The proud chin of Shai Zurr will be jutting out like one of those stone faces on Easter Island after the Israeli took down Event #65: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em (30-Minute Levels).
The 34-year-old, Poker Academy owner, taught everyone a lesson on how to play the Turbo format and did so after only three hours of sleep – a strategy I hope he doesn’t teach his students.
It’s the second bracelet win for Israel at this year’s festival (Ben Maya won Event #47: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout). It’s the fifth all-time, pushing them to #13 in the All-Time WSOP Bracelet List (By Country) – an incredible feat when you consider the authorities deem poker illegal in Israel.
Zurr finished Day 1 just outside the Top 10 chip counts. 27-players made it through to Day 2, led by the RunItOnce coach, Dylan Linde. The final day would only take five hours, from start to finish, and Zurr faced the live grinder from Serbia Ogjnen Sekularac in heads-up action.
As you would expect, the heads-up phase didn’t last long – seven hands to be exact. The matchup began evenly once Alex Foxen’s deep run ended in third. The pair eventually got it in with Zurr holding AQ and Sekularac holding A2. The kicker played. Zurr was the champ.
Zurr has good form at the WSOP. He has made the final table of two Little One for One Drop events finishing 4th in 2014, and 8th in 2016. He also finished 38th in the 2915 Main Event.
Final Table Results
Place | Name | Country | Payouts |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Shai Zurr | Israel | $223,241 |
2 | Ognjen Sekularac | Serbia | $137,909 |
3 | Alex Foxen | United States | $98,761 |
4 | Jonathan McCann | United Kingdom | $71,540 |
5 | Erick But | United States | $52,424 |
6 | Phong Nguyen | United States | $38,869 |
7 | Aaron Hirst | United States | $29,162 |
8 | John Brown | United States | $23,143 |
9 | Joseph Liberta | United States | $17,019 |
Source: calvinayre.com