Massachusetts Natives Make Deep Runs In World Series Of Poker Main Event

Two individuals hailing from Massachusetts created quite a stir during the main event of the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Matthew Su and Robert Welch achieved remarkable six-figure winnings as they made impressive progress in the tournament, securing ninth and eleventh positions, respectively.

Welch’s near-final table finish earned him a substantial sum of $675,000, while Su’s impressive performance allowed him to net an impressive $850,675. These paydays represent the highest earnings ever achieved in the poker careers of both players.

Su, a resident of the Washington, D.C. area, is a frequent participant in cash games. Although originally from Boston, Su has made the Bay State his home. His birthplace is Worcester, and he currently resides in Baldwinville.

A quick history of the main event’s popularity

The $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold ’em tournament is consistently one of the most eagerly awaited events in the world of poker. Being one of the earliest high-stakes poker tournaments to take place each year, it holds a special significance. From its establishment in 1970, the main event of the WSOP was designed with the purpose of determining the ultimate poker champion of the world.

Over the course of the following decades, as poker gradually became more popular among the general public, there was a noticeable increase in participation in the event. Throughout its existence, the event was predominantly won by renowned poker professionals.

In 2003, everything took a turn when a perfect storm brewed, leading to the emergence of the contemporary poker phenomenon. Chris Moneymaker, a Tennessee-based accountant, gained entry into the event by participating in a $86 online satellite tournament organized by PokerStars.

Moneymaker embarked on a journey to Sin City, triumphing over a crowd of 839 competitors to claim a whopping $2.5 million victory. Notably, this historic moment was captured by ESPN through televised event coverage, marking the debut of the hole-card camera. As a result, viewers were granted unprecedented access to witness the players’ hands during the game.

Moneymaker’s victory and increased media attention ignited a fresh wave of poker enthusiasts. In 2004, a total of 2,576 participants eagerly paid the hefty five-figure entry fee, eager to try their luck. Remarkably, the number skyrocketed to 5,619 the following year.

In 2013, the WSOP main event witnessed its smallest turnout with a field of 6,352 participants, where Ryan Riess emerged victorious, earning a staggering $8.3 million.

In contrast to previous years, the 2020 main event stood out as an exceptional occurrence. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it took on a unique hybrid online-live format. Emerging victorious that year was Damian Salas, an Argentinian player who claimed the championship title. His remarkable achievement earned him a grand prize of $2.55 million, surpassing a field of 1,379 entries.

2022 WSOP main event nearly broke records

Jamie Gold won the top prize of $12 million in the 2006 WSOP main event, which had the largest field in history with a registration of 8,773 players.

Officials made the decision to conduct the WSOP predominantly online in 2020. The following year, in 2021, participants were required to have received the vaccine and adhere to an indoor mask mandate. Additionally, travel restrictions imposed further limitations on attendance.

In 2021, the main event still had 6,650 entries, but it was noticeably distinct. However, things took a turn in 2022 as governments lifted travel restrictions and eliminated vaccine and mask mandates.

After the pandemic became a thing of the past for many, the 2022 WSOP witnessed an enormous number of participants. The main event attracted 8,663 entries, falling just 110 short of surpassing the record established 16 years ago.

The prize for first place amounted to $10 million, ensuring that the top eight participants would become millionaires. Regrettably, the two individuals from Bay State narrowly missed achieving a seven-figure position.

Espen Jorstad, a regular Norwegian high-stakes player, emerged victorious and claimed the enormous first-place prize money. He outperformed Adrian Attenborough from Australia to secure the title. Let’s take a closer look at the payout distribution for the final table.

Place	Name	Payout
1st	Espen Jorstad	$10,000,000
2nd	Adrian Attenborough	$6,000,000
3rd	Michael Duek	$4,000,000
4th	John Eames	$3,000,000
5th	Matija Dobric	$2,250,000
6th	Jeffrey Farnes	$1,750,000
7th	Aaron Duczak	$1,350,000
8th	Philippe Souki	$1,075,000
9th	Matthew Su	$850,675
10th	Asher Conniff	$675,000

Welch’s elimination wrapped up a 17-hour Day 7

The immense fields lead to substantial earnings, but they also necessitate players to dedicate a significant amount of time to the event. Undoubtedly, it takes more time to navigate through a crowd of 8,000 players compared to surviving in an 800-player field.

