Event #43: $1,500 Mixed PLO Hi-Lo 8; Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Big O

It took slightly longer than half an hour to crown a winner in Event #43: $1,500 Mixed: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Big O (7-Handed) tournament and the first player from Sweden posed for the winner shots this summer here at the 2024 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Out of a field of 853 entries, it was Magnus Edengren who defeated James Juvancic and Tim Seidensticker in quick succession as the trio carved up the lion's share of the $1,138,755 prize pool.

Edengren had only five WSOP cashes for $59,649 to his name prior and more than tripled that amount today, as he notched up the top prize of $196,970. Runner-up Seidensticker collected $131,308 for his efforts, and Juvancic walked away with a consolation prize of $91,132. For all three of them, it was the biggest WSOP score by some margin, but only one of them could earn the gold bracelet.

The Swede started playing poker in the early 2000s and competed for around ten years before he stopped playing. However, occasional trips to Las Vegas are still part of his routine.

"I haven't started playing again. I just come to Vegas every year to have fun and then I play some tournaments," Edengren said with a big smile before adding, "I don't really play poker anymore at all. I stopped a long time ago and just play for fun."

Final Table Results

Edengren's first three WSOP cashes came in 2013 and 2018 respectively, both in four and five-card split-pot game variants which are the preferred game types for the Swede. He didn't come close to winning a bracelet back then even though he finished 19th in Event #40: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet six years ago for a small cash prize of $4,470.

However, not long ago, Edengren made a deep run in Event #24: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship where he finished in 12th place for $28,891. He also cashed in Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship for $20,306 and has now been in Las Vegas for two weeks with plans to stay for another week.

"I have not been close to winning a bracelet yet but this year I have been great. I was 12th in the PLO8 and thirty something in Big O".

The different Omaha variants have been his favorite game, which he specialized in when he started his poker journey. "I knew all the math and now I know nothing; I just have fun." For the Swede, the Cadillac of poker with just two cards is boring, but he would jump into any tournament that has four cards to offer and some of them are coming up in a few days.

"Just four cards for me. If there are any of those tournaments while I am in Las Vegas, I will play them."

The more difficult decision appears to be what he will do for the rest of the day, as the unscheduled Day 4 concluded after only half an hour.

"I don't know, actually. I am in kind of a bubble right now. Maybe I will go watch my friends play poker and have fun," Edengren concluded before heading to the payout desk.

Action of the Final Day

After a grueling Day 3 in which the field was reduced from 22 contenders to the final three and all eyes were on eventual fourth-place finisher Phil Hellmuth, the unscheduled extra day was over shortly after it began on the left side feature table in the Horseshoe Event Center.

Edengren started as the chip leader and with the limits already very high, he applied pressure with his big stack. The first one to suffer was James Juvancic, who could not hit a flopped wheel draw and lost a big chunk of his stack. Seidensticker also had to bow to Edengren's aggression, with the latter pulling further ahead.

In two Big O hands, it was then all over. Juvancic got it in against Edengren on a nine-eight-seven flop, holding the flopped jack-high straight and having room for further improvement to a higher straight. Running clubs followed, and instead of a likely chop, Juvancic was left empty-handed while Edengren entered heads-up play with a lead of more than five-to-one over Seidensticker.

They got it in soon after on a ten-high flop with two spades, still in the five-card variant, and Seidensticker was ahead with two pair and a queen-high flush draw. Edengren held top pair with a king-high flush draw and instead of spades, he caught a king to make better two pair. No low came in with a deuce on the river and just like that, a winner was crowned.

This concludes the PokerNews coverage from Event #43with another victory for Sweden. The European nation now has 20 total bracelets with 18 winners, the latest of which is the "fun player" Edengren.

Big O

In a limped pot to the     flop, Magnus Edengren bet the pot and James Juvancic raised pot. The shove by the chip leader followed and Juvancic called for around 3.2 million.

James Juvancic:      
Magnus Edengren:      

Both had the jack-high straight and on the   turn, Juvancic told his rail "we are chopping". But lady luck had other plans as the   river gave Edengren the flush and sent Juvancic to the rail in third place for $91,132.

Magnus Edengren	17,925,000	3,700,000
Tim Seidensticker	3,400,000	-300,000
James Juvancic	0	-3,400,000

Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Tim Seidensticker limped in from the small blind and called a raise by James Juvancic in the big blind. On the     flop, Seidensticket check-raised and Juvancic quickly called to see the   on the turn. Seidensticker now checked and Juvancic bet, which turned out to be all-in as he had just shy of one full bet behind.

Seidensticker quickly folded and Juvancic claimed the pot without showdown.

Tim Seidensticker	4,350,000	-1,050,000
James Juvancic	3,700,000	1,100,000

Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Magnus Edengren raised the button and James Juvancic called in the big blind. Juvancic check-called two bets on the     flop and   turn before they checked the   on the river.

With a deep sigh. Juvancic revealed the     , having bricked the straight and low draw. Edengren revealed      and claimed the entire pot.

Magnus Edengren	13,300,000	2,300,000
Tim Seidensticker	5,400,000	790,000
James Juvancic	2,600,000	-3,675,000

Life Outside Poker is a new podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.

In the eighth episode, Connor speaks with legendary UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer in an exclusive in-depth interview after Buffer's deep run in the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $50,000 High Roller. Buffer, a longtime poker player, finished in eighth place for a career-best $212,423 after kicking off Day 3 with his trademark "it's time" introduction.

Buffer talked about finding his long-lost half-brother, Michael Buffer, and becoming his manager, the early days of the UFC, the similarities between poker and martial arts, his relationships with Joe Rogan and Dana White, playing poker with Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio and the time he injured himself in a poker tournament before announcing the biggest UFC fight in history.

This interview was filmed at the 2024 WSOP inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Bruce Buffer by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.

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The three finalists are already in the Horseshoe Event Center and they will kick off their chase for the WSOP gold bracelet with a delay of half an hour, as they will be moved to the left side feature table on stage.