But when the last card appeared on the river, it was Brent Hart who emerged victorious after defeating Eddie Ochana in heads-up play.
Hart takes home a first-place prize of $660,284, the first WSOP gold bracelet of his poker career and the largest tournament payout of his poker career. Ochana takes home $440,202 for his second-place finish.
Event #16: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize (USD)
1
Brent Hart
United States
$660,284
2
Eddie Ochana
United States
$440,202
3
Alexander Queen
United States
$309,128
4
Kartik Ved
India
$220,373
5
Shant Marashlian
United States
$159,517
6
Daniyal Gheba
United States
$117,271
7
Taylor Black
United States
$87,582
Winner's Reaction
For the victor, who has been playing poker for more than 15 years, the win proved a special moment for him.
“It’s truly surreal,” Hart said with a smile. “I’m like floating right now.”
The WSOP’s newest bracelet winner picked his spots and incorporated timed aggression throughout the tournament en-route to the win over an 823-player field.
“Sick field,” Hart said. “Every table, I was like, ‘Wait a minute.’ And it was great because I was able to learn something every day. I was able to sit with seasoned players and pick up small nuances here and there, so it was a win-win."
Hart applied the experience gained from years as a poker player to help him get through the four-day grind of Event 16, and he didn’t have to worry about enduring it alone.
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Whenever he needed energy at the final table, Hart turned around to absorb cheers from members of his rail, which included Tyronn Lue, a three-time NBA champion – two as a player, one as a head coach – and current head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Hart gave credit to his supporters for helping him get through the day.
“These are my dogs,” Hart said, pointing to his friends. “I’ve been playing poker with these guys since I started playing poker, so it feels good to do it in front of them. It feels good to do this with them here because they’re all great poker players. I might be the worst one out of the group.”
With a WSOP bracelet secured, Hart’s time in Las Vegas isn’t finished.
He said his wife and daughter are on the way to help him celebrate, but he especially wants to call his parents and extended family to let them know he is a WSOP bracelet winner.
“I’m looking forward to telling my mom, my sister, my aunts, my uncles,” Hart said. “I got a big family. We actually have a family reunion this weekend on Sunday. Maybe I’ll be there to show off my bracelet."
Final Table Recap
Hart started the final day third in chips, with Edward Ochana in the lead. Guaranteed $87,582, the sights of the remaining seven players were set on the pay jumps and of course the first-prize of $660,284.
Taylor Black fell early at the hands of Shant Marashlian, before Daniyal Gheba and Marashlian secured doubles. Ochana still led, but Hart was finding his feet in the contest.
Alexander Queen picked up pocket aces to eliminate Gheba, before Ochana padded his lead further to eliminate the short stack Marashlian.
By this stage, Ochana had four times the chips of second-place Kartik Ved, with Queen behind him and Hart bringing up the rear. Hart then stayed alive in spectacular fashion.
Getting king-jack in against the pocket eights of Ved, Hart went runner-runner to make a straight and stay alive. Ved headed in the other direction, eliminated by Ochana. And he was soon joined by Queen who Ochana also sent to the rail, entering heads-up with more than a 4:1 chip lead.
Hart would double twice, taking the chip lead with the second, and never looked back. In the final hand, Ochana flopped a pair of threes with king-three, with Hart spiking a jack holding king-jack to win the hand, the tournament and with it the bracelet.
This concludes the live coverage from Event #16, be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the action from rest of the 2024 World Series of Poker.
