Salute Max “The Italian Pirate” Pescatori, who has just claimed his fourth World Series of Poker bracelet (and his second in this year’s series) after defeating a star-studded field of 110 mainly professional players in one of the most respected competitions at the annual tournament.
With a $1.043 million prize pool and massive kudos attached to winning it, the $10,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud High Low World Championshipattracted many of the best players on the planet, but from the outset Pescatori was confident, saying :
“I believed I could do it because Stud is my best game. Coming in to this series I thought that event 41 would be my best chance at winning another bracelet.”
Pescatori cut a swathe through the final table, which included two other bracelet holders, but at the 3-handed stage he almost came undone and was on the brink of folding before he was able to fight back against an aggressive Daniel Negreanu hunting for his seventh bracelet and the talented and tough English player Stephen Chidwick.
In the end it was Negreanu who was knocked out at third for $113,062, clearing the way for a 2-hour Pescatori vs. Chidwick heads up in which the UK pro started as chip leader, but by the last 30 minutes was on the ropes after a spirited Pescatori recovery which enabled the Italian Pirate to claim the win.
Despite the consolation of a $180,529 runner up prize it was a bitter blow for Chidwick, who has 33 WSOP cashes – 9 of them in final tables – to his name but no bracelet.
Pescatrori’s winner’s purse of $292,158 was enhanced by his fourth WSOP bracelet.
The other final table cashes were:
Aleksandr Denisov $81,865
Gary Benson $63,981
Thomas Butzhammer $51,022
Richard Sklar $41,433
Alan Ledford $34,192