Hamid Izadi, who has become a fixture on the WSOP Circuit over the last few years, emerged victorious in the WSOP Circuit Pompano $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event on Monday. The Atlanta, Georgia, already holding six gold rings on the tour and over $800,000 in WSOPC earnings, topped a competitive field of 917 entries to secure his seventh ring and the $245,225 top prize.
The win means a lot to Izadi since it is his first-ever WSOP Circuit Main Event victory. Talking about his victory with Poker.org reporters, he said. “That’s something else. I have six rings, but this is another level for me. It’s not easy to win, you have to go through a lot of good players, but today was my day. The cards went my way, I played my best I believe and I got the result I wanted.”
This was by far the largest tournament score for Izadi, who has more than $1.6 million in live earnings to his name. This marked his second title of the year, having won a $600 buy-in bounty event at the WSOPC Tunica stop in January for $19,508.
Featuring a buy-in of $1,700, this main event comfortably surpassed its $1 million guarantee and generated $1,389,255 in the final prize pool, which was finally distributed among the top 102 finishers, with the top 21 finishers all earning at least five-figure paydays.
After three flights and one more day of play, just seven players remained for the final day play. Michael Lydon started the day with the chip lead. Izadi began his journey in second chip position, but quickly edged his way into the chip lead with his aggressive play. Taylor Hart and Jake Schwartz were the first two eliminations on the final day, bowing out in seventh and sixth places respectively.
The action slowed down during the five-handed play with players fighting hard to avoid their bustout. 2019 WSOPC Choctaw main event winner Dave Alfa fell in fifth place when his pocket fives failed to hold against Izadi’s K-Q that prevailed, making an ace-high straight on the river. Izadi continued his aggressive play and bested Michael Lydon’s A-10 with A-Q to narrow the field to three. A little later, Gregory Spinder shoved his 6-2 against Izadi’s K-Q, which won and busted Spinder in third place.
The heads-up play saw Izadi holding a 5:4 chip lead over Boris Kasabov. Following a back-and-forth battle, the latter shoved from the button with Ad 6d and Izadi called with Ah Qs. The board ran out Jc 8d 5s 10h 2s, giving Izadi the coveted title. Kasabov had to settle for $151,561 as the runner-up.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
Place | Player | Earnings |
1 | Hamid Izadi | $245,225 |
2 | Boris Kasabov | $151,561 |
3 | Gregory Spinder | $111,578 |
4 | Michael Lydon | $83,096 |
5 | Dave Alfa | $62,611 |
6 | Jake Schwartz | $47,737 |
7 | Taylor Hart | $36,834 |
8 | Barbara Sargent | $28,767 |
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Image Credit: WSOP.com