Vladimir Peck Wins 2021 WSOP Event #18: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball ($134,390)

Christian Zetzsche
Live Reporter
4 min read
Vladimir Peck

The 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) crowned another mixed game champion on Monday and Vladimir Peck prevailed in an intense heads-up duel with Venkata "Sandy" Tayi to claim his maiden gold bracelet in Event #18: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball. It was the first tournament of the ongoing festival that required an extra day in order to divide up the lion's share of the $562,925 prize pool in a field of 253 entries.

Peck and Tayi entered the additional day with fewer than 15 big bets in play and the 44-year-old, who grew up in Chicago, won a key hand in 2-7 Triple Draw to get back in contention and turn things around. Peck spent the last ten years on the East Coast and frequently visited the Borgata and Parx. Poker has always been a recreational activity for Peck, who usually works in software engineering and took some time off from work to compete in the entire WSOP festival.

Tayi dominated large portions of the final table and held a commanding lead several times without being able to close it out on Day 3, getting involved in a lot of pots and getting there often. However, he had to settle for the runner-up spot and a consolation prize of $83,056. The victory for $134,390 also represents the biggest live cash for Peck, toppling the previous best score of $109,040 at the Borgata Summer Poker Open back in 2008.

Event #18: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball Final Table Results

PlaceWinnerCountryPrize (in USD)
1Vladimir PeckUnited States$134,390
2Venkata TayiUnited States$83,056
3Joao VieiraPortugal$57,558
4Aaron RogersUnited States$40,443
5Brian YoonUnited States$28,818
6Hal RotholzUnited States$20,828
7Carlos RodriguezUnited States$15,272

It wasn't smooth sailing for Peck by any means en route to claiming his first gold bracelet as he was on the brink of elimination with fewer than one big bet behind several times. On Day 3 close to the seven-handed final table, Peck was seemingly always near the bottom of the leaderboard.

"I know I made a few folds that I would usually never make but there were these big stacks and suddenly the bets were so big," he said. "You pick a hand to get involved in and that's your tournament right there."

An early turning point on the unscheduled extra day came in A-5 Triple Drawn when Peck opted to break a ten and made a better seven-low.

"It was tough to do because sometimes he got those hands and I hate to break and pair up. It was a spot where I didn't think he was bluffing, he wasn't bluffing a lot. I made a lot of mistakes calling some of his bets with bluff catchers and he always had it."

It wasn't just about the money and the gold bracelet, however, but also an important lesson in mixed games as well, during which he considered Ace-To-Five as his best poker variant throughout the event.

"Honestly, I learned so much in just those three days because there were a lot of very good players in this tournament. I don't know if it's my best game but I think it's most likely that other people are not as good," he added.

Venkata Tayi
Runner-Up Venkata Tayi.

Peck will be competing in tournaments throughout the entire series with a preference for further mixed game adventures.

"This is fun and reminds me more of playing poker as a kid where it was essentially Dealer's Choice. All these different random games, we just played a bunch of different games. The no-limit hold'em games are fun and big, and I will play some of those as well. The Dealer's Choice was a lot of fun and there were many very good players in it."

The tournament certainly showcased that it is never over until the final bet has vanished. Peck staged a similar comeback story as the defending champion Dan Zack, who achieved the same feat back in 2019 as well and came back from very few chips.

Also featured on the seven-handed final table were two WSOP bracelet winners in Brian Yoon and Joao Vieira. It was Yoon who dominated the early stages on Day 3 with two tables remaining but he eventually came up short of a fourth victory and bowed out in fifth place. Vieira was involved in a tense three-handed battle with Tayi and Peck, during which the topsy-turvy affair sent the Portuguese prodigy to the rail in third place.

