They’ve been tournament grinders such as Cord Garcia and Ben Keeline, and Macau cash game regulars like South Korea's Sejin Park. Thomas Pomponio and Roberly Felicio did it as amateurs. There’s even been a past bracelet winner in last year’s champion Anatolii Zyrin.
By the end of today, one of seven players who have grinded their way past a massive field of 13,565 entries in Event #51: $400 Colossus No-Limit Hold’em will join this list and be able to call himself the Colossus champion.
Sam Laskowitz, Paul Hizer, Jordan Pelon, Jeff Loiacono, Luong Quach, Anthony Ruttler, and James Scott are the seven names who will return to play at 4 p.m. local time today to determine a champion. Action will be streamed on PokerGo with a one-hour delay.
Lasowitz, the New York native with no reported live cashes, amassed a huge chip lead at the end of Day 3 and carries 206,500,000 into the final seven. Paul Hizer of Britain is in second place with 132,000,000. Combined, they have 62 percent of the chips in play.
The Frenchman Pelon, who was the chip leader for much of Day 3 (and even Day 2) before falling back in a clash against Laskowitz, is coming back with 68,000,000. Loiacono, with 12 WSOP cashes dating back to 2013 but no final tables before this event, has 56,000,000, while Quach (38,500,000), Ruttler (32,000,000), and Scott (13,500,000) each have fewer than 10 big blinds.
Event #51: $400 Colossus Final Table Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Sam Laskowitz
United States
206,500,000
52
2
Paul Hizer
United Kingdom
132,000,000
33
3
Jordan Pelon
France
68,000,000
17
4
Jeff Loiacono
United States
56,000,000
14
5
Luong Quach
United States
38,500,000
9
6
Anthony Ruttler
United States
32,000,000
8
7
James Scott
United Kingdom
13,500,000
3
Play will begin halfway through Level 43, with blinds at 2,000,000/4,000,000 and a 4,000,000 big blind ante. Each of the final seven is already guaranteed $66,670, which will be the largest tournament score for all of them except Hizer and Loiacono. The $414,490 first-place prize awaits the champion, as does the WSOP gold bracelet.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates throughout the day as a new Colossus champion is crowned.
Anthony Ruttler moved all in for 14,000,000 from the button as small blind Paul Hizer quickly got out of the way. In the big blind, Luong Quach snap-called.
Anthony Ruttler:
Luong Quach:
Quach had woken up with queens for the second consecutive hand and was a big favorite to knock out Ruttler as the flop came .
Ruttler's supporters on the rail began chanting for a nine to complete a straight draw, but the on the turn took away some of his outs as Quach now had a flush draw.
The on the river completed Quach's flush and sent Ruttler to the rail as the first elimination of the day.
Three hands after doubling up, Jeff Loiacono shoved again for 46,000,000 and Sam Laskowitz snap-called in the big blind.
Jeff Loiacono:
Sam Laskowitz:
The flop came and Loiacono began calling for a club. "More of a sweat," he said.
The turn came the . "Alright, ten of diamonds. If not, good luck guys," Loiacono pleaded as the river fell the , eliminating him in sixth place as Laskowitz added to his massive chip lead.
The action folded to Luong Quach in the small blind who shoved all in for 14,000,000. Jordan Pelon surprisingly asked for a count when the shove was for less than two big blinds but eventually made the call.
Luong Quach:
Jordan Pelon:
The flop came to give Pelon the lead with a pair of eights. The on the turn gave Quach a flush draw to go with his one live card but the on the river ended his tournament in fifth place.
Paul Hizer had fallen to 26,000,000 as he pushed all in from under the gun. James Scott in the big blind counted out the chips to call and looked around at the other stacks around the table before he called after about a minute.
Paul Hizer:
James Scott:
Both players ran over to their rails as the flop came . The on the turn was safe for Hizer, while the river improved him to two pair as the one-time chip leader jumped back into contention at the final table.
The action folded to James Scott in the small blind who shipped all in for 59,500,000 as the short stack at the table. Paul Hizer was in the big blind with slightly more chips and eventually made the call.
James Scott:
Paul Hizer:
The flop fell and Scott's pair of tens were still in the lead. However, the peeled off on the turn and Hizer's rail exploded as he jumped out front. Scott was down to just two outs and the on the river was not going to be one of them.
Paul Hizer shipped all in for 169,500,000 on the button and Sam Laskowitz looked down at his cards in the big blind and quickly called to put Hizer at risk.
Paul Hizer:
Sam Laskowitz:
It was a coin flip for all of the chips and the flop of left Laskowitz in the lead with his pair of threes. The on the turn gave Hizer many outs to hit and it was the on the river. Hizer made a straight to double up and move into the chip lead.
Paul Hizer announced all in on the button and Sam Laskowitz had a decision to make for his last six big blinds. Laskowitz counted his stack and decided to go with it as the cards went on their backs.
Sam Laskowitz:
Paul Hizer:
Laskowitz had two live cards but the flop of was of no help. The turn brought the and Laskowitz was down to just six outs. The completed the board and Laskowitz was eliminated in second place for over $250,000.
