Eelis Parssinen raised to 2,100,000 from the button. In the big blind, Ezra Abu Gazal sat riffling his chips for about a moment before shoving all in for 4,650,000. Parssinen called.
Ezra Abu Gazal:
Eelis Parssinen:
Abu Gazal's rail began chanting for hearts and got their wish as the board ran out , giving Abu Gazal a flush and the double up.
A few minutes earlier, Parssinen had complained to the tournament floor that Abu Gazal's supporters were leaning in too close to the table. The floor had to force them to move over to the side, while Parssinen switched seats.
Eelis Parssinen potted to 2,100,000, Noah Bronstein re-potted, and Parssinen called all in for 7,625,000.
Eelis Parssinen:
Noah Bronstein:
Bronstein paired his five on the flop, but Parssinen made two pair on the turn to take a commanding lead. The river came the and Parssinen doubled up into the chip lead.
Eelis Parssinen raised to 2,100,000 on the button and Noah Bronstein shoved in the small blind for 5,600,000. Parssinen called and they revealed their cards:
Noah Bronstein:
Eelis Parssinen:
The board brought and Bronstein hit two pair for the double up.
Noah Bronstein potted to 3,400,000 and Eelis Parssinen called from the big blind. The flop came the . Bronstein bet, Parssinen raised all in, and Bronstein quickly called.
Noah Bronstein:
Eelis Parssinen:
Bronstein was drawing to a four to complete a straight against Parssinen's flopped set of sixes. He picked up a flush draw on the turn.
"Slowly," both players asked the dealer. The dealer turned over the , and Parssinen became a WSOP champion.
To most people who follow the high stakes online scene he’s “EEE27.” Today at the final table of Event #64: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha he was Eelis Parssinen, the newest World Series of Poker bracelet winner.
The Finnish pro was already among the best online cash game players in the world. He now has his breakthrough win on the live tournament scene, but he doesn’t plan to change anything because he has a gold bracelet around his wrist.
“I don’t play these live tournaments too often. I wouldn’t consider myself as a live player,” Parssinen said. “I like to play live, but, I mean, this is my fifth WSOP tournament ever and there is so much luck involved.”
Parssinen needed all the luck he could get just to arrive at the final table. With around 40 players left, he lost a big pot that knocked him down to one big blind. He texted his friends in a group chat that he was out of the tournament. He managed to build that stack up to 2,800,000 at the start of the final table, in the middle of the pack among the nine players remaining.
He was far from alone. Outlasting a starting field of 579, at the final table were three fellow Scandinavians and his closest friends: Niklas Astedt, Samuli Sipila, and Joni Jouhkimainen.
Event #64: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Eelis Parssinen
Finland
$545,616
2
Noah Bronstein
United States
$337,216
3
Ezra Abu Gazal
United States
$239,321
4
David Prociak
United States
$172,332
5
Joni Jouhkimainen
Finland
$125,940
6
Kyle Arora
United States
$93,425
7
Niklas Astedt
Sweden
$70,367
8
Vikranth Anga
India
$53,824
Final Table Action
Parssinen doubled up through Jouhkimainen at the start of the final table by making quad queens. As Sipila fell in ninth place and Astedt in seventh, Parssinen doubled up again to get near the chip lead.
The fast structure left little room for maneuvering, and the remaining five players traded chips pre-flop before Jouhkimainen was knocked out in fifth place by Ezra Abu Gazal, who became Parssinen’s nemesis at the final table. Parssinen complained that Abu Gazal’s rail was leaning in too close and asked to change seats. Tensions rose as the bracelet was tantalizingly near for all those left.
With three players remaining, Parssinen picked up pocket aces in a PLO hand to double through Noah Bronstein and into the chip lead. He finally got the better of Abu Gazal, winning a flip with fives against queen-ten to send Abu Gazal home in third place and leave Parssinen heads-up against Bronstein with a 2.5:1 chip advantage.
Heads-up play wouldn’t last long. Parssinen and Bronstein saw a flop of and got all the chips in the middle. Parssinen had flopped a set of sixes with , while Bronstein was drawing to a straight with . Bronstein picked up a flush draw on the turn but bricked the river, making Parssinen a WSOP bracelet winner and $545,616 richer.
To Parssinen, it could’ve easily been one of his friends to lift the bracelet. Luck was just on his side. “It’s insane. There were like 600 people who started the first day. It’s like a dream come true to play with these guys, my closest friends,” he said.
“To be honest those players who I played with are the world’s best in this format. They are really good in No-Limit and really good in PLO. I think they deserve it. Still, there is so much luck involved.”
Parssinen doesn’t plan to stick around for the Main Event but might return later in the series to play some of the last events. He, Jouhkimainen, Sipila, and the rest of his Scandinavian rail are already planning to go golfing tomorrow.
That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting teams coverage of Event #64: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha. Head over to the WSOP live reporting portal to check out coverage of other events.