Event #82: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em

The late-night conclusion of the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout saw the 82nd gold bracelet of the 2024 World Series of Poker awarded at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. This two-day event attracted an impressive sum of 1,424 unique entries, generating a total prize pool of $1,253,120.

It was Aditya Agarwal who managed to beat this mammoth field to claim the first WSOP gold bracelet of this inaugural World Series event, alongside the first-place prize of $189,661.

Event #82: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results

Winner Reaction

Although this was a career-first bracelet win for Agarwal, it was certainly no accident, as he explained.

"I've been a professional, I think, for twenty years now. I'll be turning forty this year, and I've played in the World Series every year since I was twenty-one!"

In addition, Agarwal humbly thanked the rail that supported him into the early hours of the morning.

"They're more than my friends; they're my students. I would like to give a shout-out to them. They have definitely helped me be the player I am. This feels good. It's been a rough summer. So this definitely feels good."

Tournament Action

This freezeout tournament nested itself perfectly among the World Series schedule, so those whose fortune may have already run out in the Main Event could try their luck once more at bracelet glory.

Alternatively, those who didn't fancy a break from the felt could potentially have found a bag on Day 1d of the Main Event and still had time to register this Day 1 late after the conclusion play. That was exactly the choice made by many players in the early hours of the morning, including the likes of Mike Holtz, David Peters, Dara O'Kearney, Frank Lagodich and more.

Although this gamble saw a few contenders' $1,000 evaporate in only a few hands, the likes of Holtz (205th), O'Kearney (143rd), and Peters (76th) quickly converted their short stacks into additional WSOP cash on their already impressive poker resumes.

$25k Fansty Draft Sweats

Notable names to run deep in this event included $25k Fantasy players Wing Po Liu, Chance Kornuth and James Collopy who crashed out in 61st, 32nd and 27th, respectively.

Kornuth seemingly dominated proceedings on Day 1, having bagged the third biggest stack in the room for the restart of play this afternoon. Kornuth's experience in both high-stakes events and big-field MTTs allowed him to effectively pressure his opponents maintain his monster stack. However, it wasn't to be for the American professional as Antonio Thompson became the beneficiary of Kornuth's stack late into Level 24.

Kornuth's finish was just eclipsed by Collopy's exit in 27th place. Although he may have managed to navigate this large field, Collopy's departure was unfortunately not on his own terms; his short stack was forced all in by the posting of the big blind, eventually seeing the remainder of his chips in the hands of Jiaze Li.

Final Table Action

It took thirteen levels to whittle down the 214 players that returned to the felt this afternoon to a final table of ten. All remaining finalists had locked up a score of $12,639, but the first-place prize of $189,661 consumed the attention of both the players and their rails alike.

The dream of bracelet glory was quickly over for both Nick Kocman and Lucas Regier, who finished in tenth and ninth place, respectively. Both players got their money in as underdogs and couldn't improve against either of their opponents; their final chips only served to aid the deep runs of both Suhail Khan and Lagodich, who claimed the remainder of their respective stacks.

The next to hit the felt was Robert Macri, whose short stack shove was quickly swallowed by the pocket kings of Agarwal, ending his deep run in eighth place.

It wasn't long before Agarwal woke up with another premium holding as he faced a second short stack jam; this time Tengqi Zhan did the hard work for him, shoving his remaining chips straight into the ace-king of Agarwal to score back-to-back eliminations.

Lagodich came into the final table as one of the most decorated players left in the field, however, a river hero-call gone wrong saw Jesse Wigan's straight send him to the rail in sixth place.

Lagodich registered this freezeout late last night after bagging Day 1d of the Main Event and seamlessly converted his ten big blind stack into the third WSOP final table of his career. Alongside a score of $48,313, Lagoditch earned himself a slightly earlier than-planned rest before returning to the felt in just a few hours to compete on Day 2d of the Main Event.

Both Agarwal and Wigan weren't done on their rampage as each scored an additional tally on their knock-out charts, dispatching Alexander Holtz and Suhail Khan, respectively, in fifth and fourth places.

However, Agarwal came out on top in this race as Wigan became his next victim; a classic tournament flip saw Agarwal the victor and Wigan exit to the rail to trigger heads-up play.

A dominating chip lead saw heads-up play over in a matter of hands. Agarwal was behind preflop, but momentum was on his side; a rivered gutshot saw him take the last pot and the trophy.

That wraps up the coverage of Event #82: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Be sure to stick with PokerNews for all the coverage of the rest of the 2024 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

With the elimination of Jesse Wigan, Aditya Agarwal and Augusto Hagen now prepare for their heads-up battle, with Agarwal holding a massive chiplead of 8:1.

Aditya Agarwal raised to 1,250,000 from the small blind, and was called by Jesse Wigan in the big blind.

The dealer fanned a flop of    , Agarwal bet 1,300,000, and Wigan called.

The turn card was the  , and Agarwal decided to bet 3,200,000. After some thought, Wigan tossed his cards into the muck. Agarwal has started to create some distance between his stack and his opponent's stacks.

Aditya Agarwal	17,500,000	5,500,000
Jesse Wigan	8,500,000	-2,300,000
Augusto Hagen	2,500,000	400,000

Augusto Hagen raised to 850,000 from the button. Jesse Wigan then bet enough to put Hagen all in, Hagen made the call and was at risk.

Augusto Hagen:   
Jesse Wigan:   

The board ran out       securing a much needed double up for Hagen

Jesse Wigan	10,500,000	-1,000,000
Augusto Hagen	2,100,000	-1,550,000

Frank Lagodich opened to 600,000 and action folded to Jesse Wigan, who defended from the big blind to see a flop of    . Both players decided to check and went to the turn  , which saw a bet of 1,200,000 from Wigan and a call from Lagodich.

On the river  , Wigan checked his cards once more before he announced that he was all in, which put Lagodich in the blender as the bet covered him.

After several minutes of thought, Lagodich made the call and tabled    for a pair of aces, but then Wigan flipped over    for a rivered straight to send him out in sixth place.

Jesse Wigan	11,500,000	5,590,000
Frank Lagodich	0	-7,350,000

The remaining six players in Event #82 are on a 15-minute break.

After an open from Jesse Wigan to 500,000, Suhail Khan moved all in for 1,785,000 and the action folded back to Wigan.

"Good luck, buddy," Wigan said to Khan as he made the call and tabled his cards.

Suhail Khan:   
Jesse Wigan:   

Khan was ahead going into this flip, and the runout of       was no sweat for him and he scooped the pot for a double.

Jesse Wigan	5,910,000	-1,890,000
Suhail Khan	3,945,000	2,245,000

Frank Lagodich, in the small blind, moved all in. Augusto Hagen, in the big blind, called off the bet for his effective stack of 1,535,000.

Augusto Hagen:   
Frank Lagodich:   

The     flop gave Hagen a commanding lead. The   had Lagodich drawing to a jack, but the   river confirmed Hagen's double up.

Frank Lagodich	7,350,000	-450,000
Augusto Hagen	3,650,000	150,000

Aditya Agarwal raised to 1,000,000 from early position and was called by Jesse Wigan in the cutoff.

Agarwal checked on a     flop; Wigan then bet 400,000, putting Agarwal all in and at risk. Agarwal made the call and was behind.

Aditya Agarwal:   
Jesse Wigan:   

The   on the turn had Agarwal drawing thin, but the   on the river kept Agarwal's hopes alive in Event #82.

Jesse Wigan	3,700,000	-2,100,000
Aditya Agarwal	2,800,000	1,550,000

Short-stacked Suhail Khan moved all in preflop and was called by Frank Lagodich to put him at risk.

Suhail Khan:   
Frank Lagodich:   

Khan was a favorite to double in this spot, and the runout of       proved that to be true and he was shipped the pot for a double.

Frank Lagodich	7,800,000	-200,000
Suhail Khan	1,700,000	485,000