Nível 41
: Blinds 1,200,000/2,500,000, 2,500,000 ante
Konstantin Maslak
Konstantin Maslak jammed the button for his last 3,900,000 and found a caller in Jin Hoon Lee in the small blind to set up a runout with Maslak at risk.
Konstantin Maslak: A♥6♠
Jin Hoon Lee: A♠K♥
The board ran out 7♠5♦3♦J♠A♦, securing the pot for Lee and sending Maslak to the rail in fourth place for $160,000.
Nível 41
: Blinds 1,200,000/2,500,000, 2,500,000 ante
Jin Hoon Lee
Jin Hoon Lee limped from the small blind only to see Maria Ho jam from the big blind to put Lee at risk. Lee paused briefly before deciding to make the call to set up a runout with himself the player at risk.
Jin Hoon Lee: A♥9♣
Maria Ho: 4♠4♣
The J♦5♥6♣ flop was safe for Ho, but when the turn brought the A♦, Ho was left needing help headed to the river.
The dealer burned a card and put the 6♠ out on the river, securing a massive chip lead double for Lee and leaving Ho with a short stack for the first time since the start of Day 2.
Jin Hoon Lee jammed the small blind and Maria Ho called all in for 13,000,000 in the big blind.
Maria Ho: K♣2♠
Jin Hoon Lee: A♦9♣
The 4♦6♣4♥ flop kept Lee ahead, and although the 5♣ turn gave Ho gutshot outs, the A♠ river bricked out and Ho was eliminated in third place for $200,000.
Max Pinnola shoved all in for 22,000,000 and Jin Hoon Lee called.
Max Pinnola: K♠4♦
Jin Hoon Lee: K♦9♠
The K♣8♣3♠ flop kept Lee ahead with his dominating kicker to the 6♥ turn. Pinnola needed only a four to survive, but the Q♥ river bricked and Pinnola was eliminated in second place for $257,100.
Meanwhile, Lee claims the WSOP bracelet and $420,000 for his victory.
Nível 44
: Blinds 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante
Jin Hoon Lee
The opening event of the first ever World Series of Poker Paradise has crowned a champion here at Atlantis Resort in beautiful Bahamas and while sharks swim in the ocean just a few hundred yards away, a different type of shark has stacked up every chip in the room to stand alone in Event #1: $1,500 Mystery Millions.
In a tournament that had a field size totaling 3,446 entries spread across five starting flights, Jin Hoon Lee has become the last man standing, securing his first WSOP bracelet and the $420,000 lion's share of the $5,169,000 prize pool that the event created.
Lee came back for the final day with the eighth biggest stack of the 34 returning players and was able to navigate his way to the final table after a day filled with ups and downs. When the final table began, Lee sat behind a middling stack that was only good for 14 blinds, but he played a very focused and disciplined game, picking his spots well and never giving anything away. Now, with all the dust settled, he stands alone.
Lee had no easy task in front of him at the start of the day with huge names like Mikita Badziakouski, Sam Greenwood and David Peters returning to chase the bracelet as well. Phil Hellmuth was also among the returning Day 3 field and was gunning for his record-extending 18th bracelet, but all of them would fall short of their ultimate goal of adding hardware to their trophy cases.
When heads-up play began, Jin Hoon Lee had roughly a 3:1 chip lead, but Max Pinnola would battle back over a series of hands that saw him completely flip the chip counts to a 3:1 lead in his favor. The battle wasn't over yet, though, as Lee never gave an inch and stormed his way back after doubling with kings and aces in short order. On the final hand, Lee found himself headed to a runout with a dominating hand that would hold up through five cards, securing Lee his first WSOP bracelet in what was an action packed final table.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1st
Jin Hoon Lee
South Korea
$420,000
2nd
Max Pinnola
United States
$257,100
3rd
Maria Ho
United States
$200,000
4th
Konstantin Maslak
Russia
$160,000
5th
Drew Scott
Canada
$127,000
6th
Thomas Santerne
France
$101,000
7th
Kartik Ved
India
$80,000
8th
Davidi Kitai
Belgium
$64,000
9th
Hyunsup Kim
South Korea
$51,000
Winner's Thoughts
Lee was absolutely over the moon to take down the bracelet. So much so, in fact, that his celebratory screams could be felt from the other end of the room and the fact that he had his friends around him to witness the moment made it all the more special. When asked what the victory meant to him, he expressed the elation he was feeling for bringing home a WSOP bracelet to his home country of South Korea.
He made it clear that he hoped his win would further pave the way for other Korean players to throw their hat in the ring and use his win as the inspiration to come to the WSOP, take a seat at the table and bring home more bracelets for his country and with the international love that exists for the WSOP and the game of poker in general, there may be no better feeling in the world than to grow the game you love for the country you love.
That concludes coverage of this event but keep it locked to PokerNews for continued coverage of the first ever World Series of Poker Paradise from Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas!
