Team Aditya Sushant - Nipun Java Captures Event #10: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'Em for $150,637
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In dramatic fashion, Team Aditya Sushant - Nipun Java have won their first-ever WSOP gold bracelets in Event #10: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'Em. Together, they will take home $150,637 and two very big smiles.
Java and Sushant are two Indian-born friends who met in the United States about three years ago. Java lives here now, but Sushant still calls India home. Along with his newly acquired bracelet, Java boasts just shy of two million in career tournament earnings, along with a WSOP Circuit ring. He had a close call at the 2015 WSOP when he finished as runner-up in Event #46: $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha Six Handed for $270,509, which is also his largest-career cash. Sushant has a little under $300,000 in cashes, with this result being his biggest.
"Poker is booming in India", said Java. He explained that there is a large Indian contingent in Las Vegas for the summer, and he is even more happy for his fellow countrymen. He hopes this win is just the start of his country's success in poker.
When asked how he felt about his first bracelet win, he said, "Amazing. Amazing feeling. I'm so happy I was with a fellow Indian. We won something. This was a last-minute call for us to team up. I had another teammate drop out because he couldn't wake up on time. Otherwise, we wouldn't be a team, and who knows what would've happened. It was destiny. Meant to be."
Sushant closed out the tournament for the team, and it was actually by accident, more or less. Java needed to use the bathroom, and Sushant tagged in. The rest was history, and the two players have earned their first WSOP gold bracelets. When asked what was going through his mind in the final hand, Sushant laughed and said, "What was going through my mind? That I need to hit an ace and ace, two aces back-to-back."
Sushant called the all-in bet of Pablo Mariz with 
and was up against 
. The flop came 
, giving the team from India only one way to win. The board needed to run out ace-ace. The turn was the 
, giving them and their rail some hope, and when the 
hit the river, everyone was sent into a frenzy.
This unique event attracted a total of 843 entries, which created a prizepool of $758,700 and paid 127 spots. The bubble burst during the latter part of Day 1, and a total of 94 teams bagged chips to return on Day 2. The action was fast-paced on Day 2, as teams were eliminated early and often. After 10 levels of play, the final table was reached, and the remaining nine players bagged chips to return on Day 3. DJ MacKinnon and Esther Taylor came into the day as chip leaders but could not get anything to go their way, finishing in sixth place.
Here is a look at the final table results:
| Place | Team Name | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aditya Sushant - Nipun Java | $150,637 |
| 2 | Pablo Mariz - David Guay | $93,074 |
| 3 | Kiryl Radzivonau - Mikhail Semin | $65,190 |
| 4 | Charalampos Lappas - Georgios Zisimopoulos | $46,318 |
| 5 | Mukul Pahuja - Jonas Wexler | $33,391 |
| 6 | DJ MacKinnon - Esther Taylor | $24,430 |
| 7 | Ryan Laplante - Sam Cohen | $18,143 |
| 8 | Austin Buchanan - Lanie Foster | $13,680 |
| 9 | Joseph Choueiri - Rafael Lopez - James Gibson | $10,475 |
Some of the notables to finish in the money include Allyn Shulman - Jessica Horan - Barry Shulman (11th Place - $8,148), Jamie Kerstetter - Chris Horter - Eric Wasserson (31st Place - $3,506), Maria Ho - Fedor Holz - Rainer Kempe - Philipp Zukernik (58th Place - $2,225), Ben Yu - Jacob Wilson (62nd Place - $2,225), and Nick Yunis - Nacho Barbero (88th Place - $1,659).
Final Table Action
Team Joseph Choueiri - Rafael Lopez - James Gibson (9th Place - $10,475) were the first ones eliminated from the final table when Choueiri got all of his chips in the middle with pocket jacks but ran into Aditya Sushant's pocket kings. Team Austin Buchanan - Lanie Foster (8th Place - $13,680) were eliminated next. Buchanan had been grinding a short stack since the start of play and lost a flip with ace-jack against Nipun Java's pocket fours. Team Ryan Laplante - Sam Cohen (7th Place - $18,143) bowed out next when Laplante ran his pocket eights into Nipun Java's pocket jacks. Laplante was unable to connect with the board, and he took his partner to the cage to collect their winnings.
Just three hands later, Team DJ MacKinnon - Esther Taylor (6th Place - $24,430) were sent to the rail when MacKinnon four-bet shoved with 
into Kiryl Radzivonau's 
. Radzivonau flopped a set of kings, and MacKinnon was drawing dead on the turn. Shortly thereafter, Mukul Pahuja was on the short stack and moved all in with . He, too, was up against pocket kings of Pablo Mariz, and Team Mukul Pahuja - Jonas Wexler (5th Place - $33,391) were ousted from the tournament. It took over 40 hands before the next elimination. Georgios Zisimopoulos called an all-in bet from Kiryl Radzivonau on a flop of 
and was out in front with a pair. Unfortunately for him, Radzivonau ran down a bigger pair, and Team Charalampos Lappas - Georgios Zisimopoulos (4th Place - $46,318) was eliminated.
The three remaining players were all about equal in chips, and the average stack was nearly 50 big blinds. Needless to say, three-handed play continued for a long while until Kiryl Radzivonau found himself on the short stack. He got his remaining chips in the middle with 
, but when four aces landed on the board, Sushant's queen-high knocked out Team Kiryl Radzivonau - Mikhail Semin (3rd Place - $65,190). Heads-up play lasted 37 hands and ended when Sushant went runner-runner to make a bigger full house against Team Pablo Mariz - David Guay (2nd Place - $93,074), who were left in awe.
The final tag team event has finished up for the 2017 WSOP, but with the growing popularity of this team format, it seems likely that it will return in the following years. Continue following along with PokerNews as the team brings you all of the live updates in the coming events.