Martin Gavasci was the shortest stack left on the table and jammed all in for a little over 20,000,000 in middle position. The action folded around to Michael Lee who snap-called in the big blind.
Martin Gavasci:
Michael Lee:
Lee held a commanding lead and the flop of was of no help to Gavasci. The on the turn left Gavasci drawing dead to the on the river as he was eliminated in seventh place.
The action folded to Eric Kim on the button who moved all in for around 24,000,000. Anatolii Zyrin was in the big blind and quickly called to put Kim at risk.
Eric Kim:
Anatolii Zyrin:
The flop came to give Zyrin the best hand with a pair of jacks. Kim had a straight draw but was unable to improve on the turn and river.
Anatolii Zyrin raised to 10,000,000 on the button and David Ripley instantly moved all in for his last 19,000,000 in the big blind. Zyrin tossed a chip for the call and they revealed their cards:
David Ripley:
Anatolii Zyrin:
Zyrin's hand improved into a pair of aces throughout the board and Ripley left the tournament to collect his $86,650 prize.
The action folded to Phuoc Nguyen in the small blind who shoved for a total stack worth around 71,000,000 and it was snap-called by Kevin Rand in the big blind with a slightly higher stack.
Phuoc Nguyen:
Kevin Rand:
Nguyen's hand was dominated and a board was dealt, bringing no help to Nguyen to eliminate him in 4th place for $112,730.
Kevin Rand moved all in for a total of 64,000,000 on the button and Michael Lee folded. Zyrin tanked for a minute and annouced "Ok my turn to win" while moving a pile of chips in the middle for the call.
Kevin Rand:
Anatolii Zyrin:
The flop fell , giving a pair of queens to Zyrin, and the gave him a straight. The didn't change anything to give the winning hand to Zyrin and eliminating Rand in third place.
Michael Lee limped in on the button and Anatolii Zyrin checked his option. The flop came and Zyrin check-called a bet of 12,000,000 from Lee.
The turn brought the and both players checked to the on the river. Zyrin checked once more and Lee threw in a bet of 25,000,000. Zyrin check-raised all in, putting Lee to the test for just under 100,000,000. Lee thought for a minute and then stuck in some chips to call.
Zyrin turned over for a flush while Lee held for a straight. Zyrin leaped into his rail on the sidelines to celebrate his second WSOP gold bracelet.
Anatolii Zyrin defeated Michael Lee heads-up in Event #55: $400 Colossus at the 2021 World Series of Poker to win his second bracelet and the $314,705 top prize. The event attracted one of the biggest fields at the WSOP with 9,399 generating a healthy $3,101,670 prize pool.
While it wasn't the largest cash of his career, Zyrin said this one felt like it was the most deserved. "The first one was more luck, but this one was won on skill. I had to defeat such a large field. Really strange feeling when you win against more than 9,000 people."
The Russian's previous WSOP bracelet came in 2019 when he defeated a field of 717 entries in the $1,500 Omaha Mix event.
Event #55: $400 Colossus Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Anatolii Zyrin
Russia
$314,705
2
Michael Lee
United States
$194,450
3
Kevin Rand
United States
$147,595
4
Phuoc Nguyen
United States
$112,730
5
David Ripley
United States
$86,650
6
Eric Kim
United States
$67,025
7
Martin Gavasci
Argentina
$51,180
8
Vincas Tamasauskas
Lithuania
$40,885
9
Penh Lo
United States
$32,240
This was the first time a WSOP bracelet final table was held in the King's Lounge, and it was due to the fact of how busy the other rooms were. But after seeing the energy from the rail who were able to get closer to the action, this may become more popular in the future. After the last hand of the tournament, Zyrin leaped into his boisterous rail that included many of his friends and girlfriend.
"It was amazing to have them here," Zyrin said about his friends. "I want to thank my friends, my girlfriend. I want to say hello to my parents, sister, brother, dog, everyone back home."
Zyrin was left grinning ear to ear with his girlfriend and translator standing by his side during his post-tournament interview.
Going forward, Zyrin will be sticking around Las Vegas for at least the next two weeks before heading back across the Atlantic Ocean for WSOP Europe which will be taking place starting Nov. 15 at King's Resort in Rozvadov. "I'm not sure what I will play before the Main Event, but right now I just need some sleep. I promised my rail that if I finished top three there would be a party, but maybe tomorrow."
Final Day Action
There were 49 players that returned for the final day and there was no shortage of action right from the onslaught. Each player that returned was guaranteed a payout of $6,120. The pay jumps increased at a rapid pace with the final three tables being assembled within the first hour of play.
Once the final three tables moved into the King's Lounge, a rail started to form and they got louder as the day progressed. Some of the notables forced to the payout desk throughout the day included WSOP gold bracelet winners Brett Apter (26th place), Barbara Enright (25th place), and Carlos Chang (18th place).
It was just before the second break of the day that Robert Mather was eliminated on the final table bubble. The eliminations started to slow with the pay jumps becoming more significant. Jeffrey Stellwagon, Penh Lo, and Vincas Tamasauskas all exited in a timely fashion with a nice boost to their wallets.
Seven-handed play continued for over 90 minutes with a new short stack finding multiple double-ups. Eventually, Martin Gavasci ran his ace-jack into a red-hot Lee who woke up with ace-king in the big blind. That led to another two quick eliminations with Eric Kim and David Ripley finishing in sixth and fifth place respectively.
Phuoc Nguyen was left as the shortest stack while the other three players passed chips around the table. Nguyen finally found a lucky double up but it didn't last long as he was eliminated in the very next hand. With just three players remaining and the blinds escalating quickly, it was anyone's game.
Kevin Rand was part of the rollercoaster as he once held the chip lead but also spent some time on the short stack. Despite back-to-back double-ups, Rand still found himself at risk against Zyrin who proved time and time again how relentless he was. Zyrin flopped top pair against Rand and turned a straight to eliminate Rand in third place.
It wasn't the start that Zyrin was looking for once heads-up play began. Lee showed some fierce aggression which led to him holding nearly a two-to-one chip lead after the first few hands. However, Zyrin spotted a couple of timely check-raises on the river that ultimately cost Lee. In the final hand of the tournament, Lee was unable to escape a rivered straight when Zyrin turned a baby flush, bringing an end to Lee's incredible run.
That wraps up the coverage from this event but there is still plenty happening at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino with the Main Event on the horizon. Keep it locked here on PokerNews for updates throughout every tournament.