2021 World Series of Poker

Event #54: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed
Day: 3
Event Info

2021 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
7x6x4x2xax
Prize
$168,608
Event Info
Buy-in
$2,500
Prize Pool
$709,775
Entries
319
Level Info
Level
29
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
0
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
17
Players Left
1

Event #54: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed

Day 3 Completed

Nicholas Julia Wins First Gold Bracelet in Event #54: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed ($168,608)

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 0 ante
Nicholas Julia
Nicholas Julia

The 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas has crowned a new mixed game champion as Nicholas Julia prevailed in a field of 319 entries in Event #54: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed. He overcame Kristan Lord in heads-up to claim the biggest slice of the $709,775 prize pool and boosted his bankroll with the top prize of $168,608. Runner-up Lord earned a consolation prize of $104,210 and missed out on a maiden WSOP gold bracelet of his own.

Among the returning 17 players were several former WSOP bracelet winners and three of them made it to the seven-handed unofficial final table. As a matter of fact, two were knocked out in the same hand in what became one of the pivotal hands on the final day. Eventual champion Julia sent Kenny Hsiung and Robert Mizrachi to the rail to form the official final table.

Justin Liberto missed out on a second bracelet and finished in third place while other notables on the final day included actor James Woods, Mike Matusow, Bradley Ruben, Marco Johnson, 2005 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem, and John Racener.

Final Table Result Event #54: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed

PlaceWinnerCountryPrize (in USD)
1Nicholas JuliaUnited States$168,608
2Kristan LordUnited States$104,210
3Justin LibertoUnited States$69,341
4Aditya PrasetyoUnited States$47,164
5Robert McLaughlinUnited States$32,808
6Robert MizrachiUnited States$23,352
Nicholas Julia
Nicholas Julia

Final Table Action

When the unofficial final table of this six-handed event began, nobody could have seen how the first two eliminations were to have come. In what may turn out to be one of the most unique hands of the entire WSOP, let alone at a WSOP final table, both Kenny Hsiung (7th Place; $17,017) and Robert Mizrachi (6th Place; $23,352) were eliminated.

The action was picked up with three players involved on a flop of {7-Diamonds}{5-Clubs}{4-Hearts} and Hsiung who led out with a bet of about half of his remaining chips. Next, Mizrachi raised all-in for the rest of his stack. Julia, re-raised all-in, and Hsiung snap-called.

All of the hands were turned face-up and it was an incredible analytical sight as Hsuing held {4-Diamonds}{4-Clubs} for a flopped bottom set, Mizrachi and his {7-Spades}{7-Clubs} for a flopped top set, and Julia was in the lead with the {8-Clubs}{6-Clubs} and a flopped nut straight.

Nothing changed on the {10-Clubs} turn and the {a-Spades} river sealed the double knockout for Julia.

It was not until two levels later that the next player was eliminated. Robert McLaughlin (5th Place; $32,808) found himself on the unfortunate end of a blind versus blind confrontation holding pocket nines versus the pocket kings held by his opponent, Kristan Lord. The kings held and McLaughlin exited the tournament.

Next to go was Aditya Prasetyo (4th Place; $47,164). Prasetyo got caught up in the whirlwind of a run by Nicholas Julia, whose nines full of kings on sixth street in Stud Hi-Lo put an end to Prasetyo’s tournament run.

Justin Liberto (3rd Place; $69,341) had been up and down in chips and was attempting to run a short-stack back up in a hand of Limit 2-7 triple draw versus Lord but the eventual runner-up got the best of him. It was the eight-six low held by Lord that pipped Liberto's eight-seven.

Kristan Lord (2nd Place; $104,210) and Nicholas Julia (1st Place; $168,608) began heads-up play with Julia ahead with more than two to one in chips. Although Lord came quite close and even took over the lead for a few minutes, in the end, the night belonged to Julia.

He played well and he ran even better. Nicholas Julia entered the day as the chip leader and he left it the same way with his incredible performance, which netted him a coveted WSOP gold bracelet and $168,608 in first-place prize.

When asked how he felt after winning his first WSOP gold bracelet, Nicholas Julia responded with, “Great! Amazing! Everybody’s sweating; the wife, Suzanne. All these guys from Arizona. You know, everyone? I literally have a hundred people texting me we’re having a great time!”.

As far as key hands that got him here, most would expect the double-elimination at the final table to be the answer, but Julia got into a hand early in Day 2 versus Greg Mueller that resulted in him claiming the chip leader position and never looking back from that point forward.

When questioned about whether or not he plays poker for a living, he laughed out loud before explaining how he plays for fun and has no plans to play any more WSOP tournaments in this series. He is taking his one o’clock flight back home to Arizona on Saturday and plans on celebrating his win by spending time with his wife and kids.

Tags: Aditya PrasetyoBradley RubenJames WoodsJoe HachemJohn RacenerJustin LibertoKenny HsiungKristan LordMarco JohnsonMike MatusowNicholas JuliaRobert McLaughlinRobert Mizrachi

Kristan Lord Eliminated in 2nd Place ($104,210)

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 0 ante
Kristan Lord
Kristan Lord

Razz

Kristan Lord: {7-}{8-} / {10-}{3-}{j-}{q-} / {k-}
Nicholas Julia: {2-}{6-} / {a-}{4-}{8-}{7-} / {a-}

After a chop in the previous Omaha Hi-Lo hand, they got it in after third street in the first Razz hand. When the cards were exposed, Nicholas Julia was already ecstatic as he had a massive advantage over Kristan Lord.

Fifth street gave Lord paint and that was it, as he ended up drawing dead and caught even more paint.

Julia ended up with an eight-six and Lord finished in second place for $104,210. Julia earned his maiden WSOP bracelet and the top prize of $168,608. A full recap of today's action is to follow.

Player Chips Progress
Nicholas Julia us
Nicholas Julia
Day 2 Chip Leader
WSOP 1X Winner
11,165,000 1,165,000
Kristan Lord us
Kristan Lord
Busted

Tags: Kristan LordNicholas Julia

Lord Left With Fumes

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 0 ante
Kristan Lord
Kristan Lord

Seven Card Stud

Nicholas Julia: {x-}{x-} / {10-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}{4-Diamonds} / {x-}
Kristan Lord: {x-}{x-} / {3-Clubs}{9-Spades}{8-Hearts}{7-Hearts} / {x-}

Nicholas Julia bet fifth and then check-called sixth when Kristan Lord bet. He also checked seventh and Lord bet again. That left Julia confused but he eventually called, admitting he had no idea what his opponent had. Julia exposed {9-Hearts}{8-Spades}{8-Diamonds} for just a pair of eights but it was good, as Lord held {k-Hearts}{5-Diamonds}{3-Spades} for a pair of treys.

Nicholas Julia: {x-}{x-} / {5-Diamonds}{3-Spades}{7-Spades}{6-Diamonds} / {x-}
Kristan Lord: {x-}{x-} / {10-Hearts}{6-Clubs}{9-Spades}{k-Hearts} / {x-}

Lord then completed and bet fourth and fifth, which Julia called. They checked sixth, Julia bet seventh and Lord came along. Julia tabled {q-Hearts}{4-Clubs}{3-Clubs} for a straight and Lord mucked {a-Diamonds}{k-Diamonds}{10-Clubs} for kings and tens.

Player Chips Progress
Nicholas Julia us
Nicholas Julia
Day 2 Chip Leader
WSOP 1X Winner
10,450,000 1,950,000
Kristan Lord us
Kristan Lord
650,000 -1,950,000

Tags: Kristan LordNicholas Julia

Julia Pulls Further Ahead

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 0 ante
Nicholas Julia
Nicholas Julia

Stud Hi-Lo

Kristan Lord: {x-}{x-} / {9-Clubs}{10-Hearts}{k-Hearts}{6-Clubs} / {x-}
Nicholas Julia: {x-}{x-} / {7-Hearts}{8-Spades}{10-Spades}{q-Hearts} / {x-}

Kristan Lord limped and Nicholas Julia checked his option. Lord check-called a bet on fourth and then check-raised fifth for Julia to call.

Lord bet sixth to earn a call and they checked seventh.

Julia announced two pair and tabled the {k-Clubs}{10-Diamonds}{7-Diamonds} for tens and sevens to earn the pot, as Lord only briefly showed his down cards before mucking them.

Player Chips Progress
Nicholas Julia us
Nicholas Julia
Day 2 Chip Leader
WSOP 1X Winner
8,500,000 1,700,000
Kristan Lord us
Kristan Lord
2,600,000 -1,700,000

Tags: Kristan LordNicholas Julia

Julia Takes One from Lord

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 0 ante

Stud Hi-Lo

Nicholas Julia: {7-Diamonds}{7-Clubs}/{k-Spades}{7-Hearts}{2-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}/{2-Spades}
Kristan Lord: {10-Spades}{10-Clubs}/{3-Clubs}{8-Clubs}{7-Spades}{9-Clubs}/{8-Diamonds}

The action was joined on fifth street with Julia having tossed out another bet and Lord called.

Sixth street saw the same action.

Seventh street Julia fired once more and Lord made the call. He was shown the bad news when Julia tabled his hole cards and revealed a full house, sevens full of deuces, and Lord tossed his two pairs tens and eights into the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Nicholas Julia us
Nicholas Julia
Day 2 Chip Leader
WSOP 1X Winner
6,800,000 1,400,000
Kristan Lord us
Kristan Lord
4,300,000 -1,400,000

Tags: Kristan LordNicholas Julia

Slow Restart After the Break

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 0 ante

Limit Hold'em

The usually action-packed Pot-Limit Omaha round brought no action at all and once the game type changed, Nicholas Julia raised the button and Kristan Lord called from the big blind. Lord check-called once on the {j-Spades}{6-Diamonds}{4-Hearts} flop and they checked it down on the {9-Diamonds} turn and {6-Spades} river. Lord tabled {5-Diamonds}{4-Spades} and that won the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Nicholas Julia us
Nicholas Julia
Day 2 Chip Leader
WSOP 1X Winner
5,900,000 -300,000
Kristan Lord us
Kristan Lord
5,200,000 300,000

Tags: Kristan LordNicholas Julia

Level: 29

Limit Flop/Draw:
Small blind: 80,000
Big blind: 150,000 Limits: 150,000-300,000
Stud Games:
Ante: 30,000
Bring-in: 50,000
Complete: 150,000
Limits: 150,000-300,000
No-Limit/Pot-Limit Ante: 80,000/120,000
Small blind: 40,000
Big blind: 80,000