WSOP 2019: Adam Friedman goes back to back and Weiyi Zhang goes close

The World Series of Poker in Las Vegas has been heating up nicely during the past week, with numerous stories being written over in sin city. The last twenty-four hours alone have seen China come close to a bracelet, not for the first time this summer. The biggest story, however, has been the astonishing achievement by Adam Friedman, who has successfully defended the bracelet event he won last year.

Event #35: Friedman defends title as Shaun Deeb misses out on bracelet number five in the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice

All eyes have been fixed on the final table of event 35, the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice. The biggest stories of the final table were Adam Friedman and his bid to defend this title, which he won in 2018, and Shaun Deeb. American pro Deeb already had four bracelets to his name coming into this event and was looking to claim his fifth. Deeb also won the 2018 Player of the Year title and will be looking to contest that title again this year.

Event 35 attracted a field of 122 players, with many stars of the game taking to the felt in this prestigious $10,000 buy in event. The format was Dealer’s Choice, which allows players to take turns in choosing the game, with twenty different games to choose from. The field generated a prize pool of $1,146,800 and once six-time bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro had exited in 10th for $27,823 all eyes were on Friedman and Deeb. The two protagonists did not disappoint, reaching heads up play, and after a few big pots had gone Friedman’s way, he was able to wrap up a fantastic back to back victory.

The final payouts are as follows:

1st – Adam Friedman – $312,417

2nd – Shaun Deeb – $193,090

3rd – Matt Glantz – $139,126

4th – David Moskowitz – $100,440

5th – Michael McKenna – $72,653

6th – Nick Schulman – $52,656

Event #36: Weiyi Zhang takes 3rd place in the $3,000 NLH Shootout;David Lambard claims victory

The $3,000 NLH Shootout was attended by 313 players, with the prize pool eventually rising to $845,100. There were several interesting names still in the hunt after the first tables had been completed, with Justin Bonomo, Andrew Lichtenberger, Dario Sammartino and Kristen Bicknell all making the money.

In addition, three Chinese players were also still in contention, along with Australia’s James Obst. Many of these players fell in the round that followed, but Justin Bonomo managed to take 10th place, and Andrew Lichtenberger was joined by China’s Weiyi Zhang in the later stages of the final table.

Other Chinese hopes Yang Zhang and Dong Chen finished in 17th and 21st respectively, netting $6,099 each. James Obst banked the same sum for his 13th place finish. Lichtenberger would eventually hit the rail in 4th, while Zhang fell just short, taking 3rd place. US player David Lambard went on to claim his first ever bracelet by winning the event for $207,193.

The final payouts are as follows:

1st – David Lambard – $207,193

2nd – Johan Guilbert – $128,042

3rd – Weiyi Zhang – $92,625

4th – Andrew Lichtenberger – $67,706

5th – Jan Lakota – $50,016

6th – Ben Farrell – $37,341

7th – Alexandru Papazian – $28,182

8th – Adrien Delmas – $21,501

9th – Martin Zamani – $16,586

10th – Justin Bonomo – $12,937

Other winners

Event 32 – $1,000 NLH Seniors Championship

Prize Pool: $5,324,400

Entries: 5,917

Winner: Howard Mash – $662,594

Event 38 – $600 Online NLH Knockout Bounty

Prize Pool: $550,800

Entries: 1,224

Winner: Upeshka ‘gomezhamburg’ de Silva – $100,262

Article by Craig Bradshaw