WSOP: Owais Ahmed Denies Michael Mizrachi Second Bracelet

Search BLUFF News

WSOP: Owais Ahmed Denies Michael Mizrachi Second Bracelet

Tim Fiorvanti | June 30, 2011

There have been occasions already during the 2011 World Series of Poker where a crowd gets behind a player, who then rides that momentum to a bracelet. Michael Mizrachi had a large crowd of friends, family, and big name poker players on his rail, and a big chip lead to boot, but none of that would matter once Owais Ahmed hit a hot run of cards.

Despite a sizable lead at the start of heads-up play for Mizrachi, Ahmed scooped a pair of consecutive Seven-card Stud Hi-Lo pots where losing either hand could have crippled him. This brought the match to dead even.

Ahmed progressively decimated Mizrachi’s stack, silencing the massive crowd that had gathered to cheer Mizrachi on, until Mizrachi had less than 4 big bets. On the final hand of the tournament, Mizrachi got all-in on an AJ4T board with AQT3 for two pair, while Ahmed had QT53 for a low draw and heart draw. The 6 on the river sealed the amazing comeback for Ahmed and denied Mizrachi his second WSOP bracelet.

Ahmed took home $255,959 for his victory, more than four times his previous lifetime cashes combined. Ahmed credits a break early in the heads-up match with changing the tide for him.

“I had a chip disadvantage, and the room felt a little small,” said Ahmed. “It felt a little like me against the world. We played about 20 minutes and then we took a break. During break I washed my face, meditated a little bit, and I just said ‘I’m going to come out and play my A game.’ That’s what’s going to win me the bracelet.”

Anthony Lellouche’s run at this year’s WSOP, on the other hand, has been a little more heartbreaking.

He’s reached the last table in the tournament three times this Summer, including Wednesday, but has yet to officially make a final table. He finished tenth in a No Limit Hold’em event, where the final table is nine-handed, and after his ninth place finish in this event he has two finishes in that position when only eight qualify for the actual final table.

Thomas Whitehair was the next to exit this event. Whitehair made queens-up against Mosseri in Seven-card Stud Hi-Lo, but by the time the cards were on their backs, Mosseri had a full house. There was no help for Whitehair on seventh street, and he’d be knocked out in eighth place.

The game switched to Omaha Hi-Lo, but Mosseri would again be on the war path, bringing the field down to six. With just a few bets left in his stack, Greg Jamison got all-in before the flop and got called by Mosseri. Jamison had a solid Omaha Hi-Lo hand, holding 2234 against Mosseri’s KK28, but the flop was a mixed blessing, coming out A43. Jamison flopped a very vulnerable two-pair and Mosseri already made a low. The J changed nothing, but the A on the river counterfeited Jamison’s two pair, giving Mosseri a scoop and sending Jamison home in seventh.

Already the shortest stack heading into six-handed play, Gerard Rechnitzer was crippled when he received just a quarter of a pot in Omaha Hi-Lo against Mosseri. Rechnitzer was all-in and called by both Mosseri and Scotty Nguyen. The board ran out QQ2K6, with Nguyen betting Mosseri out of the pot on the river. Nguyen showed a pocket pair of aces, which were good enough to scoop the pot and knock Rechnitzer out in sixth place.

Nguyen would hit a cold streak at this point, with his stack getting reduced to just a few bets. He got them in on the turn of a KQ7A board against Mizrachi, holding [A][2][3][J] against Mizrachi’s AQ99. Nguyen would need a low card that didn’t pair up or a ten to stay alive, but the K on the river would spell the end for the former Main Event champion in fifth.

This made for a nice pay jump for Scott Bohlman, who had been hanging around on a severely short stack for several orbits. In the end, however, he was run down by Ahmed. All-in on an AK2 flop, Bohlman had AA94 for top set against the low draw and gutshot straight draw Ahmed had with K754. The 4 on the turn guaranteed Ahmed at least half of the pot, and the 3 completed a wheel for him, giving Ahmed a scoop and eliminating Bohlman in fourth place.

When three-handed play started, Mizrachi was in the lead, but Ahmed and Mosseri were hot on his tail. It was at this point, however, that Mosseri’s run of cards went stone cold. He couldn’t get a piece of any pot, and the high limits quickly whittle his stack down to just a few bets. On a board of QQTT, Mosseri went all-in for less than a full bet and Ahmed reluctantly called. Neither player had so much as a pair in their hand, with Mosseri’s AJ75 for ace-jack high better than Ahmed’s A542. But the 8 on the river would complete a flush for Ahmed, ending Mosseri’s run in third.

It’s interesting to note that when he was eliminated, Mosseri walked over to the tournament clock and watched until the prizes crawled down the side. He was waiting to see how much he had won for his third place finish, and was only finding out after the fact. For what its worth, Mosseri’s efforts in this tournament netted him $100,532.

When heads-up play began, Mizrachi held a chip lead of almost 3-to-1 over Ahmed. But a missed low draw with two live high cards brought Ahmed from the brink of elimination to right back in the match. In just an hour Ahmed managed to go from a severe disadvantage to holding his first WSOP bracelet.

Here are the official results for the $2,500 Seven-card Stud Hi-Lo/Omaha Hi-Lo tournament: