Team Setna is "On Cloud 9" as they Take Home Their First Bracelet in $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em
“I’m on cloud nine,” an elated Jason James told PokerNews after taking down Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em. “This bracelet is cool because I get to share it with a friend,” James continued. “It’s f****ng incredible,” added his teammate Jimmy Setna after Team Setna fought through four days of play to win their first bracelets and split the first place prize of $190,910. They topped the field of 1,437 teams that created a prize pool of $1,264,560.
The fun and unique format created hype around the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with the final day playing down from three tables to a winner. The final five players were all looking for their first bracelets, but it seemed fate was set from the start.
Final Table Results
| Place | Team | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Setna - Jason James | Canada | $190,910 |
| 2 | Aaron Thomas – Burcu Dagli | United States | $127,254 |
| 3 | Mark Bagin - Kevin Bagin | United States | $91,234 |
| 4 | Richard Ali - Patsy Altomari | United States | $66,238 |
| 5 | Joshua Hopkins – Charles Honkonen | Canada | $48,708 |
| 6 | Jason Wheeler - Anthony Nardi | United States | $36,282 |
| 7 | Sheraton Hall - Malcolm Trayner | Australia | $27,382 |
| 8 | Marcos Extercotter - Henry Fischer | United Kingdom | $20,942 |
| 9 | Toby Boas - Angel Boas | United States | $16,232 |
Winner's Reaction
The duo have been teammates and good friends for over a decade. “We’re roommates right now,” Setna added; both have spent this series grinding as much as they could handle.
Both players have been playing for over ten years and have only grown to love the game more. In the mid-2010s, the pair started taking poker seriously and made careers through tournament and cash game winnings. “I always had a lot of belief,” shared James, adding, “I knew it was gonna happen for Jimmy as well.”
Lady Luck played her part in Team Setna's victory, too. James eliminated Javier Rodriguez of Team Perez with ace-queen versus kings , ridding them of a dangerous foe.
"I thought they were formidable foes, and after I scored that knockout, I felt our experience helped a lot.”
Finally, Setna praised those who supported him by saying, “I’m just very thankful; we have a ton of support around us. I have support from my fiancé as well.” “Lauren, I love you!” chimed in James, and Setna added, “And I love my fiancé Irena!” as both players made sure to thank those who helped them achieve this moment.
Day 3 Recap
Short stacks seemed to enjoy all the luck, with no players busting until an hour into the action. Team Thomas was responsible for both the early eliminations, increasing their stack to 1,700,000. Once the first team busted, it was a quick rush down to the two-table redraw.
Team Thomas picked up aces in quick succession to send Team Cacoilo and Team Scott to the rail as play quickened in pace. Team Setna knocked out Team Perez in a hand referenced above, and the final table was set.
Team Boas fell first, losing with cowboys, before Team Thomas found a two outer to eliminate Team Exterkotter shortly after. Recent bracelet winner Malcolm Trayner hit the rail with Team Hall losing a coinflip.
The next to be sent home was Team Wheeler at the hands of Team Ali. Team Hopkins fell to Team Setna, as Team Setna gained a massive chip lead with over a third of the chips in play.
Team Ali briefly climbed to the top of the chip counts but then lost most of their stack to Team Setna’s two pair. Their run ended soon after reducing the team count to only three. At the time, Team Setna held over seventy percent of the total chips in play.
It only took five hands to conclude the tournament. First, Team Bagin busted against James' ace-high. Two hands later, Team Thomas was sent to the rail when their king-queen couldn't get there against Team Setna's dominating ace-queen, and the Tag Team event finally had its champion.
That does it for PokerNews coverage from Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em, but there are still plenty of tournaments at the 2024 WSOP. Make sure to follow all the action from the Main Event and all other events within the series.