In order to accommodate this, organizers have planned a nine-day schedule for the 2022 main event. These nine days will be spread across a two-week period, featuring four distinct starting flights and two separate Day 2s. Participants are allowed to register for the event until the commencement of Day 2, and the complete merging of the field will occur on Day 3.

Date	Day	Players Remaining
Sunday, July 3	Day 1A	631 of 900 Entries
Monday, July 4	Day 1B	634 of 880 Entries
Tuesday, July 5	Day 1C	1,376 of 1,800 Entries
Wednesday, July 6	Day 1D	3,297 of 4,370 Entries
Thursday, July 7	Day 2ABC	1,260 of 3,580 Entries
Friday, July 8	Day 2D	1,733 of 3,749 Entries
Saturday, July 9	Day 3	2,993
Sunday, July 10	Day 4	1,299
Monday, July 11	Day 5	380
Tuesday, July 12	Day 6	35
Wednesday, July 13	Day 7	10
Thursday, July 14	Scheduled Off-Day	N/A
Friday, July 15	Day 8	3
Saturday, July 16	Day 9	1

Initially, Day 7 was scheduled to continue until the final table was reached. As the event was played with nine participants per table, the final table would consist of the remaining nine players. However, the WSOP tournament officials decided to redraw the field and create an “unofficial final table” when only one player needed to be eliminated to reach the final table.

In this particular scenario, it entailed arranging a new table with 10 players left. However, if it were a six-handed event, players would merge when there were seven individuals remaining. This measure is put in place by officials to prevent unnecessary delays. Certain players attempt to exploit the system and secure an additional payout increase, usually associated with reaching the final table.

Nevertheless, the duration of Day 7 was excessively prolonged, prompting WSOP officials to make the prudent decision of concluding the day with 10 players remaining, rather than the originally planned nine.

Jorstad sends Welch packing

At the start of Day 7, there were 35 players vying for a place at the final table. Welch began the day with the 34th highest chip count and had minimal optimism about securing a spot among the final nine. However, through a fortunate blend of luck, expertise, and timely double-ups, Welch gradually extended his survival in the tournament.

On Wednesday, July 13th, at 2 p.m., the cards were dealt. However, Welch’s journey in the game didn’t end until Thursday morning, shortly before 7 a.m. As he went to claim his winnings, his K-5 hand failed to outperform the eventual champion’s A-K hand.

The 17-hour Day 7 of the tournament came to an end with Welch’s remarkable hand, granting him a well-deserved break. The final 10 players were then given a day off before resuming the competition.

Su’s disappointing final table

Following Welch’s collision with the rail, Jorstad and Su found themselves tied at the top of the chip counts, each holding an impressive $83.2 million worth of chips. However, fate would take the two chip leaders on completely divergent paths.

The chip counts of the final 10 players were as follows:

Seat	Player	Chip Count
1	Philippe Souki	13,500,000
2	Adrian Attenborough	50,800,000
3	Matija Dobric	68,650,000
4	Michael Duek	49,775,000
5	Matthew Su	83,200,000
6	John Eames	54,950,000
7	Jeffrey Farnes	35,350,000
8	Aaron Duczak	56,000,000
9	Espen Jorstad	83,200,000
10	Asher Conniff	24,400,000

Asher Conniff, the player with the shortest stack among the remaining 10, suffered an early elimination on Day 8. During the seventh hand of the final table, Conniff went all in and unfortunately lost a race against Michael Duek’s A-K with his 10-10. Conniff, widely recognized as the most accomplished tournament player, was the first casualty of the day.

For almost six hours and 95 hands, there was no further elimination. During this period, the chips constantly changed hands, resulting in Su, who initially held a significant chip stack, finding himself at the bottom of the leaderboard.

In the preflop round, Su placed all of his remaining chips in the pot with a pair of eights (8-8). Unfortunately, his hand collided with Philippe Souki’s pocket kings (K-K). Despite hailing from Boston, Su’s luck didn’t favor him, and he was eliminated from the game, finishing in ninth place.