Brent "bhanks11" Hanks Wins WSOP $1,500 NLHE Event

Brent Hanks has won WSOP $1,500 NLHE, after overcoming a field of 2,101 players on his way to capturing a prestigious gold bracelet, and the $517,725 first place prize.
The young US pro had already proved himself a class act in the past after winning $2,689,128 online under the screen name “bhanks11.” It wasn’t long before Brent Hanks’ talents attracted a backer in the guise of Jason Mercier, who has been staking Hanks’ live tournament buy-ins for around four years. With his WSOP Event#2 victory, Hanks has now won a total of $1,115,914 in the live arena, and talking about their relationship, Mercier commented:
“He’s been close to a big win a bunch of times, so seeing him here is pretty awesome. I’ve been rooting for him not just because I have a financial interest in how he does, but also because I want to see him succeed. We talk poker all the time. I’m really happy that he’s able to fulfill his dreams.”
Brent Hanks’ first victim was JP Kelly (J-4), who was down to a few BB’s when he called Hanks’ As-Qs shove to exit the competition in 8th ($49,621), followed by Abdyl Konjuhi in 6th ($87,231), who moved all-in pre-flop with Ah-2h into Hanks’ A-K.
After Brent Hanks (Q-Q) dispatched Andrew Badecker (10-10) in 3rd ($224,029), the heads-up phase got underway with the players fairly even, and it wasn’t until two hours later that the tournament had its winner. Bazeley had been severely crippled after losing an A-8 versus pocket nines race, and the next hand Bazeley was all-in holding 10-4 against Hanks’ Ah-10h. The board then ran out J-10-2-6-J to relegate  Jacob Bazeley to a runner-up finish worth $322,294, while Brent “bhanks11” Hanks captured his first WSOP bracelet.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1. Brent Hanks – $517,725
2. Jacob Bazeley – $322,294
3. Andrew Badecker – $224,029
4. Vanessa Selbst – $161,345
5. Ryan Schmidt – $117,921
6. Abdyl Konjuhi – $87,231
7. Michael Kaufman – $65,377
8. JP Kelly – $49,621
9. Richard Park – $38,106