Nikolay Fal Battles His Way to a Maiden Bracelet in Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Bring-In: 200,000
Completion 500,000
Limits: 500,000-1,000,000
Nikolay Fal is the latest victor at the 2024 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, having bested 611 fellow competitor's across three days of play to secure $153,730 and his first WSOP gold bracelet. Fal defeated Venezuela's Christian Roberts in a long heads-up match to secure the win, dashing his opponent's hopes of a second bracelet in as many years.
"I'm very happy to win a bracelet in stud hi-lo", said Fal before specifying that stud "is my favorite game."
Fal demonstrated his passion for the variant through skilled play at what he described as a "very tough final table" particularly the "heads-up match...that last very long."
It was a grueling day for sure, but Fal came out on top in part because of a boisterous rail of fellow Russian poker players who, for hours, switched between singing "Yellow Submarine" and "When the Saints Come Marching In" in their native tongue Fal noted their contribution, saying "it is very important for me that my friends are there supporting me. These guys, they are my old friends".
When Fal sealed the win, the now mostly empty Horseshoe Event Center exploded with chants of "Nikolay, Nikolay" as his friends mobbed him to celebrate one of the highlights of the player's career. But for Fal, the summer is far from over.
"Yeah, yeah, I am going to play out the full series," assured Fal. He did not elaborate on what his planned schedule looks like, though with the nice boost to his bankroll that his first place finish provides, there may be some new options on the table.
Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikolay Fal | Russia | $153,730 |
| 2 | Christian Roberts | Venezuela | $102,492 |
| 3 | Joseph Hertzog | United States | $70,288 |
| 4 | Kenneth Kemple | United States | $49,127 |
| 5 | Dekel Balas | United States | $35,006 |
| 6 | Yuval Bronshtein | Israel | $25,442 |
| 7 | Nikolay Ponomarev | United Kingdom | $18,866 |
| 8 | Jon Turner | United States | $14,280 |
| 9 | Joey Couden | United States | $11,038 |
Day 3 Action
A total of 17 players returned for the third and final day. Action was quick at the start with Gregory Yohn hitting the rail in one of the first hands of play. He was soon followed to the exits by Daniel Blum, Robert Stevanovksi and James Cheung.
Five-time bracelet winner Eli Elezra was looking to add to his already stellar resume but fell just a couple spots shy of nothing another WSOP final table after falling to Kenneth Kemple in 11th place.
The unofficial final table was set following Japanese bracelet winner Ryutaro Suzuki's elimination in 10th place.
Final Table Play
The pace of eliminations did not initially slow down at the final table. It only took a few minutes for Joey Couden to be sent to the payout desk in 9th place courtesy of Dekel Balas.
Jon Turner began the day with a large stack and to begin with only built it further. His luck turned, however, and, after a series of stinging setups, Turner lost his remaining chips to Fal to hit the showers in 8th place. Nikolay Ponomarev then busted in 7th place when Roberts hit a straight.
Yuval Bronshtein had at times earlier in the day been short stacked. Yet, he somehow managed to find a number of double ups to stay in contention. That is until Kemple got him all in and at risk in a rough spot and Bronshtein failed to improve, as a result getting felted in 6th place. Balas was next to go in 5th place after first being cut down to a mere two antes before losing the rest to a rampant Kemple.
While Kemple had been enjoying a surge at the final table, momentum did eventually swing back the other way. Joseph Hertzog ultimately finished Kemple off in 4th place to bring the tournament down to the last three players.
Three-handed play continued for a long time. In fact, it was only after a few hours that the only live bracelet winner left in the field, Hertzog, hit the rail in 3rd place when he could not hit any of his draws against Roberts. That set the stage for a heads-up match between Roberts and Fal.
The two players began with roughly even stacks, though it was Fal who took the early lead, establishing a 2:1 chip advantage. Roberts did fight back, at one point almost returning to an equal division. Then, just as it looked like the duel would be going on for a while longer, Roberts called down in a massive pot only to be shown trip threes by Fal to leave him with just two big bets.
Not long after, Fal took the remainder to condemn Roberts to a runner-up finish and a $102,492 consolation prize. Fal was left standing alone to claim the title of champion and the largest slice of the prize pool.
This wraps up coverage of Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide comprehensive coverage of the 2024 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.