If the ace of spades is the prettiest card in the deck, a king is right up there for Paul Hizer. Twice at today’s final table of Event #51: $400 Colossus the Englishman had his tournament life on the line. Twice a king peeled off to save him. It’s the one card that made Hizer the newest World Series of Poker bracelet winner and $414,490 richer.
Hizer has been a professional poker player for around six years and played recreationally for several years before that. But he had never won a tournament before, despite $474,000 in career winnings before this event. He had made it to heads-up play four times but had come up short each time. That all changed today, as Hizer was the last man standing in a mammoth field of 13,565 players.
“It means a lot,” Hizer said following his win. “Played many tournaments. Had lots of deep runs. But I’ve never actually won a tournament outright. I don’t know if many people know that about me. I’m sure my close friends do. And maybe today was just written in the stars and I was meant to go all the way. I felt really confident, I felt like I had a really good game plan, and I’m just really thankful that it worked out.”
Event #51: $400 Colossus Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Earnings
1
Paul Hizer
United Kingdom
$414,490
2
Sam Laskowitz
United States
$256,170
3
Jordan Pelon
France
$193,240
4
James Scott
United Kingdom
$146,680
5
Luong Quach
United States
$112,060
6
Jeff Loiacono
United States
$86,160
7
Anthony Ruttler
United States
$66,670
8
William Gian
United States
$51,930
9
Sean Shah
United States
$40,710
Day 4 Action
Hizer entered the final table in second chip position out of the final seven players, but still solidly behind chip leader Sam Laskowitz. With the average stack being only 19 big blinds at the start of the final table, there was little room for error or maneuvering.
Anthony Ruttler would be the first to bust, finishing in seventh place after running into the pocket queens of Luong Quach. On the first hand back from a 15-minute break, Jeff Loiacono picked up aces and moved all in for 19,000,000, with Hizer calling with in the big blind.
Hizer didn’t improve and Loiacono doubled up, but he wouldn’t last much longer after losing with to Laskowitz’s to bust in sixth place.
Losing that pot began a long slide for Hizer. After Quach was eliminated in fifth place, Hizer was down to less than three big blinds during four-handed play before doubling up with against the of countryman James Scott. A few hands later, the two Englishmen would clash in another pot that would be pivotal to the fates of both players.
From the small blind, Scott moved all in for 59,500,000 and Hizer called, barely having Scott covered. If Hizer lost this pot, he would be on an extreme short stack, his bracelet dreams all but gone. Scott gave him further bad news when he showed , having the of Hizer crushed. The flop was no help, but the came on the turn as Hizer’s exuberant rail erupted in celebration.
The on the river cemented Scott’s elimination in fourth place, and it wasn’t long before Laskowitz took out Jordan Pelon in third place to take a 412,000,000 to 131,500,000 chip lead into heads-up play.
Hizer chipped up somewhat in the early going before moving all in for 169,500,000 on the button. Laskowitz snap-called with two threes and was racing against Hizer’s . The board read and Laskowitz was one card away from the win. But the appeared on the river, and once more the British rail had cause for celebration.
“To be honest, I went to bed last night and I tried to kind of manifest some run good,” Hizer said. “Just having all my friends behind me screaming and shouting, and just for there to be some antics and some drama, I think that’s what makes final tables exciting. I’m pleased I didn’t go out on like a dry board or I didn’t go out on a bit of a limp. Tournaments are high variance, and today it was written in the stars for me to win.”
Hizer extended his chip lead when he picked off a bluff on a board with , then, with the blinds increasing to 8,000,000-16,000,000, put Laskowitz all in for his last 118,500,000. Laskowitz eventually called with as Hizer turned over . Neither player hit the board and Hizer got the proverbial monkey off his back with ace-high. For Laskowitz, the 29-year-old New York native playing in his first live tournament, the $256,170 he earned would have to be a consolation prize.
The bracelet was the prize at the end of a long road for Hizer. Some of his friends on the rail said they had been playing with him since 2008. He didn’t know a lot about poker then, but he’s dedicated his life to the game over the last few years and that work paid off.
“I’ve applied a lot of my time to playing poker. I’ve made it my profession over the last six years. My parents initially weren’t so pleased. It’s not the career choice they wanted for me. Like always in life, I just trust my gut and I did my best,” he said.
Hizer admits he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with the money just yet but says he plans on staying in Las Vegas for the next three weeks to play tournaments at the WSOP and other casinos.
He had a special person in his mind after the win. Hizer calls Steven Jackson like a second father figure. Jackson passed away a few years ago, and Hizer dedicated the win to him. “He’s forever in my heart and I love him to pieces. Steven, this is for you,” he said.
Jackson and the rest of his rail would be proud of him. Now it’s time for them to go out and celebrate his new reign as Colossus champion.
That concludes PokerNews’ coverage of the Colossus. Stay tuned throughout the rest of the 2022 WSOP for all the tournament updates.