It was all so close when three-handed play began, but it took less than an hour for Francesco Barbaro to vanquish his two opponents on the way to his first World Series of Poker bracelet and over $260,000.

First he took out Matthew Waxman, the chip leader for most of the final table, when he flopped a straight with no low to be found, sending Waxman home in third. He began heads-up play with Kostas Kalathakis with a 3.5 million to 400,000 advantage, and it took a few chopped pots for it to happen, but eventually Barbaro’s QQ33 bested Kalthakis’ J987 when the board blanked out.

Barbaro’s official haul was $262,283. Not bad, condsidering this was the first WSOP event he had every played.

The $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo tournament, Event 3 on the WSOP schedule, was the first open event of 2011 to reach a Final Table. The field of 925 was the largest ever for an Omaha Hi-Lo tournament, crushing last year’s number of 818 for this event.

There were two very recognizable players when ten-handed play got underway. Humberto Brenes was the only player of the ten who had previously won a WSOP bracelet, having won twice before on this stage. Vladimir Shchemelev had an outstanding 2010 WSOP, making four final tables including a runner-up finish to Michael Mizrachi in the $50,000 Players’ Championship for just under $1 million.

There were 25 players at the start of Day 3, but that number was reduced at a breakneck pace during the first two levels. Among those to go out in the play down to the final nine were Lex Veldhuis, Scott Clements, Jacobo Fernandez, and Jimmy Fricke.

Play stalled for more than a full level when it got down to the final table bubble of 11. After holding on through numerous double-ups and split pots by other players at his table, Ryan Lenerghan succumbed in 11th place to bring action down to a single table.

It took just a few hands for action to reach the official Final Table of nine. Richard Monroe ran afoul of Waxman, simultaneously giving Waxman a hold of the chip lead and sending Monroe home in tenth when he could not produce a low hand to chop against Waxman’s set of tens.

Travis Pearson was the second-shortest stack when ten-handed play began, and that’s exactly how he finished. His second-best low with no high hand to protect it fell victim to Kalathakis’ nut low, and Pearson exited in ninth place.

Shchemlev entered the final table as the second largest stack, but the Final Table was a disaster for him. He did not scoop a single pot, and eventually found himself all-in with top two-pair. It was no match for Bradley Helm’s rivered straight and low, though, and Shchemelev would go out in eighth, recording his fifth career WSOP Final Table appearance, but once again coming up short of a bracelet.

After an hour break for dinner, we waited nearly an hour until the last hand of a level for the next knockout. Pocket aces with a deuce is among the best starting hands in Omaha Hi-Lo, but it was the end for Cam McKinley. His pair of aces was rendered second-best when Helm made three fives on the turn, and the 2 on board ended his chances of making the best low, making McKinley the seventh place finisher.

Humberto Brenes is one of the most colorful and well-known players in the world, but Friday would not be the day he added his third gold bracelet to his jewelery case. Kalathakis flopped a Broadway straight against Brenes’ pair and inside straight draw, and Brenes could not catch up to chop, sending him away in sixth.

Sometimes in poker it’s all about when you do more with less. This was the story of Michael Deveronica in this tournament. He entered ten-handed play with far and away the shortest stack, picked up some fortunate river cards, and rode it out for quite some time before settling for fifth place. A $41,000 pay jump isn’t a bad day’s work for a $1,500 tournament any day of the week.

After some early success at the Final Table, Helm’s stack slowly got shorter and shorter. He got his few remaining chips with pocket kings, but Barbaro made two-pair on the turn, sending Helm home in fourth.

With 4.2 million chips in play total, Barbaro entered three-handed play with 2.1 million, Waxman had just over 1 million, and Kalathakis had just under 1 million. But within an hour it would all be over, with Barbaro hoisting the coveted gold bracelet triumphantly in the air.

Here are the final results for Event 3, $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo:

1. Francesco Barbaro – $262,283
2. Kostas Kalathakis – $161,675
3. Matt Waxman – $104,770
4. Bradley Helm $76,673
5. Michael Deveronica – $56,943
6. Humberto Brenes – $42,857
7. Cam McKinley – $32,654
8. Vladimir Schemelev$25,174
9. Travis Pearson – $19,617
10. Richard Monroe – $15,484

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