Pierre Milan Wins France's First Bracelet Of WSOP 2014 (Event#29)

Pierre Milan has put France on the map of WSOP 2014, after taking down $2,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event#29) for $536,768. On his way to victory he had to first overcome a tough field of 1,165  players, which included the likes of Isaac Baron, David Pham, Roberto Romanello, Scotty Nguyen, Amanda Musumeci, Tony Dunst, Tristan Wade, and Brock Parker.
After Rep Porter fell in 18th ($19,718), and David Benefield in 10th ($30,267), the final table of nine then got underway with Jamie Armstrong and Andy Phan leading the way, followed by Matt Salsberg, Thad McNulty, Barry Hutter and Justin Oliver. Also competing for the bracelet was Daniel Laming, Sam Cohen and, of course, Pierre Milan.
Justin Oliver (10-10) then proceeded to eliminate Sam Cohen (K-Q) in 9th ($38,244), and Jamie Armstrong in 6th ($83,486), before being dealt A-J and doing likewise to Thad McNulty (K-8) in 4th for $150,859.
Just three hands later and Pierre Milan (A-K) sent a short-stacked Matt Salsberg (K-J) to the rail in 3rd ($207,842), to herald in the heads-up phase of the competition against Pierre Milan. As the final battle commenced, both players were fairly even in chips but two hands later it was all but over with Oliver’s K-J losing out to Milan’s K-6 on a K-6-3-Q-9 board. Down to a chip and a chair, Justin Oliver moved all-in on the next hand with pocket sixes, but after Pierre Milan called with 10-8, the dealer subsequently put out a 10-9-3-K-K board to consign the Canadian to a runner-up finish worth $332,198, while the Frenchman walked away with a prestigious WSOP bracelet.
Commenting on his path to victory at the final table, Milan said: “At first, I was waiting for spots to re-steal and finally get some chips. I finally won two coin flips and I had 2.2 million with four players left. After that I was almost chip leader and ran over the table. The other guy [Justin Oliver] let me raise every hand and play my big stack…Heads-up went so fast, I can’t expect a better match. I wasn’t intimidated by any of the players, we’re all the same – the cards decide who wins. It’s amazing to win a bracelet – it’s indescribable.”
Final Table Results:
1 Pierre Milan – $536,768
2 Justin Oliver – $332,198
3 Matt Salsberg – $207,842
4 Thad McNulty – $150,859
5 Barry Hutter – $111,368
6 Jamie Armstrong – $83,486
7 Andy Phan – $63,502
8 Daniel Laming – $48,952
9 Sam Cohen – $38,244