Matt Vengrin Wins First WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 PLO After Years of Close Calls

It took practically 20 years and three agonizing runner-up finishes, however Matt Vengrin is lastly a World Series of Poker champion.

Vengrin outlasted a subject of 1,564 entries in Event #54: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed to say his long-awaited first bracelet and a career-best $306,791 payday. The ultimate day started with 11 hopefuls, however by evening’s finish, it was Vengrin standing tall on the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, having defeated Bryce Yockey heads-up for the title.

The victory pushes Vengrin’s lifetime earnings previous the $2 million mark and erases years of close to misses courting again to his first WSOP money in 2007. After practically 20 years of grinding, the 2025 WSOP lastly delivered Vengrin his crowning second.

$1.5K PLO Remaining Desk Outcomes

Remaining Day Motion

Jason Lang and Giuseppe Pantaleo each made the ultimate day, however couldn’t dangle on to make the unofficial ultimate desk, as they busted in eleventh and tenth respectively. Pantaleo lost out to a rivered flush to ship the remaining 9 to the occasion’s first and solely characteristic desk.

It took an hour for the official ultimate desk to be sorted, as Jason Stockfish bowed out in ninth after his stack had dwindled down and down. It might be yet one more hour to get right down to seven, with Vengrin recording his second elimination of the day to ship Tomer Daniel dwelling.

Desk shortstack Antti Marttinen was subsequent to move dwelling, as Yockey came from behind on the flop to ship him packing, only one place shy of a career-high rating.

One more 60 minutes of intense battling came about earlier than the ultimate 5 have been confirmed, however from that time on an onslaught ensued, as eliminations have been coming thick and quick. Yockey and Vengrin have been nearly already in a heads-up battle of their very own, as they stored one-upping one another by taking turns in busting out rivals.

Yockey’s pair of eights held in opposition to the deuces of Matthew Beck, as Beck headed dwelling together with his finest ever reside rating. Yockey’s counterpart then did the identical to Jacob Snider, whose kings couldn’t crack Vengrin’s aces.

The rostrum was confirmed as Yockey acquired it in good in opposition to Qiaonan Liu, and unnecessarily improved on the river to totally lock up the pot. Just missing out on heads-up for a second time this sequence was Punnat Punsri, who remains to be on the hunt for his and Thailand’s first bracelet on the WSOP.

Journey to the Remaining Desk

Vengrin has develop into considerably of a specialist in combined video games, as he “gave up on Maintain’em about ten years in the past” and has devoted himself to them ever since. Regardless of his largest reside money earlier than as we speak coming in Maintain’em, his three WSOP second-place finishes have all come outdoors of the sport’s commonest format.

The primary got here again in 2015, within the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E occasion, earlier than inserting runner up in 2020’s $400 PLOSSUS, and doing the identical within the $1,500 Omaha Hello-Lo 8 or higher in 2022.

It wasn’t a simple experience to victory, as loads of PLO crushers have been within the combine, and had their eyes on what’s now Vengrin’s. Bruno Furth and Igor Zektser are two gamers who have already got Omaha bracelets to their names this summer time, however Zekster fell on the first hurdle, and Furth was unable to make it to Day 3.

Final yr’s champion Dylan Weisman failed in his protection try, and Primary Occasion Champion Joe Cada additionally crumbled early, departing after simply a lot of hours.

Winner’s Response

Talking with PokerNews Vengrin had nothing however the utmost respect for his heads-up opponent. “He’s undoubtedly higher than me on the sport,” he remarked humbly, and that reality made it “really particular” to win the occasion in opposition to such a prime participant.

He recalled one of many ultimate palms of the match, by which each he and Yockey rivered a full home, and Yockey was going through a probably bracelet-deciding choice as Vengrin was all in. Vengrin revealed that his opponent ended up “making a extremely large fold,” including that “lots of people would’ve known as there, and he did not. It’s actually spectacular to me.”

Regardless of the respect he clearly had for his adversary, Vengrin had a one-track thoughts and was aiming to win it doesn’t matter what. “I didn’t care who was in entrance of me, I simply wished to win my first bracelet.” He threw any and all respect out the window till the job was accomplished, together with his aggressive aspect “eager to face” a reliable opponent, whom he acquired the higher of by his flopped set within the successful hand.

In his previous runner up finishes, he misplaced out to stellar competitors every time, in Daniel Idema, Yuri Dzivielevski, and Amnon Filippi, that means defeating a two-time bracelet winner was all of the sweeter.

After three grueling days of competitors, Vengrin’s principal plan of celebration is relaxation. “Time is slipping away from me proper now,” he stated when requested about his plans. “I’ll simply be so blissful to go dwelling and relaxation.”

Shifting ahead, Vengrin plans to take part within the upcoming nine-game occasion, in addition to some extra combined sport occasions that may happen earlier than the top of the sequence. After an prolonged await the primary bracelet, possibly momentum can carry him to a second with out having to attend for an additional summer time.