Event #44: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em

In Event #44: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em at the 2024 World Series of Poker, Jared Kingery emerged as the latest bracelet winner after three intense days of battle.

Kingery reigned over Javier Gomez in heads-up play, claiming $410,359 and his first career bracelet, while Gomez settled for $273,581 as the runner-up.

The event drew 1,561 players, amassing a prize pool of $2,778,580, and marked Kingery's breakthrough after coming close on poker's grandest stage once before.

At the 2022 WSOP, Kingery finished as the runner-up in Event #5: $500 The Housewarming, the tournament that commemorated the WSOP's move to Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Two years on, the celebrations are now for Kingery as he locked in his crowning moment.

Final Table Results

Kingery Takes Full Advantage

While the Washington native has won more than $800,000 at the WSOP's new home, Kingery's main profession is away from the table.

"I'm definitely not a professional player, I'm actually a longshoreman back in Washington so I don't play that much," said Kingery. "That Housewarming score was my first WSOP tournament ever. I was just sun-running."

Kingery had a small window of opportunity to go one better this time around. The new champion revealed he's only in Vegas for nine days and that he was unable to play last year as he welcomed the birth of his daughter.

Sun-running or not, Kingery has proved to be a force to be reckoned with at the tables as he navigated through a very tough field to take the gold.

Final Day Action

On Day 3 of the tournament, seventeen players returned. Early eliminations in the first level included Barry Shulman, Michael Berk, Dillon Najor, and Edgard Saliba, each walking away with $18,095 in payouts.

As the final table bubble approached, Huihan Wu was knocked out by Juan Carlos Vecino, narrowing the field down to ten remaining players. The chip leader, Gomez, continued his dominance by eliminating Nicholas Massey and Jon Glendinning.

Kavin Shah gained momentum with a notable bust of Narcis Nedelcu, followed by a significant pot against Gomez. However, Shah's journey came to an end when Gomez finished him off after a few orbits.

Yunkyu Song then entered the fray, making a big jump by knocking out Yasheel Doddanavar. However, Song faced challenges after doubling up Javier Zarco and Kingery in consecutive hands.

Kingery's day took a dramatic turn as he scored significant wins, including a massive pot against Gomez with a nut straight. This propelled him to a commanding chip lead and allowed him to apply pressure to the remaining players. He eliminated Vecino in a flip and continued solidifying his position at the top of the counts.

Despite Song's valiant comeback, he ultimately fell short against Kingery's ace-king, securing a respectable third-place finish.

In the heads-up battle, Gomez and Kingery clashed quickly, with Kingery's ace-queen prevailing over Gomez's ace-jack. Kingery got his redemption, with the bracelet and the top prize being the reminder of his perseverance.

That's it for the coverage here on Event #44 at the 2024 WSOP, but keep a tab open on PokerNews as you have all of the summer's tournament info at your fingertips!

After a preflop betting war, Jared Kingery moved all in and Yunkyu Song called to put his tournament life on the line.

Yunkyu Song:   
Jared Kingery:   

Song was ahead going into this flip, but unfortunately, the runout of       wound up giving Kingery top two pair to send him to the rail in third place.

Jared Kingery	35,000	-22,665,000
Yunkyu Song	0	-8,000,000

Jared Kingery shoved from the button and Yunkyu Song quickly called from the small blind to put himself at risk while Javier Gomez got out of the way.

Yunkyu Song:   
Jared Kingery:   

Song was ahead with his pocket nines, and the board of       treated him well to award him the double.

Jared Kingery	31,000,000	-2,000,000
Yunkyu Song	8,000,000	900,000
Javier Gomez	7,000,000	-3,450,000

Juan Carlos Vecino moved all in preflop and chip leader Jared Kingery made the call to put him at risk.

Juan Carlos Vecino:   
Jared Kingery:   

Viceno would need to improve to stay alive in this flip, but the runout of [8c8as6h2h7d] failed to do so and he was eliminated in fourth place.

Jared Kingery	36,000,000	2,000,000
Juan Carlos Vecino	0	-6,600,000

Jared Kingery raised to 600,000 from the cutoff and Javier Gomez defended in the big blind.

The     flop saw Gomez check-call a bet of 800,000 from Kingery.

The   turn saw a repeat of the action, this time Kingery sized up to 2,500,000.

Gomez checked again on the   river. Kingery placed a very sizeable bet of 6,500,000, sending Gomez into the tank. Gomez made the call only to be delivered the bad news; Kingery tabled   , having flopped the nut straight.

Jared Kingery	34,000,000	13,500,000
Javier Gomez	7,000,000	-9,200,000

Javier Gomez limped in from the small blind, Jared Kingery raised to 900,000 from the big blind and Gomez called.

Both players checked to the river as the full board now read      . Gomez checked and Kingery put out a very delayed continuation of 1,000,000. Gomez made a quick call. Kingery tabled    for two pair, winning him this pot.

Jared Kingery	20,500,000	2,000,000
Javier Gomez	16,200,000	-1,500,000

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The four players remaining are now on a 1-hour dinner break and will return to action at approximately 7:40 local time.

Jared Kingery raised to 500,000 from the cutoff and Javier Gomez defended in the big blind.

The     flop checked through to the   on the turn. Gomez took the lead for 600,000 and Kingery called.

The   river saw Gomez commit an additional 1,100,000 into the middle. Kingery thought on his decision for some time before putting in a raise to 3,000,000. Gomez went into the tank before electing to make the fold.

Javier Gomez	17,700,000	-5,100,000
Jared Kingery	9,000,000	2,750,000

Juan Carlos Vecino raised to 500,000 from the cutoff, Javier Zarco moved all in for approximately 3,100,000 from the big blind and Vecino snap-called.

Javier Zarco:   
Juan Carlos Vecino:   

The board ran out      ; Zarco couldn't find an ace in the five-card run out and he was sent to the rail.

Juan Carlos Vecino	12,600,000	3,500,000
Javier Zarco	0	-3,525,000