The 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $1,500 'Millionaire Maker' No-Limit Hold'em tournament recently awarded Pavel Plesuv the largest prize in its history.
The poker pro bagged the first WSOP gold bracelet for Moldova and $1,201,564 after leading the 10,416-entry field. Still, he narrowly missed bagging his first bracelet in the 2022 WSOP when he finished second in the $10,000 six-max tournament.
He is among the leading 100 players in this year's POY race. Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas hosted the event for three days. It had two starting flights, and its field was drastically reduced to seven before the final day.
What Did the Leading Nine Players Take Home?
Pavel Plesuv – $1,201,564 and 1,440 POY points
Florian Ribouchon – $1,003,554 and 1,200 POY points
Paul Gunness – $650,058 and 960 POY points
Andreas Kniep – $501,182 and 720 POY points
Anton Smirnov – $373,524 and 600 POY points
Myles Mullaly – $287,522 and 480 POY points
Vitor Coutinho – $222,749 and 360 POY points
Andras Matrai – $173,683 and 240 POY points
Charles Benoit – $136,302 and 120 POY points
The Final Day's Battle of the Blinds
Myles Mullaly used pocket jacks to make a hijack raise when the final day's action kicked off. Andreas Kniep used pocket tens to make a three-bet, while Vitor Coutinho used ADiamond SuitKHeart Suit to make a 17,000,000 four-bet and remained with 400,000 chips. Mullaly made a jack fold before Kniep went all-in.
Their moves prompted Coutinho to call, and 9Club Suit8Diamond Suit3Heart Suit2Club Suit4Heart Suit landed on the board. Kniep won a big pot and ended Kniep's run in seventh place.
Mullay's pocket eights clashed with Anton Smirnov's pocket aces of short stack after a few minutes. The former used A-5 suited to move all in against Florian Ribouchon's pocket nines. Still, Mullaly made a nut flush draw and pair of fives flop.
He made an ace turn to improve two pair putting Ribouchon in a tight spot as he required a nine on the river. Unfortunately, the 9Spade Suit left the deck and busted Mullaly in the sixth position.
Smirnov used an A-2 suited to go all-in and faced Ribouchon's K-Q. The latter's card landed a king-high straight on the river and flopped a pair of queens hence sending the former packing in fifth place.
Plesuv won a big pot from a blank and busted Kniep in fourth place. Paul Gunness followed Kniep in the third position after Plesuv's queen put him in urgent need of an ace. Plesuv had a 222,700,000:37,400,000 chip advantage over Ribouchon when their heads-up action began.
The former used KSpade SuitQSpade Suit to make a button min-raise, while the latter used JSpade SuitJDiamond Suit from the big blind to make a 5.4 big blinds three-bet. But, the 3Club Suit left the deck and sent Ribouchon packing as the runner-up with $1,003,554 while Plesuv won the title.
