Thomas Pomponio took down Event 5, the 2017 World Series of Poker Colossus III $565 No-Limit Hold’em, defeating Taylor Black heads-up to win the largest cash of his career after four-days of intense play.
The New Jersey native outplayed a massive field of 18,054, the third largest in WSOP history, to win $1,000,000 and his first WSOP bracelet.
“That’s a lot of people, you know,” Pomponio said, referring to the massive field. “Every time I come into a tournament, I think I’m going to win it. I’ve played poker for ten years, I know that’s not realistic, I know that’s not going to happen, but I try to play my best.
The Colossus III total prize pool was an incredible $9,027,000 of which 2,711 entries cashed, some more than once because of the multiple flight format. 76 different countries were represented with the youngest entrant having just turned 21 and the eldest 93.
Final Table Payouts were:
1 Thomas Pomponio, $1,000,000
2 Taylor Black, $545,430
3 John Hanna, $406,474
4 Mark Babekov, $305,294
5 Kent Coppock, $230,564
6 Erkut Yilmaz, $175,208
7 Ralph Massey, $133,975
8 Matt Affleck, $103,090
9 Luke Vrabel, $79,827
New York native Abe Mosseri won Event 9, the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, for $388,795 and his second WSOP bracelet.
Mosseri defeated Daniel Negreanu, denying him a seventh WSOP bracelet, in just four-hands of heads-up play.
Final results were:
1 Abe Mosseri – $388,795
2 Daniel Negreanu – $240,290
3 Yarron Bendor – $166,895
4 Fabrice Soulier – $118,340
5 Ilya Dyment – $85,702
6 Ray Dehkharghani – $63,419
7 Anthony Zinno – $47,975
8 Mike Matusow – $37,120
9 John Monnette – $29,391
Nipun Java and Aditya Sushant, playing under the name ‘Team India’, became the first Indian-born poker players to win a WSOP bracelet when they took down Event 10, the $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em.
When Java’s original teammate overslept, Aditya Sushant jumped the rail to play alongside his friend, the duo outplayed a field of 843 teams to win $150,637.
“Poker is booming in India,” said Java. “I’ve been in the States for the last 12 years, but I was born in India and my heart is… I’m Indian.”
Final Table Results:
1 Nipun Java / Aditya Sushant – $150,637
2 David Guay / Pablo Mariz – $93,074
3 Kiryl Radzivonau / Mikhail Semin – $65,190
4 Charalampos Lappas / Georgios Zisimopoulos – $46,318
5 Mukul Pahuja / Jonas Wexler – $33,391
6 DJ MacKinnon / Esther Taylor – $24,430
7 Ryan Laplante / Sam Cohen – $18,143
8 Austin Buchanan / Lanie Foster – $13,680
9 Joseph Choueiri / Rafael Lopez / James Gibson – $10,475
David Bach earned his second career WSOP bracelet when he won Event 11, the $1,500 Dealers Choice.
Bach dominated the final table defeating Kevin Lacofano heads-up to take home the first prize of $119,399.
Final Table Results were:
1 David Bach – $119,399
2 Kevin Iacofano – $73,779
3 Christopher Sensoli – $47,629
4 Scott Milkey – $31,550
5 Anthony Arvidson – $21,460
6 Wook Kim – $14,998