The 2021 WSOP Event #63: SALUTE to Warriors — No-Limit Hold'em was ultimately won by Eric Zhang. The event was intended to raise money for charity and as a salute to the six branches of the U.S. military. $40 from each entry was donated to the USO and/or "other veterans organizations."
This donation did not impact the WSOP's cut, which added up to $50 per entry. After the various pipers had been paid, the prize pool came out to $712,580. With 1,738 entries, the event raised $69,520. Of that, $102,465 was earmarked for first.
The money bubble — 262nd place was the bubble boy — broke late on Day 1. Among those who didn't make it to Day 2 were Sam Abernathy, Maria Konnikova, Allen Kessler, JJ Liu, Barry Greenstein, Shaun Deeb, and Kathy Leibert.
"It's a dream come true," Yang said of his win. "I remember as a kid watching the World Series of Poker, and the victory of Chris Moneymaker on the Main Event. I always loved poker but I only started playing a couple of years ago."
The high-speed structure of the event and the length of the FT bubble made for a whirlwind final table. The whole thing blew over in a smidge over 2 hours.
Zhang could hardly believe his luck in winning the event.
"Every day waking up it felt surreal," he said. "I would never have thought I would make it this far. I actually had a flight to leave Vegas this morning [for a Moroccan holiday]. I rebooked everything!"
Zhang won the event after just a few hands of heads-up play. Despite relatively deep stacks (19 million effective with the big blind at 500k), Hadas overplayed an ace-high into Zhang's top-pair on the turn.
The river was an ace giving Halas top pair. The dealer had to interrupt his celebration to point out that it also filled up Zhang's straight-draw. Zhang won $102,465 for first place. Hadas took second for $63,344.
"Eric Zhang tops 1,738 entrants in the $500 SALUTE to Warriors NLH event to earn $102,465 and his first WSOP bracelet," the WSOP tweeted.
2021 WSOP Event #63: SALUTE to Warriors — No-Limit Hold'em complete final table results
| Position | Player Name | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Eric Zhang | $102,465 |
| 2nd | Guy Hadas | $63,344 |
| 3rd | Bradley Rogoff | $47,125 |
| 4th | Chulhan Choi | $35,406 |
| 5th | Mitch Garshofsky | $26,866 |
| 6th | Marty Zabib | $20,592 |
| 7th | Hlib Kovtunov | $15,943 |
| 8th | Christopher Corbo | $12,471 |
| 9th | Anthony Mccurdy | $9,857 |
Featured image source: WSOP
