Professional players usually thrive in a six-max format, which forces players to open up their ranges and make more marginal decisions, and a tough final table emerged in Event #12: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed. Idan Raviv of Israel took home the gold bracelet and $457,007 for defeating the 1,651-player field.

Raviv is an aspiring pro who said he works in information technology. The score is bigger than the rest of his career tournament cashes combined.

Notables like former November Niner Scott Montgomery (23rd), Zo Karim (20th), Mike Dentale (14th), and Steve Billirakis (12th) advanced to Day 3 but fell short of the final table. Possibly the scariest runner to make final table was Mike “SirWatts” Watson, but he didn't have the firepower to get anything done and busted in sixth. Fellow pros Craig McCorkell got fifth and Markus Gonsalves fourth, while Brazilian businessman Manoel Filho got third.

That left Raviv and Iaron Lightbourne, a British player who ran deep in last year's Main Event and finished 22nd. Lightbourne took command of the table three-handed when he five-bet small with queens and induced a six-bet shove from Raviv's . Raviv retook the lead heads up when he flopped top two with in a three-bet pot and faded Lightbourne's on the flop. He rolled that advantage into a win and his first bracelet.

Tags: Idan Raviv