Bharat Shetty has been cashing live poker events since 2011, and his poker journey has seen a series of impressive milestones. It all started in 2011 when he secured a runner-up finish in the INR 15K No Limit Hold’em event at the Asian Poker Tour (APT) in Goa. Building on that early success, Shetty then went on to win a Pot Limit Omaha event at the Full Tilt Poker Montreal Festival in October 2013.
Now, Shetty has achieved a major milestone by winning his first-ever WSOP ring at the 2024 World Series of Poker Circuit ( WSOP-C) Playground. Facing a tough field of 262 entries, Shetty emerged victorious, defeating David Burnard in a thrilling heads-up to claim his first ring and a top prize of $20,000. This significant win pushes Shetty’s live earnings closer to the $35,000 mark.
Meanwhile, David Burnard managed to secure the largest bounty of the tournament, a hefty $50,000, making him the biggest single casher of the event.
2024 WSOP-C Playground Event Mystery Bounty Quick Recap
The $800 buy-in Mystery Event, which ran over the course of two days, drew 262 entrants, comfortably surpassing the $100,000 guarantee and generating a substantial $182,090 in the final prize pool. The final day saw 39 players return, led by Rami Hammoud (514,000). Despite starting the day as a chip leader, Hammoud’s run ended in 19th place, earning him $1,000. Other notable cashes on the final day included Jon Pardy (21st for $1,000), WSOP bracelet winners in Tommy Nguyen ($1,200), Jimmy Setna (15th for $1,400) & Pablo Mariz (6th for $3,600), and Colossus winner Maxime Jutras (24th for $800).
Several female players also made a mark, with Kathy Sawers finishing 13th for $1,400, Christine Do taking 23rd for $800, and Ngoc Nguyen ending in 26th place for $700.
As a big stack, Shetty adopted an aggressive style to add to the bounties he had collected. When it was down to the final three tables, he cracked aces to bust Colossus winner Maxime Jutras in 24th place. He continued the momentum cracking aces by whatever two cards he held. He had an impressive seven bounties by the time the final table was reached.
Eliminations on the final table were quick as players were kind of gambling to chase the remaining $50,000 and two $10,000 bounties. With just five players left, Burnard won the $50,000 bounty, earning a substantial payout regardless of his final position.
Next, Shetty sent Steeve Brown to the rail in 5th place, reducing the field to the final four. Brown shoved with Ah 8c, and Shetty called with 4s 5s. The board brought three spades, giving Shetty a flush and ending Brown’s run.
With only three players left, Shetty found himself up against Brandon Wammes, holding pocket sevens against Wammes’ pocket aces. The board ran out with two jacks and a seven on the river, giving Shetty a full house to bust his opponent in third place.
The heads-up began with Shetty holding a massive chip lead with 5,800,000 against David Burnard’s 2,000,000 stack. Although Burnard managed to win some chips back by catching Shetty in a few bluff attempts, he couldn’t seal the deal. The tournament concluded dramatically when Burnard picked up pocket aces against Shetty’s 8c 5c. An all-in occurred on a flop of 6d Qc 2c. Burnard improved to a set with the Ad on the turn, but Shetty’s luck against aces yet again held strong, as he completed a flush with the 9c on the river, capturing the coveted title and earning his first WSOP-C ring.
2024 WSOP-C Playground Mystery Bounty Final Table Payouts (CAD)
1. Bharat Shetty $20,000
2. David Burnard $13,000
3. Brandon Wammes $9,240
4. John Clifford $5,900
5. Steeve Brown $4,600
6. Pablo Mariz $3,600
7. Jonathan Petit-Levesque $3,000
8. Jean Gariepy $2,500
9. Johnson Phanyaseng $2,000
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Images and hands courtesy: pokernews & Playground Poker
