Bengt Sonnert Takes Down WPTWOC Omaha Championship

The WPT #02 Omaha Championship drew in a crowd of 161 of the world’s best pot-limit Omaha players, and Sweden’s Bengt Sonnert outlasted them all. Sonnert was already considered to be one of the best PLO players on the planet, and now he has a World Poker Tour title to prove it.

Twenty-four players sat down for Day 2 of the $2,100 buy-in $300,000 guaranteed WPTWOC Omaha Championship, including Team partypoker’s Joao Simao. Unfortunately for our hero, his tournament ended in a ninth-place finish.

Ka Kwan Lau crashed out in eighth and burst the final table bubble.

Shuxrat Salixov was the final table’s first casualty, finishing in seventh place for $10,920, and put Uzbekistan on the poker map. Sweden’s Kristoffer Jakobsson followed suit, his sixth-place finish coming with a $13,454 payout.

Another Swede, Jesper Nordkvist Brodin, bowed out in fifth. Blinds were 35,000/70,000/8,750a, and Veselin Karakitukov raised to 175,000 with . Nordkvist Brodin was in the small blind with and three-bet to 595,000. Karaktitukov set his opponent all-in for his last 177,389, and was called. Karakitukov flopped trips on the board to reduce the player count by one.

Karakitukov was the next player out of the door despite winning that last pot. Sonnert made it 189,000 to go from the button with , Karakitukov three-bet to 602,000with . The rest of Karakitukov’s 391,322 chips went in on the flop, and Sonnert called with his straight. The turn and river fell and , and Karakitukov crashed out.

A huge pot sent Anton Suarez, the former MILLIONS UK Main Event champion, to the rail in third. The flop read and there was already 1,020,000 chips in the pot. Sonnert fired a pot-sized 1,020,000 bet with from the small blind, and Suarez responded with an all-in bet of 2,336,695 holding . Sonnert called. The kept Sonnert ahead, with the river improving the champion elect to a flush.

Busting Suarez boosting Sonnert’s stack to 12,752,700 going into heads-up against Patrick Hyllegaard, who had 3,347,300 chips. Such a substantial chip lead heads-up in a PLO tournament gives you a huge edge over your opponent. Sonnert made the most of it.

The final hand happened during the 80,000/160,000/20,000a level. Hyllegaard opened to 352,000 with , and Sonnert called with . The flop fell giving Hyllegaard two pair, but Sonnert the nut flush draw and an open-ended straight draw to boot. Sonnert checked, Hyllegard fired a 245,520 bet, and Sonnert responded by check-raising to 1,450,560. A flurry of bets later and Hyllegaard was all-in and at risk of elimination. The turn failed to change the course of the hand, but the flush-completing river won the pot and the tournament for Sonnert.

WPT #02 Omaha Championship Final Table Results

Place | Player | Country | Prize
1 | Bengt Sonnert | Sweden | $71,239
2 | Patrick Hyllegaard | Denmark | $49,032
3 | Anton Suarez | Sweden | $34,556
4 | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | $23,639
5 | Jesper Nordkvist Brodin | Sweden | $17,204
6 | Kristoffer Jakobsson | Sweden | $13,454
7 | Shuxrat Salixov | Uzbekistan | $10,920

Orrico Victorious in the $1M Gtd Opener

Where Swedish players dominated the $2,100 WPTWOC Omaha Championship, Brazilians did the same in the $215 Opener finishing in first and second place, with another Samba star present at the final table.

Some 704 players returned for Day 2, including a handful of Team partypoker players. Patrick Leonard, Day Kotoviezy, Matt Staples, Jaime Staples, and Joao Simao all cashed, the latter falling in 11th place, narrowly missing out on another major final table appearance.

Each of the seven finalists turned their $215 investment into a five-figure prize when bounties were added to their main prize pool haul. Jordan Warrilow was the first player eliminated from the final table. Joel Nystedt, Jeniffer Ritter Da Silva, and Illija Savevski joined Warrilow on the sidelines.

Third place went to Shawn Walbridge who walked away with his bankroll toppoed up by an impressive $39,046. Walbridge’s exit left two Brazilians, Luiz Zattar Martins Jr and Luiz Orrico heads-up for the title and the now-massive final bounty payment.

It was Orrico’s night and he defeated his fellow countryman heads-up. This meant Orrico won the $58,936 top prize plus $34,815 for a total score worth $93,751. The runner-up reeled in a $68,726 consolation prize.

WPT #01 Opener Final Table Results

Place | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize
1 | Luiz Orrico | Brazil | $34,815 | $58,936 | $93,751
2 | Luiz Zattar Martins Jr | Brazil | $9,898 | $58,828 | $68,726
3 | Shawn Walbridge | United Kingdom | $2,429 | $36,617 | $39,046
4 | Illija Savevski | Malta | $4,317 | $24,465 | $28,782
5 | Jeniffer Ritter Da Silva | Brazil | $2,556 | $16,710 | $19,266
6 | Joel Nystedt | Austria | $9,841 | $11,866 | $21,707
7 | Jordan Warrilow | United Kingdom | $2,374 | $8,242 | $10,616

Other WPTWOC Champions

Ricardo Oliveira Barreto– first-place in the $22 WPT #01 Mini Opener for $17,423

Alexsandr Nosov– first-place in the $215 WPT #02 Mini Omaha Championship for $13,893

Denis Lestin – first-place in the $22 WPT #02 Micro Omaha Championship for $3,362

WPTWOC Events on August 24

Date | Time (BST) | Tournament | Buy-in
Tue 24 Aug | 14:05 | WPT #04 Super50 Day 1: $250K Gtd | $55
Tue 24 Aug | 14:05 | WPT #05 Super5 Day 1: $50K Gtd | $5.50
Tue 24 Aug | 17:05 | WPT #04 Super50 Day 1: $250K Gtd | $55
Tue 24 Aug | 17:05 | WPT #05 Super5 Day 1: $50K Gtd | $5.50
Tue 24 Aug | 19:05 | WPT Super $215: $75K Gtd | $215
Tue 24 Aug | 19:05 | WPT Super $22: $40K Gtd | $215
Tue 24 Aug | 20:05 | WPT #03 WPT500 Day 1: $1M Gtd | $530
Tue 24 Aug | 20:05 | WPT #04 Super50 Day 1: $250K Gtd | $55
Tue 24 Aug | 20:05 | WPT #05 Super5 Day 1: $50K Gtd | $5.50
Tue 24 Aug | 21:05 | WPT 7-Max Turbo Knockout: $30K Gtd | $109
Tue 24 Aug | 21:05 | WPT 7-Max Turbo Knockout: $15K Gtd | $11
Tue 24 Aug | 23:05 | WPT #04 Super50 Day 1: $250K Gtd | $55
Tue 24 Aug | 23:05 | WPT #05 Super5 Day 1: $50K Gtd | $5.50