US Pro Steve Billirakis Wins WSOPE PLO Bracelet

Steve Billirakis has won the WSOPE  €5,300 PLO event, after overcoming a field of 180 players over three days to earn a gold bracelet, and collect the €238.140 ($341,615) first place prize.
Back in 2007, Billirakis won the WSOP $5k Mixed Hold’em Championship in Las Vegas for $536,287 aged just 21. Now the US pro has doubled his bracelet haul with his victory in Cannes, and commenting on his remarkable feat, said:
“I am happy that I did this. Five years went by without winning, which is a long time. Back then, you don’t know as much and you think you are going to win the very next tournament that you play. But then as you go on you realize it’s tough and you even begin to wonder if you are ever going to win one of these again. I now realize that I can win, if I am dedicated enough and put in enough effort.”
The 25 year-old cashed at his first tournament back in 2004, and has now gone on to amass $2,296,954 playing live, as well as a further $1,241,346 playing online under the screen name “MrSmokey1.”
As the final table of the €5,300 PLO event got underway, UK pro Sam Trickett was leading the nine man table with Billirakis close behind in second spot. As the other players exited the arena, Trickett and Billirakis were able to maintain their big stacks but with five players remaining their positions reversed as they ended up at the bottom of the chip counts.
Whereas Sam Trickett was subsequently eliminated in 4th place (€77,642), Billirakis did enough to go through to heads-up play against Italian player Michele di Lauro. Two hands later and it was all over, as Michele Di Lauro was relegated to a runner-up finish worth €147,171 ($196,600), while Steve Billirakis was crowned the WSOPE  €5.300 PLO Champion.
The final finishing positions were as folows:
1st: Steve Billirakis – €238,140
2nd: Michele Di Lauro – €147,171
3rd: Ramzi Jelassi – €105,937
4th: Sam Trickett – €77,642
5th: Jerome Bradpiece – €57,912
6th: Konstantin Uspenskiy – €43,950
7th: Erich Kollmann – €33,922
8th: Sam Chartier – €26,610
9th: Eoghan O’Dea – €21,221