Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

On Friday night, William Kopp bested a 1,125-player field and defeated Michael Rodrigues heads up in a one-sided match to claim his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet and the $259,549 first-place prize in Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

The Ohio native added to his $1 million in career-tournament earnings and joined his sister, Katie Kopp, who won the 2022 Casino Employees Event, as a WSOP bracelet winner. Today's victory marks Kopp's eighth cash of the series and his biggest cash to date.

"It feels really good, especially since my best friend won a bracelet this year and my sister won one last year," Kopp said when asked how he felt about his victory.

Kopp attributes part of his success to having a strong poker family.

"When we were growing up we were always about poker. We're pretty close...me, my sister, and my mom. We all talk poker and help make each other better," Kopp said.

...a pair of lucky socks may also have helped, according to Kopp.

"It's the first time I wore my lucky socks in two years," Kopp explained. "The last time I wore them I had a big score too."

2023 WSOP Event #66 Final Table Results

Action of The Day

Day 3 began with a flurry of double-ups that saw Mike Linster, Anthony Zinno, and Philipp Krieger all double up through Kopp — more than halving his stack from the start of play. The escalating blinds kept forcing the action, however, and after Jorge Leon was knocked out early, Kopp was able to quickly rebound through the eliminations of both Krieger and Yuval Bronshtein to retake the chip lead and reduce the field down to a final table.

Wallace fell in ninth place in short order after getting his aces cracked by Kopp and Zinno quickly followed suit after bricking with a pair and a flush draw against Kopp's top pair.

Despite entering the final table second in chips, John Goyette hit a bad run that saw both Linster and Joseph McCarthy double up through him to leave him short-stacked. Goyette would end up running into McCarthy's aces and failing to improve to bow out in seventh place.

McCarthy and two-time bracelet winner Loni Hui, who had been nursing short stacks for much of the day, managed to hold on for multiple pay jumps before exiting in sixth and fifth place respectively.

Four-handed play saw momentum shift massively in Rodrigues' favor after he managed to double through Kopp and take the chip lead. Rodrigues continued his ascension by eliminating Sterling Savill in fourth place, at which point Rodrigues held more than half the chips in play.

Kopp wouldn't be denied, however, as he gained a much-needed chip boost after knocking Linster out in third in a pot where Linster's low was counterfeited by a running two pair that left him second best.

Kopp began his heads-up duel against Rodrigues with a fairly significant chip deficit but was quickly able to grind Rodrigues' stack down with relentless aggression. A key turning point occurred when Kopp quartered Rodrigues with a six-high straight and nut low — giving Kopp an over two-to-one chip advantage. Just a few hands later, Rodrigues made his last stand with a flopped flush draw that ended up bricking out against Kopp's Broadway straight to end the tournament.

That's a wrap for PokerNews coverage of Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better here at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Be sure to check out our live-reporting hub for continuing coverage of the 2023 World Series of Poker.

That's the cheer that's been going out from William Kopp's boisterous rail which has now seen their man take firm control of this heads-up match.

Michael Rodrigues raised to 600,000 and got a call from Kopp to see a flop of    . The players checked to see the   on the turn.

Fireworks began on the turn as Kopp check-raised a 700,000 chip bet from Rodrigues to 2,400,000. His Portuguese opponent made the call.

On the   river, Kopp bet the pot, 6,200,000 and got called by Rodrigues.

Kopp showed      for a wheel and a six-high straight as well, while Rodrigues showed      for a wheel to get quartered by Kopp.

William Kopp	20,300,000	4,500,000
Michael Rodrigues	7,800,000	-4,500,000

William Kopp and Michael Rodrigues are now heads-up for the bracelet and $259,549 first-place prize.

Rodrigues enters battle with a sizable chip lead over Kopp with 17.7 million to Kopp's 10.4 million.

Michael Rodrigues	17,700,000	350,000
William Kopp	10,400,000	0

Sterling Savill raised to 325,000 in the cutoff and was met with a three-bet to 1,155,000 on the button by Mike Linster. William Kopp folded in the small blind and Michael Rodrigues then cold-called from the big blind.

