Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em

A total of 20,647 participants entered the arena for Event #20: Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em, part of the 2024 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, which generated a prize pool of $5,079,162.

When the dust settled from the competition, Stephen Winters emerged as the lone combatant to entertain the masses and claim victory.

Winters outlasted the enormous field and defeated Simon Britton in the first hand of heads-up play to secure a first-place prize of $401,210 and a WSOP gold bracelet, the first of his poker career. Britton takes home $253,300 for his second-place finish.

The win provided vindication for Winters, who might have seen himself as an underdog.

"I guess this is for the little guys," Winters said. "I just play a few small tournaments each year, so it was exciting just to be relevant for once."

Final Table Results

The accomplishment proved relevant, indeed, as the win cemented Winters' place among a select group of poker players with WSOP bracelets.

He earned it by outlasting a vast field consisting of WSOP bracelet winners Men Nguyen, who fell victim to Winters near the end of Day 2, Shaun Deeb, Tamas Lendvai, Brett Shaffer, Daniel Heimiller, Mark Seif and Steven Wolansky, among other notable players.

Absorbing the enormity of what he just accomplished won't be lost on Winters any time soon.

"This is a whole other crazy level," he said.

Winters survived the zaniness of the tournament by staying grounded. While he didn't have a rail of supporters present to cheer him on at the final table, Winters stayed in constant touch with his family throughout the tournament.

He received all the encouragement he needed from his wife and children. In fact, Winters called his family before his post-match photography shoot and allowed them to participate in his moment via FaceTime.

"It was fun to have my kids kind of railing me from home," Winters said with a wide smile. "Like, every time I would report on how I was doing, they'd be like, 'Oh, daddy, try to get a thousand, try to get in top 900, and then they kept setting bars and bars and bars, and it's just the whole thing   surreal to be at this point."

In the meantime, Winters pointed out he was supposed to fly home Wednesday, a day after winning the Gladiators event, but the plans could be subject to change for the WSOP's newest bracelet winner.

"I don't know if I'll ever repeat this again, but I might play the Main [Event] now," Winters said. "We'll see."

Day 3 Highlights

A total of 14 players, all of whom were vying for their first WSOP bracelet, advanced to Day 3, with Britton as the largest stack (67,100,000) and Winters in second (64,975,000).

The bust-outs occurred in fast fashion between two tables to kick off the event.

Justin Ruth was the first to be sent to the rail in 14th place ($20,820) when his full house was counterfeited on the river by Steve Foutty's bigger boat, much to the bewilderment of the players at the table.

Within minutes of Ruth's exit, Quang Vu sent Petri Nikkinen packing in 13th place ($26,000) when Nikkinen's ace-high failed to improve against Vu's pocket fives.

Rami Hammoud was next to leave in 12th place ($26,000) when he pushed all in out of the big blind with an ace, only to discover he had run into Winters' pocket kings on the button.

Britton eliminated Alain Macabulos in 11th place ($32,680) with pocket aces and then Mario Lopez exited in tenth place ($32,680) to officially set the final table.

Once there, Winters became an irresistible force and was responsible for five knockouts.

Winters eliminated Caleb Levesque in ninth place ($41,337) with two pair and then followed up by knocking out Sung Pil Kim in sixth place ($86,710) with a pair of queens. In the hand before sending out Kim, Winters decimated Kim's stack when his pocket sevens beat out Kim's ace-king.

Winters then eliminated Brendon Herrick in fourth place ($146,450), Vu in third place, and made quick work of Britton during heads-up play.

The Gladiators event champion's win over Herrick and Vu, then the short-lived chip leader, propelled him atop the chip leaderboard. Winters' ace-queen beat out Herrick's ace-jack and Vu's ace-five in a massive three-way all-in preflop pot, which ultimately sent 381,000,000 to Winters.

With the overwhelming chip lead, Winters needed just one hand to best Britton in heads-up play to leave him as the last Gladiator standing in the arena.

