Paul Michaels (24), a young Austrian playing on his first World Series of Poker final table Wednesday, scored his first WSOP winner’;s bracelet after a hard-fought duel with veteran ace Tom Marchese.
The two were part of a field of 639 entries in event 8 – the $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em competition – with Michaelis fresh off a minimum $1,000 cash in the Colossus earlier this week. To reach the heads up the duo dispatched experienced opponents from five different nations, including Jesse Cohen, David Eldridge, Hillery Kirby, Michael Leibgorin, Kevin Andriamahefa, Georgios Sotiropoulos, William Mitchell and Steven Wendroff.
Michaelis entered the heads up with a good chip lead, and although Marchese at one point was able to get within striking distance, he was unable to overcome the Michaelis advantage and had to be content with the runner up prize of $117,199.
Michaelis took home $189,818 and the coveted winner’s bracelet – his biggest career win yet. Michaelis is a media and communications graduate who says that he will continue to play in tournaments, but he is not yet decided on his professional future in the game.
Several notable names played in the event without making the final table, including Tristan Wade (11th), Eric Baldwin (18th), and 2012 Big One for One Drop winner, Antonio Esfandiari (45th).