2021 World Series of Poker

Event #83: $1,500 The Closer
Day: 2
Event Info

2021 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
qj
Prize
$376,850
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$2,540,505
Entries
1,903
Level Info
Level
37
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
63
Players Left
1

Leo Margets Wins First Bracelet and $376,850 in Event #83: $1,500 The Closer

Level 37 : 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Leo Margets
Leo Margets

Spanish poker professional Leo Margets won her first World Series of Poker bracelet on Sunday, Nov. 21 by taking down Event #83: $1,500 The Closer for a six-figure score worth $376,850. She outlasted a field of 1,903 participants and, in doing so, became the first woman to win a bracelet in an open-entry event at the 2021 World Series.

The tournament generated a total prize pool of $2,540,505 and attracted the likes of Chris Moorman, Michael Wang, Yuval Bronshtein, Mitchell Halverson, Joao Simao and 2013 Main Event champion Ryan Riess, all of whom made deep runs that extended into Day 2.

Event #83: $1,500 The Closer Final Results

 PLACEPLAYERCOUNTRYPRIZE (USD)
 1Leo MargetsSpain$376,850
 2Alex KulevBosnia$232,920
 3Stephen SongUnited States$172,855
 4Marc LangeGermany$129,460
 5Arturo SeguraUnited States$97,865
 6Cherish AndrewsUnited States$74,680
 7Aleksandr ShevliakovRussia$57,525
 8Chris MoormanUnited Kingdom$44,740
 9Benjamin UnderwoodCanada$35,131

A Victory for Women in Poker

Margets, a Winamax Team Pro whose poker portfolio includes a 27th place finish in the 2009 Main Event for $352,832 and a second-place finish in Event #73: $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No-Limit Hold'em (30 minute levels) in 2018, secured her first WSOP bracelet by overcoming a dominant chip lead held by heads-up opponent Bosnian grinder Alex Kulev, who earned a payday of $232,920. Margets joins Lara Eisenberg, who won Event #22: Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship earlier in the series, as one of two women to earn bracelets so far at this year's WSOP.

“Usually, it’s going be harder for a woman to get a bracelet because we are few (in poker)," Margets told PokerNews, adding that she believes her bracelet victory "might motivate women to be interested" in the game.

Margets wasn't the only woman to make a deep Day 2 run in The Closer. Melanie Weisner found a 17th place finish worth $14,740, while Cherish Andrews joined Margets at the final table and finished in sixth place for $74,680.

Cherish Andrews
Cherish Andrews

"I hope there is one day when there isn’t such an issue," Margets said about the disproportionate number of women in poker. “It shouldn’t be an issue."

Margets added a few words of encouragement for anyone looking to pursue the game: “I you like it, go ahead, even if you’re a man, a woman or a monkey!”

"What a Comeback"

It seemed like it would likely be another second-place finish for Margets when she began heads-up play with about seven million chips to the 40 million of Kulev, whose dominant appearance at the final table included a double-knockout of Marc Lange and Arturo Segura in fourth and fifth place, and later the elimination of Stephen Song in third.

“He had a massive chip lead," she recalled. "He actually did all of the hard work.”

Alex Kulev
Alex Kulev

Margets acknowledged that she made a near-fatal error early in heads-up play when she miscounted her stack and got it in with nine-four against the ace-nine of her opponent. However, she hit a four on the turn to give her the double-up that propelled her to victory.

“Somehow, I made a super huge mistake because I miscalculated my stack," said Margets. "I thought I had 2.5 bigs and I had seven bigs. And that was a huge mistake, but I got lucky.”

Margets then mounted a comeback that climaxed in a hand with middle pair and a flush draw against the top pair of Kulev and improved to trips on the turn. The encounter left Kulev short and he was eliminated in the next hand when he got it in with ten-four against the king-jack of Margets, who came back from less than 10 big blinds to take down the tournament.

"What a comeback," she said in reflection.

Leo Margets
Leo Margets

That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of Event #83: $1,500 The Closer. Be sure to also check out the team's coverage of other WSOP events.

Tags: Aleksandr ShevliakovBenjamin UnderwoodChris MoormanJoao SimaoLeo MargetsMelanie WeisnerMichael WangMitchell HalversonRyan RiessStephen SongYuval Bronshtein