Peck joins Vieira in the winner's circle and will certainly be involved in more tournaments of the 2021 World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Check out our 2021 WSOP Hub here!
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Christian Zetzsche
Live Reporter

In this Series

1 Caesars Palace Dealer Jimmy Barnett Crowned Casino Employees Champion2 Jesse Klein Tilts Hellmuth on Way to 2021 WSOP $25K H.O.R.S.E. Win for $552,1823 Jeremy Ausmus Wins First Gold Bracelet of the 2021 World Series of Poker4 Long Ma Tops Near 13,000-Player Field to Win The Reunion and First WSOP Bracelet5 Connor Drinan Wins Second Bracelet in Event #5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better6 Tyler Cornell Gets Signature Victory in 2021 WSOP Event #6: $25,000 High Roller ($833,289)7 Jaswinder "Jesse" Lally Wins 2021 WSOP Event #7: $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed ($97,915)8 Aces in the Final Hand as Zhi Wu Wins Event #8: $600 Deepstack ($281,604)9 Ari Engel Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 Championship; Hellmuth Fifth10 Michael Perrone Wins 2021 WSOP Event #10: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em ($152,173)11 Jason Koon Wins Maiden WSOP Bracelet in Event #11: $25K Heads-Up Championship ($243,981)12 Yuval Bronshtein Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold'em13 Harvey Mathews Wins Event #13: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em ($371,914)14 Lebron Captures Gold; Wins 2021 WSOP Event #14: $1,500 7-Card Stud15 Bradley Jansen Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em ($313,403)16 John Monnette Wins Fourth WSOP Bracelet in Event #16: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship ($245,680)17 Daniel Lazrus Wins 2021 WSOP Millionaire Maker for 2nd Bracelet ($1,000,000)18 Vladimir Peck Wins 2021 WSOP Event #18: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball ($134,390)19 Phil Hellmuth Denied 16th Bracelet as Anthony Zinno Wins His 3rd in the $10K Stud Championship20 DJ Alexander Captures 1st WSOP Bracelet in Event #20: GGPoker Flip & Go ($180,665)21 Dylan Linde Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in Event #21: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo ($170,269)22 Lara Eisenberg wins 2021 World Series of Poker Ladies NLHE Championship23 Ryan Leng Wins Event #23: $1,500 Eight Game Mix 6-Handed for $137,96924 Michael Prendergast Wins Maiden Bracelet in Event #24: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack ($127,428)25 Scott Ball Celebrates First WSOP Bracelet in Event #25: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em26 Czech Pro Dalibor Dula Becomes First European Bracelet Winner at the 2021 WSOP27 Anthony Zinno Wins Fourth Gold Bracelet in Event #27 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.28 Dylan Weisman Wins WSOP Event #28: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for First Bracelet ($166,461)29 Chance Kornuth Wins Third WSOP Bracelet in Event #29: $10,000 Short Deck ($194,670)30 Michael Noori Captures First WSOP Bracelet and $610,437 in the Monster Stack31 Phil Hellmuth Wins Record 16th World Series of Poker (WSOP) Gold Bracelet32 Jim Collopy Wins 2021 WSOP Event #32: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. for Second Gold Bracelet ($172,823)33 Ran Koller Wins WSOP Event #33: $800 Eight-Handed No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack ($269,478)34 David "Bakes" Baker Wins Third WSOP Title in Event #34: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw35 Anthony Koutsos Wins First WSOP Bracelet In Event #35: $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em ($167,272)36 Adam Friedman Defeats Phil Hellmuth to Win WSOP $10k Dealer's Choice for Third Straight Year37 Karolis Sereika Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #37: $1,500 Super Turbo ($195,310)38 Michael Addamo Wins Third WSOP Gold Bracelet in Event #38: $50K High Roller ($1,132,968)39 Josh Arieh Wins Third Bracelet in Event #39: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha ($204,766)40 Kevin Gerhart Wins Third Career Bracelet in Event #40: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship41 "Hobby Player" Carlos Chang Wins First Bracelet in $2,500 NLHE Freezeout42 Bradley Ruben Dazzles in the $1,500 Razz; Wins Third WSOP Bracelet43 Dreams to Win a WSOP Bracelet Come True for Anthony