This concludes the live coverage from Event #20. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the action from the rest of the 2024 World Series of Poker.

Heads-up play between Stephen Winters and Simon Britton lasted just one hand. Winters began the showdown with 517,500,000 chips, while Britton had 102,000,000.

Winters raised 34,000,000 on the button, and Britton called in the big blind.

The dealer fanned    , and both players checked their respective options. The   on the turn provided fireworks.

Winters actually announced he was all in out of turn, then immediately apologized when he realized his mistake. Britton then checked, and Winters moved all in.

Britton stood and looked at the board for a few moments, and then made the call to put himself at risk.

Simon Britton:   
Stephen Winters:   

Winters had the straight on the turn, but Britton was alive to the river with two pair. Any jack or ten would give Britton a full house, or even a king on the river would result in a chopped pot.

The   appeared on the river, however, to end Britton's tournament in second place. He collects a nice payout of $253,300 for his effort.

Stephen Winters	619,500,000	100,000,000
Simon Britton	0	-161,000,000

Brendon Herrick was short stacked after doubling up Simon Britton in the previous hand. Herrick shoved all in from the cutoff and Vu made the call from the small blind.

Brendon Herrick:   
Quang Vu:   

The board ran out       and Herrick doubled through Vu in a very swingy, action-packed final table.

Quang Vu	143,500,000	-158,500,000
Brendon Herrick	138,000,000	76,500,000

Simon Britton shoved his 70,500,000 stack all in from the small blind and was called by Brendon Herrick in the big blind.

Simon Britton:   
Brendon Herrick:   

The board ran out       and Britton was able to double up.

Simon Britton	161,000,000	131,300,000
Brendon Herrick	61,500,000	-129,500,000

James Morgan went all in from the cutoff and Quang Vu re-jammed for 137,000,000 from the button, which cleared the field and the players were heads up.

James Morgan:   
Quang Vu:   

The board ran out       and Morgan was eliminated in 5th place.

Quang Vu	302,000,000	95,400,000
James Morgan (CAN)	0	-73,000,000

Quang Vu raised to 17,000,000 from the cutoff with    and Brendon Herrick made the call from the button with   . Stephen Winters was in the big blind with    and made the call.

The three players saw a flop of    . Winters checked his pair to Vu who bet 13,500,000. Herrick then three-bet all in for 40,000,000. Winters folded and Vu tanked for a moment before folding and giving Herrick the chip lead.

Brendon Herrick	191,000,000	16,500,000
Stephen Winters	137,600,000	-56,400,000
Quang Vu	17,000,000	-79,800,000

Shortly after seeing his chip stack decimated, Sung Pil Kim found himself forced to be all in out of the big blind.

Simon Britton called on the button after action folded to him, and then Stephen Winters called in the small blind.

The dealer fanned     on the flop, prompting checks from Winters and Britton. The two once again checked when   hit the turn. The   on the river saw Winters and Britton check it down, and the cards were tabled.

Sung Pil Kim:   
Simon Britton:   
Stephen Winters:   

Winters took the hand with a pair of queens to officially end Kim's tournament. Kim finished in sixth place for an $86,710 payout.

Stephen Winters	194,000,000	16,000,000
Simon Britton	114,000,000	-6,000,000
Sung Pil Kim	0	-10,600,000

Steve Foutty moved all in for his remaining chip stack on the button.

After Quang Vu folded in the small blind, Brendon Herrick called in the big blind to put Foutty at risk.

Steve Foutty:   
Brendon Herrick:   

Foutty, who had been card dead for most of the final table, was ahead before the flop. But the situation drastically changed when the dealer fanned     on the board.

The   on the turn and   on the river officially ended Foutty's deep run in the tournament. He finished in 7th place and earned $67,320 for his effort.

Brendon Herrick	174,500,000	45,400,000
Steve Foutty	0	-42,400,000