2018 WSOP Event 42: Shaun Deeb Gets Revenge on Ben Yu to Win $25K PLO for $1,402,683
The final six players from a 230-entry field (181 unique entries + 49 re-entries) in the 2018 World Series of Poker Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller returned to the ESPN main stage on Saturday to play down to a winner.
The final table included heavyweights like defending champ James Calderaro, Poker Hall of Famer Scotty Nguyen and the red-hot Jason Koon. However, none of those players made it to the final two. Instead, it was a rematch of the 2017 WSOP Event #34: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship, which is when Ben Yu beat Shaun Deeb heads-up to win his second bracelet.
Deeb: "Everyone played their best game, I just ran the best.”
The duo collided once again, each looking to join the ranks of Sammy Farha, David “Chip” Reese and David Sklansky as three-time bracelet winners. The fourth edition of the tournament, which for the first time allowed for a single re-entry, ended with Deeb getting his revenge.
“I made a joke to him at the unofficial final table,” Deeb revealed. “I said we both missed the $10K 2-7, the event we got heads-up in last year. I go, ‘We might be able to do it again, another game I’m a favorite on you heads-up.’ Ben’s a great poker player but I have so much experience playing mixed games longer.”
The $1,402,683 blew away Deeb’s previous best cash (not counting the $1 million he won in a One Drop satellite) of $318,857 for winning the 2015 WSOP Event #15: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship. His other bracelet came at the 2016 WSOP when he took down Event #49: $1,500 Seven Card Stud for $111,101.
“I had a great start to the day, got the chip lead,” Deeb said after the win. “No one really ever put me in a bad spot. I was able to control the pot sizes the way I wanted to almost every hand. That really helps, to not get in an inflated pot with a marginal hand. Everyone played their best game, I just ran the best.”
He added: “I think I have a great shot at Player of the Year right now so I think I’m gonna battle, hop in every event I can and just enjoy myself.”
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | United States | $1,402,683 |
| 2 | Ben Yu | United States | $866,924 |
| 3 | Scotty Nguyen | United States | $592,875 |
| 4 | James Calderaro | United States | $414,134 |
| 5 | Jason Koon | United States | $295,606 |
| 6 | Ryan Tosoc | United States | $215,718 |
| 7 | David Benyamine | France | $161,020 |
| 8 | Bogdan Capitan | Romania | $123,004 |
It took just four hands for the first player to fall. It happened when the short-stacked Ryan Tosoc raised pot preflop and just called Yu’s three-bet to 900K. Tosoc then jammed his last 325,000 after flopping middle pair with a flush draw and Yu looked him up with top pair of aces. Neither the turn nor river helped Tosoc and he hit the rail in sixth place for $215,718.
On Hand #31 of the final table, Deeb raised and then called a three-bet from Koon. The latter shoved the nine-high flop with queens and Deeb snap-called him with top two pair nines and sevens. Koon picked up a straight draw on the turn but failed to get there on the river. Koon took home $295,606 for his fifth-place finish.
Calderaro was looking to go back-to-back in arguably one of the toughest tournaments of the year, but his quest came up three spots shy thanks to a nasty river card. It happened when both he and Deeb got it in with top two on the flop. The odds favored a chop, but running cards wound up giving Deeb a backdoor six-high straight to win the pot. Calderaro’s $414,134 for finishing fourth brought his two-year total up to $1,703,208 in prize money.
Three-handed play lasted for a while before Yu double through Nguyen, which left the Poker Hall of Famer short. The 1998 WSOP Main Event champ soon got it in with two kings and a ten-nine and was up against Yu’s queens with an ace-three. An ace hit the flop and Nguyen was eliminated in third place for $592,875, the fourth-largest score of his illustrious career.
Yu and Deeb both held the chip lead during the short heads-up match. Before long, Deeb got his opponent on the ropes before delivering the final blow. It happened on a five-four-deuce two-heart flop when Yu called all in holding a jack-six-six-five with two hearts against Deeb, who held aces with a gutshot to a seven. The black deuce and eight on the turn and river respectively sent Yu to the rail as runner-up for a career-high $866,924.
