turn and Guerrero led out with a pot-sized bet of 2,200,000, putting him all in. Couden folded, but Cai called for his last 1,610,000. Leffingwell also called to create a three-way all in.

The river came the   and Guerrero won the high with       for a straight, while Cai had       for the low to split the pot with Guerrero. Leffingwell quickly mucked his cards.

William Leffingwell	13,200,000	-1,300,000
Carlos Guerrero	3,400,000	500,000
Zhen Cai	2,700,000	950,000

William Leffingwell raised to 300,000 from the cutoff and Shaun Deeb called in the big blind leading to a     flop.

Deeb checked and Leffingwell bet 200,000. Deeb quickly exercised his option to check-raise pot and Leffingwell quickly started moving more chips into the middle, raising to put Deeb all in.

Deeb called, putting himself at risk and headed to a runout.

Shaun Deeb:      
William Leffingwell:      

The board ran out with the   turn and   river, allowing Leffingwell to scoop the pot and send Deeb to the rail in fifth place for $55,894.

William Leffingwell	14,000,000	2,700,000
Shaun Deeb	0	-3,100,000