With just under 1,500,000 total, Savill debated briefly and then made the call, leaving himself just 300,000 behind.

On the     flop, Rodrigues led out for pot, 5,375,000, which sent Linster to bolt out of his seat. Savill called off his last 300,000, and a visibly frustrated Linster folded his      face up, leaving Savill's fate to Rodrigues.

Sterling Savill:     
Michael Rodrigues:     

Savill was drawing very thin, and after the   on the turn gave Rodrigues his nut flush, the   on the river was meaningless, sending Savill to the rail in third place.

Michael Rodrigues	17,350,000	2,850,000
William Kopp	7,000,000	950,000
Mike Linster	3,805,000	-1,490,000
Sterling Savill	0	-2,200,000

Sterling Savill has quite a hike to catch up to his remaining opponents, but he is trying to move his chips in the right direction, while chip leader Michael Rodrigues is doing his best to prevent it.

After quartering Rodrigues to take a small but important pot, Savill was on the button when he called a raise to 400,000 from Rodrigues in the cutoff.

The duo saw a flop of     which Rodrigues bet the pot on. Savill opted to fold at this point and send back most of the chips he'd won from Rodrigues just a few minutes earlier.

Michael Rodrigues	15,600,000	100,000
Sterling Savill	1,425,000	155,000

The final four players have been sent on their second break of the day.

In the final hand before break, Mike Linster picked off a 400,000 chip river bluff from William Kopp to squeeze closer to Kopp who is now a distant second in chips behind Michael Rodrigues.

Sterling Savill will return from break at the distinct short stack remaining.

Michael Rodrigues	15,500,000	200,000
William Kopp	6,050,000	-550,000
Mike Linster	5,295,000	-80,000
Sterling Savill	1,270,000	20,000

Sterling Savill raised pot to 420,000 and action folded around to William Kopp in the small blind, who raised to 850,000. Action folded back to Savill, who called all in for his remaining stack.

Sterling Savill:     
William Kopp:     

The       runout left Savill best with two pair and he doubled up through Kopp.

William Kopp	11,000,000	450,000
Sterling Savill	1,600,000	-150,000

After a raise from Mike Linster to 250,000 from under the gun, William Kopp made it 930,000 to go from the cutoff.

Joseph McCarthy was left to a decision for his remaining 405,000 in the small blind, and after a minute or so of thought, he moved all in.

Linster folded and left McCarthy's fate to the chip leader.

Joseph McCarthy:     
William Kopp:     

McCarthy told his rail that he had diamonds working for him, with the     flop bringing him one along with a gutshot Broadway draw.

His flush draw got closer with the   turn, but the   on the river brought him no further help, keeping Kopp's aces ahead to eliminate McCarthy.

William Kopp	16,000,000	1,500,000
Mike Linster	5,675,000	-225,000
Joseph McCarthy	0	-2,275,000

A pair of notable hands have led to the elimination of Loni Hui.

First, after limping under the gun, she called a raise to 500,000 from Michael Rodrigues on the button.

Hui called to see a flop of    , then checked and faced a pot-sized bet of 1,380,000 from Rodrigues which barely covered Hui's stack.

Hui opted to fold and choose to fight at another time.

That time came in the following hand, as after a raise to 420,000 from William Kopp under the gun, Hui called in the big blind.

On the     flop, Hui moved all in for her last 710,000. Kopp called and Hui was at risk.

Loni Hui:     
William Kopp:     

Hui's top pair of queens trailed Kopp's kings. The   on the turn gave Hui hope for a low with her ace-deuce, though it did give Kopp an added flush draw.

The   on the river ended Hui's day, giving Kopp a winning set of kings to extend his significant chip lead.

William Kopp	13,650,000	1,450,000
Michael Rodrigues	6,150,000	850,000
Loni Hui	0	-2,000,000