History of the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller
| Year | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 175 | $4,156,250 | Anthony Zinno | $1,122,196 |
| 2016 | 184 | $4,370,000 | Jens Kyllönen | $1,127,035 |
| 2017 | 205 | $4,868,750 | James Calderaro | $1,289,074 |
| 2018 | 230 | $5,462,500 | Shaun Deeb | $1,402,683 |
PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
In this Series
- 1 2018 WSOP Event 1: Jordan Hufty Wins First WSOP Gold in $565 Casino Employees
- 2 2018 WSOP Event 2: Elio Fox Wins First Ever WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for $393,693
- 3 2018 WSOP Event 3: Joe Cada Wins 2018 WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em SHOOTOUT for $226,218
- 4 2018 WSOP Event 4: Julien Martini Wins $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better ($239,771)
- 5 2018 WSOP Event 5: Nick Petrangelo Wins WSOP $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller ($2,910,227)
- 6 2018 WSOP Event 6: Jeremy Perrin Wins The GIANT Turning $365 Into $250,966
- 7 2018 WSOP Event 7: Roberly Felicio Wins the 2018 WSOP COLOSSUS for $1,000,000
- 8 2018 WSOP Event 8: Johannes Becker Wins $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball ($180,455)
- 9 2018 WSOP Event 9: Paul Volpe Wins Third WSOP Bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
- 10 2018 WSOP Event 10: William ‘Twooopair’ Reymond Wins $365 WSOP.com ONLINE Event ($154,996)
- 11 2018 WSOP Event 11: Tim Andrew Triumphs in the $365 PLO GIANT for $116,015, Mizrachi Fifth
- 12 2018 WSOP Event 12: Jeremy Harkin Wins $1,500 Dealer's Choice for $129,882
- 13 2018 WSOP Event 13: Benjamin Moon Wins $1,500 Big Blind Antes for $315,346
- 14 2018 WSOP Event 14: Daniel Ospina Wins First Bracelet for Colombia in 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 15 2018 WSOP Event 15: Andrey Zhigalov Wins $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. for $202,787
- 16 2018 WSOP Event 16: Justin Bonomo Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10K Heads-Up Championship
- 17 2018 WSOP Event 17: Ognyan Dimov Wins Third Bracelet for Bulgaria in Event #17 ($378,743)
- 18 2018 WSOP Event 18: Adam Friedman Wins Second Bracelet in $10K Dealer's Choice
- 19 2018 WSOP Event 19: Craig Varnell Wins $565 Pot-Limit Omaha ($181,790)
- 20 2018 WSOP Event 20: Jeremy Wien Conquers $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $537,710
- 21 2018 WSOP Event 21: Arne Kern Wins $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em MILLIONAIRE MAKER ($1,173,223)
- 22 2018 WSOP Event 22: Philip Long Wins $1,500 Eight Game Mix ($147,348)
- 23 2018 WSOP Event 23: Brian Rast Wins Fourth Bracelet in 2-7 Lowball Championship, Brunson 6th
- 24 2018 WSOP Event 24: Michael Addamo Wins Event #24: $2,620 MARATHON No-Limit Hold'em
- 25 2018 WSOP Event 25: Benjamin Dobson Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- 26 2018 WSOP Event 26: Filippos Stavrakis Dedicates WSOP PLO Bracelet ($169,842) to His Brother
- 27 2018 WSOP Event 27: John Hennigan Wins 2018 WSOP $10K HORSE for Fifth Bracelet and $415K
- 28 2018 WSOP Event 28: Fortunate River Gives Gal Yifrach First WSOP Bracelet & $461K Prize
- 29 2018 WSOP Event 29: Hanh Tran Wins First WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw ($117,282)
- 30 2018 WSOP Event 30: Ryan Bambrick Wins First Gold Bracelet in Dominating Fashion
- 31 2018 WSOP Event 31: Steven Albini Wins $1,500 Stud to Deny Jeff Lisandro 7th Bracelet
- 32 2018 WSOP Event 32: Matthew Davis Tops Biggest Seniors Event Ever to Win $662,983
- 33 2018 WSOP Event 33: Michael Mizrachi Wins His Third Poker Players Championship Title
- 34 2018 WSOP Event 34: Robert Peacock Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,000 DOUBLE STACK
- 35 2018 WSOP Event 35: Yueqi Zhu Claims First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Mixed Omaha
- 36 2018 WSOP Event 36: Farhintaj Bonyadi Wins Event $1,000 Super Seniors ($311,451)
