Ben Volpe was on the losing end of a two-outer against Paul Lieu heads-up in the $1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold’em tournament, but he didn’t let that shake him. The 26-year-old CPA from Chicago kept his nose to the grindstone and battled back to best Lieu and win $201,399 along with his first gold bracelet.
Late into heads-up play the pair got all the chips in the middle, Volpe holding queens and Lieu fours. The flop and turn came blanks, but the river brought a four sending Lieu to his rail’s arms in celebration — but Volpe didn’t flinch. He looked down at his stack and calmly counted out the chips to pay Lieu and then it was back to work.
It took some time, but Volpe got the best of his opponent and reaped the rewards. He now lays claim to eight WSOP cashes and one final table appearance along with more than $380,000 in career earnings.
The second annual $1,500 Ante Only No Limit Hold’em event drew 678 players and generated a prize pool of $915,300. The top 72 finishers earned a payday, including Daniel Idema (49th), JC Tran (34th), David Williams (18th), Aaron Massey (12th), and Tommy Vedes, who bubbled the final table in 10th place.
The final table featured two gold bracelet winners in Blair Hinkle and two-time winner Louis Bonnecaze. It also included some established pros like Brit Chris Moorman, who was hoping to bag Britain’s first bracelet of the summer, but ended up busting in fifth place. WSOP rookie Samuel Panzica also continued the success for Circuit regulars, final tabling and finishing in ninth place.
Here are the final table results for the $1,500 Ante Only No Limit Hold’em event:
1st: Ben Volpe – $201,399
2nd: Paul Lieu – $124,352
3rd: Louis Bonnecaze – $80,839
4th: Blair Hinkle – $59,375
5th: Chris Moorman – $44,227
6th: Horacio Chaves Cortes – $33,371
7th: Adam Stone – $25,472
8th: Danny Johnson – $19,660
9th: Sam Panzica – $15,331
