The 2021 WSOP Event #71: $1,500 BOUNTY Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed was won by Parisian optometrist Mourad Amokrane.
In this event, $500 from each player's buy-in sits on their head as a bounty. Whosoever knocks a given player out, takes their bounty and can redeem it for cash once they exit the tournament. A lucky maniac, therefore, need not make the money in order to make some money.
If pot-limit Omaha fields are short of anything, it certainly isn't lucky maniacs.
Amokrane had to outlast a field of 860 players. That field was healthily sprinkled with other disgruntled Europeans who just got off the boat and out of the Main Event. Europe is the true home of Omaha.
860 entries meant a prize pool of $774,000 after rake and another $430,000 in bounties.
Amokrane was thrilled with his victory telling reporters, "I have no words. I look at all the poker shows on TV. I know all the famous players. Getting a WSOP bracelet is something unbelievable for me. I don't realize it."
The WSOP tweeted about Amokrane's victory:
"France's Mourad Amokrane reels in his first gold bracelet by winning Event #71: $1,500 PLO Bounty 8-Handed. Amokrane also scores a first-place prize of $132,844."
La fin
After three days of play, Amokrane found himself at a final table largely made up of other unknowns. Only Jeff Gross (7th — $17,712) had much in the way of name recognition going for him.
Gross's paymasters at partypoker congratulated him when he busted.
"Congratulations to @JeffGrossPoker who made a #WSOP final table yesterday taking 7th in event #71 the PLO $1,500 bounty from 860 runners," the partypoker Twitter account wrote.
With Gross gone it was pretty smooth sailing for Amokrane. He had almost 90% of the chips in play during three-handed play. Amokrane busted Matthew Humphrey in third place, which only added to his stack.
Heads-up play lasted for a single hand.
Blinds were at 100,000-200,000 with a 200,000 big blind ante, and Matt Mayima had just 350,000 left before posting his small blind. The money went in and Amokrane hit a straight to win the event.
"It's just a beautiful feeling," Amokrane said. "My wife is calling from France right now. She was not sleeping all night to follow the updates."
She can rest a little easier with $132,844 in the family vaults.
2021 WSOP Event #71: $1,500 BOUNTY Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed complete final table results
Featured image source: WSOP
