Event #15: $10,000 Heads Up NLHE Championship [No Late Reg, 256 Cap]
Day 2 Completed
Event #15: $10,000 Heads Up NLHE Championship [No Late Reg, 256 Cap]
Day 2 Completed
He had to wait two weeks, but in the end, Arthur Conan took down the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship for $466,167 by defeating Aleksejs Ponakovs in the final. With 161 entries on Day 1, a prize pool of $1,561,700 was created with the lion-share being awarded today.
Conan had a 4th place finish in Event #14: THE BIG 500 and the 9th place in Event #13: PLO Championship but he finally got that win here in one of the most anticipated events of the 2021 GGPoker WSOP Online schedule. This win takes him to over $2 million in tournament wins on just GGPoker itself.
In his WSOP live tournaments career, he finished in 15th place in the Crazy Eights back in 2018 and in 3rd place in the €1,000 Heads-Up Challenge during the International Circuit series in Paris in 2016.
Ponakovs won $279,700 for his runner-up spot while Adrian Mateos and Daniel Soltys both cashed for $155,389 today.
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Arthur Conan | France | $466,167 |
2nd | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | $279,700 |
3rd | Daniel Soltys | United States | $155,389 |
3rd | Adrian Mateos | Spain | $155,389 |
5th | Max Kruse | Germany | $62,156 |
5th | Aliaksei Boika | Belarus | $62,156 |
5th | Vlad-Stefan Lache | Romania | $62,156 |
5th | Miguel Capriles | Venezuela | $62,156 |
9th | Mirza Muhovic | Luxembourg | $31,078 |
9th | Carlos Chadha | United States | $31,078 |
9th | Stuart Wallensteen | Canada | $31,078 |
9th | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | $31,078 |
9th | Sami Kelopuro | Finland | $31,078 |
9th | Mike Watson | Canada | $31,078 |
9th | Yen-Liang Yao | Taiwan | $31,078 |
9th | Joakim Andersson | Sweden | $31,078 |
Conan had to face Mateos in the semi-final and was the first to secure his spot in the final when they both flopped a flush. But with the ace-queen in his hand, Conan held the nuts to bust the Spaniard and prevent him from possibly winning his fourth WSOP bracelet.
Ponakovs needed a bit more time to deal with Soltys. Around twenty minutes after Mateos had hit the rail, Ponakovs had limp-called the raise of Soltys to flop a straight. Soltys had hit top pair and check-shoved for 24 big blinds and was left drawing dead on the turn to bust in third place.
While the semi-finals lasted just under an hour, the final was a different story as that took almost two hours with the evenly matched opponents.
Even though Ponakovs took an early lead, Conan quickly took it over. They got back to even stacks for a while but in the end, Conan three-bet jammed with jack-nine suited. Ponakovs had called for 23 big blinds with pocket fives. Conan found a nine to connect with on the flop to secure the maiden bracelet and first-place prize.
While this tournament has crowned its champion, there's still loads more action going on here at GGPoker. Check out Event #25: $777 LUCKY SEVENS as they play down to a winner too as the PokerNews live reporting team will be bringing you the blow-by-blow action live as it happens.
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Aleksejs Ponakovs raised to 6,000 from the button and Arthur Conan three-bet jammed for Ponakovs to make the call for the 69,194 he had behind.
Aleksejs Ponakovs:
Arthur Conan:
The flop came for Conan to hit the higher pair.
The turn was the to not help Ponakovs as he was left with two outs to stay alive but the came on the river instead for him to bust as the runner-up for $279,700 while Conan walks away as a new WSOP champion and $466,167 richer.
A recap is to follow.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Arthur Conan |
200,000
78,194
|
78,194 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs | Busted | |
|
Blinds: 1,250/2,500
Aleksejs Ponakovs raised to 5,000 from the button with the and Arthur Conan defended with the .
The flop came , Conan check-called the 3,300 continuation-bet of Ponakovs.
The turn was the for Conan to still be ahead with the flopped pair of jacks. Conan checked again and so did Ponakovs.
The completed the board for Conan to still be ahead but now with two pair. Conan bet 4,980 for Ponakovs to bluff and shove for 56,614. Conan took his time before making the fold.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Arthur Conan |
121,806
-2,280
|
-2,280 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs |
78,194
2,280
|
2,280 |
|
Blinds: 1,250/2,500
Aleksejs Ponakovs limped in with the and Arthur Conan opted to check with the .
The flop came , they both checked to the on the turn. Conan check-called the 3,750 bet of Ponakovs.
The completed the board for Conan to check for the final time. Ponakovs barreled a bluff bet of 16,250 over the line for Conan to fold.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Arthur Conan |
124,086
-6,250
|
-6,250 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs |
75,914
6,250
|
6,250 |
|
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Arthur Conan limped in with the and Aleksejs Ponakovs opted to check with the .
The flop came for Ponakovs to hit two pair. Ponakovs check-called the 2,000 bet of Conan.
The turn was the and Ponakovs checked again. Conan continued with a bet of 6,000 for Ponakovs to call.
The completed the board and Ponakovs checked for the final time. Conan did the
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Arthur Conan |
130,336
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs |
69,664
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Aleksejs Ponakovs raised to 4,000 from the button with the and Arthur Conan made the call with the .
The flop came for both of them to pick up the gutshot to a straight. They both checked to the on the turn for Ponakovs to hit the straight indeed. They checked again for the to complete the board for Conan to hit top pair. Conan checked for the final time. Ponakovs bet 6,000 and got called to pick up the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Arthur Conan |
140,336
-16,000
|
-16,000 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs |
59,664
16,000
|
16,000 |
|
Blinds: 800/1,600
Arthur Conan raised to 3,679 from the button with the and Aleksejs Ponakovs defended his .
The came on the flop for both of them to hit a pair but for Ponakovs to hit the higher one. They both checked to the on the turn for Conan to improve to trips. Ponakovs checked and Conan bet 5,519 to get called.
The river completed the board with the . Ponakovs checked for the final time. Conan barreled a bet of 13,797 over the line for Ponakovs to call and lose.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Arthur Conan |
156,336
24,595
|
24,595 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs |
43,664
-24,595
|
-24,595 |
|
Blinds: 800/1,600
Arthur Conan limped in with the and Aleksejs Ponakovs opted to check with the .
The flop came for Ponakovs to hit the higher pair of nines and they both checked to the on the turn. Ponakovs bet 2,400 which Conan called.
The river completed the board with the for Ponakovs to improve to trips. Ponakovs bet 6,000 for Conan to call and Ponakovs to chip up.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Arthur Conan |
131,741
-8,880
|
-8,880 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs |
68,259
8,880
|
8,880 |
|
Blinds: 600/1,200
Arthur Conan limped in with the and Aleksejs Ponakovs raised to 4,200 with the . Conan three-bet to 12,000 for Ponakovs to call.
The flop came , Ponakovs checked and Conan did the same.
The turn was the to keep Ponakovs ahead and he opted to check. Conan bet 7,200 for Ponakovs to call.
The completed the board for Ponakovs to check for the final time. Conan checked too for Ponakovs to take this pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Arthur Conan |
140,621
-15,360
|
-15,360 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs |
59,379
15,360
|
15,360 |
|