Event #46: $500 Freezeout No-Limit Holdem

Event #46: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas attracted an enormous field of 5,342 runners, all hoping to capture a WSOP gold bracelet.

The majority of those hopefuls fell by the wayside on Day 1, with just 241 advancing to the second and final day. On Day 2 after nearly 12-hours of play, Austin, Texas native Jay Lockett was the only one left standing, having defeated Benson Tang in a short lived heads-up match to claim the $262,526 first place prize and the honor of being able to call himself a bracelet winner.

Incredibly, this was Lockett's second ever live tournament cash, with his only other score a $1,900 prize for cashing in the $600 Deepstack event at the 2021 WSOP.

"This wasn't supposed to happen" an emotional Lockett said after the win. "I was dead money coming in...this is amazing. You have to run so hot. I had quads twice at the final table. I had ace-queen that ended up beating ace-king earlier" he continued. Although luck was certainly on his side, in the end Lockett made a number of plays to help him get over the edge and is a deserving winner.

Event #46: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout Final Table Results

Coming into the day, the average stack depth was at a shallow 25 big blinds and only got shorter from there. As a result, action was fast and furious with the final table of nine set after only eight hours. Nicholas Ronalds was the unfortunate player to fall just shy of that mark after losing a classic race with queens against the big slick of Muaaz Gani.

Final Table Action

Ibrahim Tarim was a short stack for much of the latter stages of the day so it was not surprising to see him fall first at the final table when his pair of threes came up short against Benson's sixes.

Next to go was Australian David Hirst, who only entered the event after the airline he was traveling on lost his luggage. Unlike Steve O'Dwyer, it is likely he will not be too upset with those responsible for the misplaced items.

The last woman standing, Shannon Boone, fell in seventh place after getting it in on the flop with a flush draw against Benson's sevens but failing to connect.

Byambajav Bandi demonstrated a good deal of patience while making several pay jumps but did end up hitting the rail with his top pair outkicked by Gani.

It was Gani who was next to be sent to the payout desk when his fours were crushed by the sixes of Lockett. Not long after, Matthew Thom hit the showers in fourth place, his flopped top pair outdrawn by Tang, who at that point had started to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field.

Diego Acquila had quietly stuck around, avoiding big pots for the most part and as a result was able to lock up a six-figure score by making it to three-handed play. His luck did run out when a seemingly invincible Lockett went runner-runner to make a straight. That elimination setup a heads-up showdown between Lockett and Tang, with the former, courtesy of making quads against Tang a few hands earlier, entering with a 2:1 chiplead.

It did not take long for Lockett to prevail when Tang bricked on straight and flush draws against Lockett's pair. Although he will no doubt be disappointed at coming up just short, Tang does walk away with $156,773, not bad for a $500 investment.

Lockett, meanwhile, was left with a look of disbelief at his incredible accomplishment. Congratulations to Jay Lockett on winning Event #46: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout! Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide comprehensive coverage of all bracelet events at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

Benson Tang limped on the button and Jay Lockett checked his option in the big blind.

Lockett checked on the     flop and then called when Tang bet.

Action checked through the   turn to the   river at which point Lockett counted out a bet of 10,000,000. Tang quickly called but was forced to concede the pot after Lockett turned over    for trips.

Jay Lockett	93,550,000	23,550,000
Benson Tang	40,000,000	-12,000,000

Benson Tang opened on the button and was called by Jay Lockett in the big blind.

Lockett checked on the     flop before calling a 2,000,000 continuation from Benson.

Action checked through the   turn to the   river at which point Lockett moved all in. Benson snapped it off, showing    for a full house but could not beat the    of Lockett, who has enjoyed two profitable hands with quads in the space of half an hour.

Jay Lockett	70,000,000	32,000,000
Benson Tang	52,000,000	-27,000,000

Benson Tang raised to 3,200,000 from early position and was called by Matthew Thom in the small blind and Jay Lockett in the big blind.

Both Thom and Lockett check-folded to a bet from Tang for 2,700,000 on a     flop.

Benson Tang	63,000,000	1,000,000
Jay Lockett	26,000,000	-9,500,000
Matthew Thom	24,000,000	-3,500,000

Benson Tang opened to 2,500,000 from under the gun before Muaaz Gani moved all in from the cutoff for around 9,000,000. Jay Lockett then called in the big blind with Tang getting out of the way.

Muaaz Gani:   
Jay Lockett:   

Gani was in bad shape and things only got worse after the     flop. The   turn confirmed Gani's exit in 5th place prior to the   river.

Benson Tang	62,000,000	2,700,000
Jay Lockett	35,500,000	19,500,000
Muaaz Gani	0	-26,200,000

Byambajav Bandi went all in for just over 4,000,000 and when it folded around to Muaaz Gani, he isolated it by going all in himself.

Byambajav Bandi:   
Muaaz Gani:   

The board ran out     , making both players top pair, but Bandi had kicker problems and only a nine could save him. The   brought his tremendous tournament run to an end and he was sent to the payouts.

Muaaz Gani	26,200,000	4,200,000
Byambajav Bandi	0	-4,000,000

Benson Tang opened to 2,575,000 from middle position and was called by Shannon Boone in the big blind.

Boone thought for some time following the     flop before deciding to move all in. Tang did not immediately call but ended up committing chips to put Boone at risk.

Shannon Boone:   
Benson Tang:   

Tang was ahead but Boone did have many outs. The   turn was a blank with the   river confirming Boone's exit in 7th place.

Benson Tang	59,000,000	25,000,000
Shannon Boone	0	-15,500,000

Shannon Boone moved all-in from early position for 6,750,000 and was reluctantly called by Benson Tang.

Shannon Boone:   
Benson Tang:   

Tang had the slight lead going into the flop, but the     flop would put Boone way out front and the   turn and   river would give Boone the full double.

Benson Tang	34,000,000	-12,500,000
Shannon Boone	15,500,000	9,000,000