Event 58 at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas has been won by veteran poker pro Jared Jaffee (33), a long-time professional grinder from Brooklyn in New York.
In the biggest win of his career (his previous best included several $250,000+ wins at major tourneys) Jaffee claimed his first WSOP bracelet and $405,428 in the $1,500 buy-in NLHE Mixed Max competition, which attracted a field of 1,475 and delivered a prize pool of $1,991,250.
The first day of the mixed max format is played in a full ring setting, with the second day played as a No Limit Hold’em Six Max tournament. The third day is played as a Four Max until the final four players are decided, when they are seeded based on chip count and two separate heads-up matches are played to see who will advance to the final heads up.
To get to the final heads up Jaffee and Mike Watson had to beat quality live and online pros Joseph Alban and Mark Herm respectively, with Jaffee emerging from the semi-finals with a 2 to 1 chip lead over Watson for the final heads up.
Jaffee exploited his lead to the full, quickly building it to a 5 to 1 advantage, but Watson, a Canadian pro, continued to play calmly and was rewarded with a double up that whittled away Jaffee’s lead. He followed this a few hands later with another double up and at one point the chip stacks favoured Watson.
However, after a short rest break Jaffee came back with all guns blazing and took a series of pots that positioned him back in charge with a 2 to 1 lead in just five hands. After a little more skirmishing Jaffee closed the door on his feisty opponent, sending him home with the runner up prize of $246,068.