Extra Special Day for Christopher Vitch as He Wins Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha ($262,734)
Christopher Vitch has won his third gold bracelet here at the 2024 World Series of Poker in Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas as he topped the field of 2,212 entries.
It took three days for Vitch to take home the lion’s share of the $1,946,560 prize pool, earning $262,734 for his hard work as he denied runner-up Thomas Taylor his first gold bracelet.
Although Vitch is better known for his skills in mixed-game varieties of poker, he has demonstrated his ability to compete in Pot-Limit Omaha as well. "I'm not as experienced in PLO, so I just relied on my instincts," he said.
“It’s a strange day,” Vitch explained, as two years ago on this day his mom passed. “It feels kind of incredible, that it worked out that I won a random tournament on this day.”
He put on an impressive showing as he started the day only slightly behind chip leader and two-time bracelet winner David Prociak. It didn’t take long for him to pull away from the competition and never look back.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Vitch | United States | $262,734 |
| 2 | Thomas Taylor | Canada | $175,179 |
| 3 | David Prociak | United States | $126,853 |
| 4 | Joe Firova | United States | $92,850 |
| 5 | Jay Harwood | United Kingdom | $68,702 |
| 6 | Ioannis Angelou Konstas | Greece | $51,396 |
| 7 | Kharlin Sued | United States | $38,877 |
| 8 | Christopher Frank | Germany | $29,740 |
Final Day Action
Only eight players returned for Day 3 and it didn’t take long for the action to heat up as it only took a few hands before Germany’s high-roller Christopher Frank fell short-stacked as he ran into Prociak's boat. He only had two big blinds remaining and was eliminated by the eventual runner-up Taylor the next hand.
It was quickly becoming the Vitch show as he began amassing pot after pot. Despite being one of the two chip leaders alongside Prociak, he showed no hesitation in engaging head-to-head battles. This included a pivotal moment in Level 30 when he flopped a full house against Prociak and took a significant portion of his chips.
Vitch was relentless throughout the entire day, engaging in as many pots as possible. His aggressive style lead to him eliminating both Ioannis Angelou Konstas (6th – 51396), and Jay Harwood (5th –$68,702).
As three-handed play began, Prociak and Taylor had similar stacks while Vitch remained the dominant favorite. Prociak began rebuilding his stack but was ultimately denied his third bracelet when his wrap couldn’t overcome Taylor’s pocket kings. This set the stage for the final two players to enter heads-up play.
Canadian poker professional Taylor began heads-up play as a nearly three-to-one underdog, initiating a back-and-forth battle. Taylor seemed to be making a comeback after winning a few pots, but his run ended when he rivered a queen-high flush against Vitch’s king-high flush.
Vitch is playing a full schedule this summer and says he is headed to celebrate by jumping straight into Event #53: $3,000 Nine Game Mix. “I’m excited that I have a win under my belt, but I have plenty more events to play.”
That concludes the PokerNews live reporting from this event, but several other tournaments are currently taking place in which a WSOP gold bracelet is up for grabs.