WSOP 2014: Tommy Hang Wins $1,500 H.O.R.S.E (Event #27)

Just a few days after finishing the 2014 WSOP $10k H.O.R.S.E. championship in 13th place for $26,432, Washington State pro Tommy Hang has gone all the way this time, having topped a huge 743 player field at the WSOP $1,500 H.O.R.S.E (Event #27) to collect a career first gold bracelet, in addition to the $230,744 first place prize.
Ironically, though, the 34-year-old almost didn’t make the tournament after his wife ordered him home for the Father’s Day weekend. However, Hang was itching to give his favourite poker format another bash and in the end managed to persuade his wife to let him play. As Hang explains:
“I just played cash, and she booked my flight. I was looking at the updates, seeing how all of my friends were doing and how all the hands were going down and I just kept hinting to my wife that I wanted to play. As the day was going on and the hours were going by, I kept hinting some more. It got to the end of late registration at the end of the dinner break, I told her I’d only have 10 big blinds and she said, ‘Fine!’, angrily. I told her I’d either win it or I’d bust.”
The $1,500 H.O.R.S.E event attracted some of the most talented players in the game to create a prize pool worth $1,003,050, and amongst the big names subsequently seeing a return on their buy-ins was Roland Israelashivili in 59th ($3,039), Huck Seed in 27th ($5,185), Chris Klodnicki in 19th ($6,178), and Dutch Boyd in 11th ($11,605).
At the final table of eight, Tommy Hang was then able to progress all the way through to heads-up play where he faced off against 2013 WSOP Asia-Pacific bracelet winner Jim Collopy for the title. As the final phase of the competition got started Hang held an almost 3-to-1 chip lead over Collopy, but it would still take another hour before a limit hold’em round saw Hang  (Q-J) make a straight on a 9-8-3-6-10 board against Jim Collopy (K-K) to earn a prestigious gold bracelet.
Commenting on his impressive performance, Hang said: “I have been shooting for a bracelet for years now, and have always been falling slightly short. Each year I have progressed and learned new things, new tactics and I have been applying them. It seems to be paying off so far.”
Final Table Results:
1 Tommy Hang – $230,744
2 Jim Collopy – $142,53
3 Kristan Lord – $96,894
4 Brandon Guss – $67,435
5 Joe Villella – $47,905
6 Chris George – $34,725
7 Stewart Yancik – $25,668
8 David Baker – $19,338