2015 WSOP Europe: Ryan Hefter Wins €1,650 Monster Stack
October 15, 2015 9:38 amThe USA has earned its first gold bracelet at this year’s WSOP Europe, after Ryan Hefter took down Event #4: €1,650 “Monster Stack” No-Limit Hold’em. The semi-pro had to overcome a field of 580 players over three days on his way to claiming the title, and its €176,205 ($202,305) first place prize, after which he commented:
“I can’t even put into words how I feel right now. I don’t play many tournaments. I used to play online professionally when I was younger in the States, but I’m not a tournament player, mostly cash. I just took a shot. I came down to Berlin for a few days, busted out of the €560 ‘OktoberFest’, tried this one and ended up taking it down.”
The €1,650 Monster Stack featured a prize pool worth €843,900, and amongst the notable pros cashing in at one of the 63 money spots was Barny Boatman in 61st (€2,785), Igor Yaroshevsky in 50th (€3,040), Andy Black in 36th (€3,630), Sergio Aido in 28th (€4,725), and Simon Deadman in 16th (€8,945).
After the final table of nine had been set, Carlos Chang took out David Peters in 9th (€16,455), Justin Frolianin in 7th (€26,415), and Diego Ventura in 5th (€44,725). Meanwhile, Henrik Hecklen did likewise to Richard Sheils in 8th (€20,675), and Armin Eckl in 6th (€34,180), before Gilbert Diaz (A-J) eliminated Hecklen (A-8) in 4th for €59,495.
Ryan Hefter then scored his first knock-out when his pocket sevens held against the A-K of Carlos Chang, who subsequently exited in 3rd (€80,170), leaving Ryan Hefter and Gilbert Diaz to battle it out for the title.
Seventeen hands is all it would then take, before the deciding hand was played with Ryan Hefter (8-7) and Gilbert Diaz (A-J) going all-in preflop. The dealer laid out a 9-7-2-3-2 board to seal the deal, and so Gilbert Diaz collected €109,625 for his runner-up finish, while Ryan Hefter picked-up a prestigious gold bracelet for his impressive performance.
Final Table Payouts:
1 Ryan Hefter – €176,205
2 Gilbert Diaz – €109,625
3 Carlos Chang – €80,170
4 Henrik Hecklen – €59,495
5 Diego Ventura – €44,725
6 Armin Eckl – €34,180
7 Justin Frolian – €26,415
8 Richard Sheils – €20,675
9 David Peters – €16,455