It was a laid-back atmosphere at the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw final table as Eli Elezra, cocktail in hand, outlasted Daniel Negreanu earning his second gold bracelet and $173,236. Negreanu held the chip lead during much of the finale, but fell victim to a cold streak of cards, and Elezra pounced.
There were no hard feelings as two of the game’s best laughed and smiled their way to six-figure pay days. Although it was Elezra who left with the biggest smile, Negreanu can hold his head high as 2013 has treated him quite well.
He started things off in Melbourne, Australia at the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific with two final table appearances including a Main Event victory. He came to the States and continued his hot streak recording five cashes and now a runner-up finish. Negreanu sits firmly in second place in the WSOP Player of the Year standings, a race he lead until Matthew Ashton’s victory in the Poker Players Championship yesterday.
The win marked gold bracelet victory number two for Elezra, a 52-year-old former Israeli Army commando, and brings his career earnings at the WSOP to just under $1 million.
Event 59, a $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball tournament, drew 282 players generating a prize pool of $641,550. Each of the top 30 player finished in the money and pocketed a score of at least $4,599.
Notables to finish in the money, but short of the final table included Ryan Tepen (30th), Jon Turner (29th), Dario Alioto (27th), Marco Johnson (16th), Konstantin Puchkov (14th) and Michael Mizrachi (9th).
The final table lineup, made up of the top six finishers, was one of the most-highly decorated finales of the season. The headline belonged to five-time bracelet winner and WSOP APAC Main Event champion Negreanu. Negreanu was making his third final table appearance of 2013 and looking to regain the WSOP Player of the Year points lead with a first place finish. He was joined by fellow bracelet winners Scott Seiver (6th), David "ODB" Baker (5th), David Chiu (4th) and Elezra. These five players account for 13 bracelets and more than $13 million in career WSOP earnings.
Additionally, with their deep runs, Chiu and Seiver became the 41st and 42nd players to make multiple final table appearances at the 2013 WSOP. Coincidentally, the two both played heads-up for a bracelet in a Stud event earlier this summer. Meanwhile, David "ODB" Baker grew the list of players final tabling the same event in 2013 as they did in 2012. He finished in third place in 2012 and fifth place this year.
Brian Brubaker was the only player at the final table without a WSOP gold bracelet.
Here’s a look at the final table results from the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball tournament:
1st: Eli Elezra – $173,236
2nd: Daniel Negreanu – $107,055
3rd: Brian Brubaker – $70,743
4th: David Chiu – $48,077
5th: David "ODB" Baker – $33,399
6th: Scott Seiver – $23,698
