By the third day of World Series of Poker event 55, a $1,500 buy-in NLHE contest, Canadian player Asi Moshe was among 17 survivors of a massive original field of 2,396, hanging in around the middle of the chip stacks….by day’s end he had claimed his first WSOP winner’s bracelet and a very impressive first prize of $582,321.
Moshe maintained his middle-of-the-pack status entering the final table, where he faced Michael Ferrer, Aaron Massey, David Jackson (chip leader), Bobby Poe, Henrik Hecklen, Marc Etienne McLaughlin, Tim West and Brian Kennedy.
It was a tough, 180-hand final table which battled for over 43 hands before the first elimination took place
Awaiting his moment to turn on the aggression, Moshe hit the gas when play reached four-handed, taking the lead but commencing heads up action against Michael Ferrer at a slight disadvantage.
However he quickly remedied the situation to build his stack and take Ferrer out in just 7 hands, sending him to the exit and a second placing prize of $361,207.
Moshe, who is primarily an online grinder, says that the big win is his best payday yet, eclipsing the $141,124 he claimed for a fifth position in a WSOP event last year.
Making his victory all the more memorable is the fact that it was only his fourth major live tournament appearance
Other final table pay checks were:
Aaron Massey $255,209
David Jackson $183,498
Bobby Poe $133,686
Henrik Hecklen $98,967
Marc Etienne McLaughlin $73,781
Tim West $55,861
Brian Kennedy $42,826