Payan is the seventh French bracelet winner in WSOP history

The French might just give the British a run for their money this year.  Frenchman Elie Payan defeated Rafe Kibrit heads-up in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event to pick up France’s second bracelet of this WSOP.

For Payan, it is a landmark victory not just for France, but for the WSOP.  Payan defeated the largest Pot Limit Omaha field in history, besting 1,070 other players on his way to picking up his first career WSOP bracelet.

Payan began the day in the middle of the pack while Juha Vilkki came in to the final table with the chip lead and a healthy stack, Emil Patel came into the final table last in chips. A duel set of double ups sent him flying up the chip counts though and made him a force to be reckoned with at the final table. While Patel chipped up, so did Rafe Kibrit, who managed to take the chip lead without any major all-in confrontations.

Meanwhile, many other players saw their stacks shift around the table. Roland Israelashvili was the first player to see his stack disappear completely. He busted out in ninth place when Vilkki’s KQT8 made a better two pair than Israelashvilli’s Q773 and Israelashvili hit the rail.

It took a couple of hours to lose one player, but with the blinds climbing and several players’ stacks shrinking, the pace started to pick up.  Chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer was the next to go, running kings into Vilkki’s aces to bust out in eighth place.

It was another hand with aces that resulted in the demise of Cody Munger in seventh place. The money went in on the 876 flop with Patel shoving with AAT9 for a ten-high straight and Munger called the remainder of his stack holding JJT7 for an overpair and a gutterball. Munger failed to improve and Patel claimed another pot and his first KO.

That would be the high point for Patel though, as he doubled up David Sands twice and Elie Payan once to fall from first to last in the counts. Patel then exited in sixth place when he got it all-in holding an overpair and a club draw with KQQ2 on an 877 flop. He was up against Stephen Wolfe’s 3456 for a wrap. The 4 on the turn completed Wolfe’s straight, but it also gave Patel an additional flush draw. The river K was no help to Patel though and his roller coaster day drew to a close.

The trend of players busting a player and, in turn, busting continued when Wolfe headed home in fifth place. He was at the top of the counts after busting Patel, but dropped two big pots in short succession, then got it all-in on a J94 flop holding AQQT for an overpair and a straight draw. Elie Payan called Wolfe’s all-in with T764 for a spade draw. The 2 on the turn kept Wolfe out front, but the river 9 completed Payan’s flush and sent Wolfe out in fifth place.

That pot proved to be the pivotal one for Payan, as he jumped up the counts and then overtook the chip lead from Rafe Kibrit by busting Juha Vilkki in fourth place. The pot stayed relatively small pre and post flop, as the cards came down 743, but the T on the turn seemed to be the catalyst to get the action going. Vilkki and Payan got in a raising war that resulted in Vilkki being all-in holding QJ75 for a top pair, a heart draw, and a gutshot. Payan was out front with 8332 for set of treys that improved to a boat with the T on the river. Payan surged to a big lead, while Vilkki hit the rail.

Sands was the short man on the totem pole for much of the afternoon and, though he managed to double up to pull closer to even with his two remaining opponents, he still ended up finishing in third place.  Sands fired a pot-sized bet on a 952 flop and Payan repotted Sands all-in.  Sands called for less than his initial flop bet holding AKJ4 for ace-high and a wheel draw.  Payan showed 9662 for top and bottom pair.  The two pair held and Sands headed home.

The heads-up battle was a back and forth one with both players rallying back from the brink of elimination. In the end, good fortune resided with the French for the second night in a row. On the final hand of play, Payan got it all-in with a gutshot and heart draw on a 432 board. He was up against Kibrit’s A-A-Q-6. The A on the turn helped both players, but Kibrit needed the board o pair in order to stay alive in the event. It did not, and Payan claimed the pot and the bracelet.

Payan was speechless after the win.  The joy of winning his first bracelet was made all the better by the fact that he joins the ranks of French winners and will be forever linked in history with French poker phenomenon Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier as two players who did their country proud at the 2011 WSOP.

Here are the final table results from the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event:

1st: Elie Payan- $292,825
2nd: Rafe Kibrit – $181,222
3rd: David Sands – $113,383
4th: Juha Vilkki – $82,297
5th: Stephen Wolfe – $60,754
6th: Emil Patel – $45,554
7th: Cody Munger – $34,642
8th: Jeff Sarwer – $26,704
9th: Roland Israelashvili – $20,863

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