Denove in the $1K Double Stack44 Ryan Hansen Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #44: $3,000 6-Handed Limit Hold'em ($109,692)45 Tommy Le Wins WSOP $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship For Second Time46 Chad Norton Wins A Bracelet in His First-Ever WSOP Event!47 France's Alexandre Reard Wins 2021 WSOP Event #47: $5,000 Freezeout NLH ($428,694)48 Poker Philanthropist Gershon Distenfeld Wins WSOP Bracelet, Pledges All Winnings to Charity ($204K)49 Farzad Bonyadi Wins Fourth Bracelet in $10K 2-7 NL Single Draw, Ends Sixteen-Year Drought50 Premonition Becomes Reality as Darrin Wright Wins First WSOP Bracelet51 Brian Rast Wins Fifth Bracelet; Sets Sights on Poker Hall of Fame52 Robert McMillan Wins 2021 WSOP Event #52: $1,000 Seniors Championship ($561,060)53 Shaun Deeb Wins 5th Bracelet in WSOP Event #53: $25,000 PLO ($1,251,860)54 Nicholas Julia Wins Event #54: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed ($168,608)55 Anatolii Zyrin Defeats Massive Field in Colossus to Claim Second WSOP Bracelet ($314,705)56 Ben Yu Wins Fourth Bracelet in Event #56: $10,000 6-Handed NLH Championship ($721,453)57 Brian Yoon Wins Fourth Bracelet in Event #57: $10,000 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship ($839,350)58 Jean-Luc Adam Wins First Bracelet and $255,623 in Event #58: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em59 Team Ruter Crowned Event #59: $1,000 Tag Team Champions ($113,366)60 Dan "Jungleman" Cates Takes Down $50,000 Poker Players Championship for First WSOP Bracelet61 Cole Ferraro Comes From Behind to Win WSOP Event #61: $600 Deepstack Championship ($252,491)62 Kevin Gerhart Earns Fourth WSOP Bracelet in Event #62: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better ($186,789)63 Eric Zhang Wins 2021 WSOP Event #63: $500 Salute to Warriors ($102,465)64 From Online Crusher to WSOP Gold: Eelis Parssinen Wins Event #64: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha65 "It Feels Amazing": Georgios Sotiropoulos Wins Mini Main Event for 3rd WSOP Bracelet66 Josh Arieh Wins Fourth Bracelet in Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship67 Koray Aldemir Wins 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $8,000,00068 Scott Ball Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #68 $1,111 Little One for One Drop69 Jermaine Reid Reschedules Flight Before Winning WSOP Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better ($113,459)70 David Moses Wins Maiden Bracelet in 2021 WSOP Event #70: $888 Crazy Eights ($888,888)71 Mourad Amokrane Dominates the Final Table On His Way to Winning Event #71: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha72 Motoyoshi Okamura Wins Event #72: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha for $209,71673 Brian Hastings Becomes 29th Player in WSOP History to Claim Five Gold Bracelets74 Denis Strebkov Wins His Second WSOP Gold Bracelet in Event #74: $2,500 Big Bet Mix75 Chad Himmelspach Comes Back From a Single Blind to Win WSOP Event #75: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em ($270,877)76 Romain Lewis Captures 1st Bracelet in 2021 WSOP Event #76: $10K Super Turbo Bounty77 Paulo Joanello Makes Dream Come True After Winning First WSOP Bracelet in Event #77 $1,500 Fifty Stack ($321,917)78 Benny Glaser Wins Event #78: $10,000 Razz Championship for 4th Gold Bracelet ($274,693)79 Ole Schemion Breaks WSOP Duck; Wins Event #79: $1,979 Hall Of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em For $172,49980 Robert Cowen Wins 2021 WSOP Event #80: $3,000 6-Handed PLO ($280,916)81 Jason Wheeler Wins First Bracelet in 2021 WSOP Event #81: $800 NLH Deepstack ($202,274)82 Adrian Mateos Wins $250K Super High Roller for Fourth WSOP Gold Bracelet ($3,265,262)83 Leo Margets Wins First Bracelet and $376,850 in Event #83: $1,500 The Closer84 Ausmus Denies Hellmuth and Negreanu; Wins Third WSOP Bracelet in $50K PLO High Roller ($1,188,918)85 Mikita Badziakouski Claims First Gold Bracelet in Event #85: $50,000 High Roller ($1,462,043)86 Michael McCauley Wins Event #86: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em ($161,384)87 Michael Addamo Wins $100,000 High Roller for His Fourth WSOP Bracelet88 Boris Kolev Wins Maiden Bracelet and $511,184 in Event #88: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em

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