After a 17-event draught, UK poker pros stepped up to represent their native lands well in the 2015 WSOP. John Gale of Bushey survived Event #18 to claim his second bracelet and $298k, followed by Benny Glaser winning his first bracelet in Event #33 for $136k. The success of Gale and Glaser has already produced twice as many 2015 WSOP bracelets than UK players managed to bring home last year.
John Gale Wins 2015 WSOP $1,000 Turbo NLHE
At 61 years of age, England’s John Gale seemed infallible as he outlasted a field of 1,791 in Event #18 of the 2015 WSOP. Being a Turbo tournament, the action ran quickly, with all remaining players already in the money by 9:30pm on opening day.
The final table was comprised of everything from never-before WSOP cashers to former bracelet winners, and it didn’t take long for John Gale and his eventual heads-up opponent, Gary Luther, to reach the finale.
Nineteen hands later, it was all over. A short-stacked Luther shoved in response to a 330k raise from Gale, who hesitated briefly before making the call. The cards were flipped:
John Gale: 2♣ 2♥
Gary Luther: A♣ 3♠
Not a single card would stand to benefit either player as the board ran out 8♥ 4♥ 4♦ 10♠ 9♣.
The crowd was instantly on their feet as John Gale rose, accepting a congratulatory embrace from his congenial opponent.
Gale collected his second WSOP bracelet—the first came in 2006—and $298,290 for his esteemed efforts. Gary Luther was awarded $184,481 for the runner up finish.
Final Table Results |
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1st | John Gale | $298,290 |
2nd | Gary Luther | $184,481 |
3rd | Matthew Vessier | $127,549 |
4th | Andrew “Bruce” Le | $91,991 |
5th | Stuart Rutter | $67,248 |
6th | Nitesh Rawtani | $49,807 |
7th | Mark Darner | $37,379 |
8th | Sean Rice | $28,417 |
9th | Tim Finne | $21,873 |
Benny Glaser wins 2015 WSOP $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
Southampton native Benny Glaser came into Event #33 with only one nominal WSOP cash under his belt. But this being only his second year competing on the world’s largest live tournament stage, winning his first bracelet at 26 is incredibly impressive.
A field of 388 joined the Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball event, with the third day of action wrapping up just after midnight. Glaser was forced to overcome a very strong final table that included US poker pro Jon Turner (6th, $17,201) and Russia’s Sergey Rybachenko (4th, $35,869). Heads-up play against American Brock Parker began with Glaser’s elimination of Noah Bronstein (3rd, $54,092).
Parker had the lead at the start, up 1.62mm to Glaser’s 1.29mm, but Benny was able to gain a slight advantage after just one hand, and it took less than half an hour for the Brit to rake in the rest of the chips. When the last hand of the tournament was dealt, Parker was barely afloat with just 200k in his stack.
Brock opened for 80k and Glaser eyed his opponent’s short stack before making the call and drawing three. Parker drew just two, then placed his bet. Glaser raised and Parker raised back with his remaining chips. Benny made the call, standing pat.
Parker had two more draws to make a hand, taking a single card, then returning it for his final attempt. Glaser showed 9x 7x 6x 4x 2x before Brock turned up 8x 6x 5x 3x, slowly tabling his last draw, 8x. Brock’s fate was sealed into a 2nd place cash of $84,132.
Benny Glaser took the ultimate prize—his first WSOP bracelet—and $136,215.
Final Table Results |
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1st | Benny Glaser | $136,215 |
2nd | Brock Parker | $84,132 |
3rd | Noah Bronstein | $54,092 |
4th | Sergey Rybachenko | $35,869 |
5th | Andrew Brown | $24,487 |
6th | Jon Turner | $17,201 |