The 2021 WSOP Event #69: Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better came down to a local rivalry. Jermaine Reid and Peder Berge traveled hundreds of miles to Vegas for one more round in the never-ending grudge between New York City and the state of New Jersey.
In this match, victory went to New York. Reid — a Bronxite — took down the event. To do so, he outlasted a field of 372 entries. For his troubles, Reid won $113,459 of the total prize pool of $496,620.
"It means a lot," Reid said in his post-match interview. "It is something I set out to do this year. I really didn't think I would accomplish it. It was just a stretch goal. So I'm very, very surprised I actually got it. [...] The money is irrelevant. The bracelet is everything."
Getting there saw him outlast four previous bracelet winners: John Racener, Espen Sadvik, Carol Fuchs, and John Monette.
The WSOP tweeted about his victory.
The WSOP Twitter account wrote: "Jermaine Reid takes down a field of 372 entries in Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better to win his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet and $113,459."
The final stretch
With five players left in, Reed was on the ropes. His chips were low and cards weren't coming his way.
"I expected to go out in fifth," he said. "I sent out a message to my girlfriend saying: 'sorry, bad news.'"
But things turned around. "I just got lucky," he added. "Very, very lucky."
Soon his chips were on the rise. Esther Taylor-Brady went out in 5th and Reid had laddered up one more space.
Esther wrote about her final table experience: "I truly believe I am one of the worst main event players of our generation. Specifically, because I have no idea what anyone is doing in NLH ever anymore," Taylor wrote. "I did however find my way to $1500 S8 final table, a nice warmup for the 10k S8 champs."
Things turned around in four-handed play and soon it was clear who would be going into heads-up play. After three hours of three-handed play, John Hoang hit the rail and Berge v. Reid began in earnest.
Before too long, Reid had Berge all-in. Neither player could scrape together a low hand, so Reid's straight took the lot against Berge's two pair.
Berge won $70,126 for second place.
The 2021 WSOP Event #69: Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better complete final table results
| Position | Player Name | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jermaine Reid | $113,459 |
| 2nd | Peder Berge | $70,126 |
| 3rd | John Hoang | $48,138 |
| 4th | John Monnette | $33,734 |
| 5th | Esther Taylor | $24,145 |
| 6th | Carol Fuchs | $17,658 |
| 7th | Espen Sandvik | $13,202 |
| 8th | John Racener | $10,095 |
Featured image source: PokerGO
