Michael Rodrigues recently bagged the first World Series of Poker (WSOP) badugi bracelet. The $1,500 buy-in event featured 516 players.
Rodrigues won his first WSOP bracelet and the $144,678 top prize.
Besides, it was his first time to win a live poker event after finishing second with $76,505 in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Paris €5,150 no-limit hold'em six-max tournament. Statistics show that his poker earnings have increased to almost $450,000 after his latest victory.
The poker player's two runner-up finishes in 2023 increased his Card Player Player of the Year (POY) points to 1,116 hence earning him a spot in the top 200 in the 2023 POY race. Besides, it was WSOP's first stand-alone badugi tournament and not its first time to spread the distinct lowball variant.
Badugi is a triple draw game that requires players to use a card from each suit to make the lowest four-card hand. It has been integrated into dealer's choice tournaments of late.
The tournament lasted for three days but required an extra day. It featured a wide array of skilled players like Jon Turner (two-time bracelet champion), Terrence Chan, Danny Tang (bracelet champion), Owais Ahmed (bracelet champion), and David 'ODB' Baker.
What Did the Top Finalists Take Home?
- Michael Rodrigues – $144,678 and 840 POY points
- Yingui Li – $89,415 and 700 POY points
- Serhii Popovych – $59,879 and 560 POY points
- Matthew Vengrin – $40,996 and 420 POY points
- Danny Tang – $28,710 and 350 POY points
- Owais Ahmed – $20,577 and 280 POY points
The Final Day's Action
Only three players sat at the final table on Day 3 at 2:30 am. Yingui Li was the stack leader and Rodrigues was second. Still, the unexpected Day 4 didn't last long as the three top finalists competed for an hour before Rodrigues won.
Popovych left the table in third place 30 minutes after the final day's action began. He put his remaining stack against Li a few minutes before the draws. Even so, the two players drew one before the last pull.
Li got a 5-3-1 three-card badugi hence offering Popovych an opportunity to win the hand once they got a diamond at the end to have a four-card badugi. The latter drew a spade and a 7-5-4 three-card that ended his run with $58,879.
Popovych's elimination gave Li a 7,250,000:5,650,000 stack lead over Rodrigues before their heads-up battle began. Rodrigues bluffed Li after a short while and collected part of his stack.
The latter made a button raise in the event's final hand prompting the former to make a three-bet from the big blind. Still, Li called before taking two as Rodrigues maintained his position.
Rodrigues wagered and Li made another call. The former patted again while the latter drew one. Rodrigues wagered and Li made an all-in call.
The former made his third pat and the latter drew again. Rodrigues showed 7Diamond Suit4Spade Suit3Club SuitAHeart Suit as Li revealed 6Spade Suit5Club SuitADiamond Suit at a six badugi for the live draw. Unfortunately, the KClub Suit busted Li in second place with $89,415.
