Brian Hastings Becomes First 2-Times Bracelet Winner of 2015 WSOP

For the last 13 years in a row the WSOP has produced at least one 2-times gold bracelet winner, and this year’s competition is no exception after Brian Hastings followed up his victory at Event #27: $10k Seven-Card Stud Championship with another winning performance, this time at Event #39: $1,500 Six-Max 10-Game. Following an impressive victory in which he overcame a field of 380 players over three days to take down the bracelet, as well as the $133,403 first place prize, the 26 year-old pro commented:
“Obviously, it feels great to win two bracelets in one summer. Not a lot of people do that, it feels really special.” Hastings then mentioned the role his girlfriend Sonya played in his success, stating; “She’s helped me believe in myself and maximize my potential. She’s been a great influence and I love her a lot. That’s an underrated aspect of poker. That kind of life balance is really important.
The $1,500 Six-Max 10-Game event created a prize pool worth $513,000, and amongst the notable pros subsequently seeing a return on their investment was Daniel Negreanu in 41st ($2,539), Jeff Lisandro in 26th ($3,519), Eli Elezra in 24th ($4,288), Phil Hellmuth in 17th ($5,360), and Matt Glantz in 10th ($9,018).
The final table of six also featured a number of talented pros in the guise of Mike Watson (6th), and Todd Brunson whose exit in 3rd ushered in heads-up between Hastings and Russia’s Rostislav Tsodikov for the title. Eventually, the deciding hand was played during a Limit Hold’em round in which Rostislav with just 3bb remaining found himself all-in holding A-5 against the K-6 of his opponent. The dealer then laid out a K-J-2-7-4 board to consign the Russian to a runner-up position worth $82,398, while Brian Hastings picked up his 3rd career WSOP bracelet.
“I pride myself on being an every-game player, and winning a tournament of this format just means a lot to me,” explained an elated Hastings. “Hopefully, it’s a precursor to the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.”
Final Table Results:
1 Brian Hastings $133,403
2 Rostislav Tsodikov $82,398
3 Todd Brunson $52,977
4 Alexey Makarov $35,130
5 Tim Reusch $23,982
6 Mike Watson $16,846