- 37 2018 WSOP Event 37: Eric Baldwin Wins Second Bracelet, Dedicates it to His Father
- 38 2018 WSOP Event 38: Yaniv Birman Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship ($236,238)
- 39 2018 WSOP Event 39: Preston Lee Captures $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout Bracelet ($236,498)
- 40 2018 WSOP Event 40: Scott Bohlman Wins WSOP $2,500 Mixed Big Bet ($122,138)
- 41 2018 WSOP Event 41: Robert Nehorayan Wins $1,500 Limit Hold'em for $173,568
- 42 2018 WSOP Event 42: Shaun Deeb Gets Revenge on Ben Yu to Win $25K PLO for $1,402,683
- 43 2018 WSOP Event 43: Timur Margolin Takes Down $2,500 NLHE for $507,274
- 44 2018 WSOP Event 44: Nicholas Seiken Wins $10k 2-7 Triple Draw Championship for $287,987
- 45 2018 WSOP Event 45: Mario Prats Garcia Wins $1,000 Big Blind NLH For $258,255
- 46 2018 WSOP Event 46: David Brookshire Wins WSOP $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 ($214,291)
- 47 2018 WSOP Event 47: Matthew 'mendey' Mendez Wins First WSOP Online PLO Bracelet ($135,077)
- 48 2018 WSOP Event 48: Tommy Nguyen Wins Monster Stack for $1,037,451
- 49 2018 WSOP Event 49: Loren Klein Wins $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $1,018,336
- 50 2018 WSOP Event 50: Jay Kwon Wins $1,500 Razz ($125,431)
- 51 2018 WSOP Event 51: Ryan Leng Ships First WSOP Gold in $1,500 BOUNTY ($272,504)
- 52 2018 WSOP Event 52: Scott Seiver Wins $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship ($296,222)
- 53 2018 WSOP Event 53: Couden Tops Elezra, Matusow, Negreanu, and Fitoussi to win $1,500 PLO8
- 54 2018 WSOP Event 54: Portugal's Diogo Veiga Wins $3K Big Blind Antes ($522,715)
- 55 2018 WSOP Event 55: Giuseppe Pantaleo and Nikita Luther Win the $1K Tag Team for $175,805!
- 56 2018 WSOP Event 56: Calvin Anderson Wins His Second Bracelet in the $10K Razz ($309,220)!
- 57 2018 WSOP Event 57: Jessica Dawley Wins the WSOP Ladies Championship for $130,230!
- 58 2018 WSOP Event 58: Tribe Has Spoken: Jean-Robert Bellande Wins First Bracelet for $616K
- 59 2018 WSOP Event 59: Mike Takayama Makes History as the First Filipino to Win a WSOP Bracelet
- 60 2018 WSOP Event 60: Galfond Wins 3rd Bracelet in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
- 61 2018 WSOP Event 61: Ryan 'Toosick' Tosoc Wins WSOP.com $1,000 Championship ($238,778)
- 62 2018 WSOP Event 62: Galen Hall Wins $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em for $888,888
- 63 2018 WSOP Event 63: Chance 'BingShui' Kornuth Wins Second Bracelet in WSOP.com Online High Roller for $341,598
- 64 2018 WSOP Event 64: Matsuzuki Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- 65 John Cynn Wins the 2018 WSOP Main Event for $8,800,000!
- 66 2018 WSOP Event 66: Longsheng Tan Wins $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em for $323,472
- 67 2018 WSOP Event 67: Anderson Ireland Wins $1,500 PLO Bounty for First Bracelet and $141K
- 68 2018 WSOP Event 68: Guoliang Wei Wins Fourth Chinese Bracelet in The Little One for One Drop ($559,332)
- 69 2018 WSOP Event 69: Ronald Keijzer Wins $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed for $475,033
- 70 2018 WSOP Event 70: Yaser Al-Keliddar Wins Event #70: $3K Limit Hold'em 6-Handed for $154K
- 71 2018 WSOP Event 71: Phil Hellmuth Wins 15th Career Bracelet in $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em!
- 72 2018 WSOP Event 72: Jordan Polk Wins $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO for $197,461
- 73 2018 WSOP Event 73: Denis Timofeev Bests Leo Margets to Win the $1,000 Double Stack Turbo
- 74 2018 WSOP Event 74: Shaun Deeb Wins Second Bracelet of the Summer in $10,000 6-Max ($814,179)
- 75 2018 WSOP Event 75: Joe Cada Wins His Fourth Career Bracelet in The Closer ($612,886)
- 76 2018 WSOP Event 76: Brian Hastings Wins the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E and 4th Bracelet
- 77 2018 WSOP Event 77: Ben Yu Wins Third Bracelet in $50,000 High Roller $1,650,773
