Boris Kasabov Wins WSOP Circuit IP Biloxi Main Event ($98,044)
The World Series of Poker Circuit IP Biloxi $1,700 Main Event reached its conclusion Monday night after just three hours of play. It was Boris Kasabov who emerged as the winner over the 281-entry field for $98,044, his first circuit ring, and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
“It feels surreal. It is very important because I knew I wasn’t going to stop playing until it happened," Kasabov said after the win. "Just like everyone says, it is a big accomplishment.”
Before this victory Kasabov had a plethora of close calls in his career, with multiple third and second-place finishes including one earlier at the Biloxi stop.
“I got second earlier in the series. Got rivered heads up, kings against ace-jack,” he explained. He went on to describe the feeling of finally breaking through: “I’m glad it happened now, most of my friends thought it would happen eventually, but it’s definitely a relief and it’s a main too, my first one being a main, it’s surreal”.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
| 1 | Boris Kasabov | Houston, TX | $98,044 |
| 2 | Ben Thomas | Baton Rouge, LA | $60,601 |
| 3 | Hamid Izadi | Marietta, GA | $42,973 |
| 4 | Jeremy Eyer | Gulport, MS | $31,019 |
| 5 | Brett Apter | St.Petersburg, FL | $22,799 |
| 6 | Bradley Myers | Essex Jct, VT | $17,069 |
| 7 | Benny Champlin | Jonesville, LA | $13,020 |
| 8 | Wayne Boyd | Port Lavaca, TX | $10,124 |
| 9 | Philip Walsh | Gulfport, MS | $8,027 |
A native of Houston, Texas since the age of eight when he moved to the United States from his birth country of Bulgaria, Kasabov entered the day as the shortest stack and the only one of the five remaining players to not have a circuit ring.
When discussing his mindset coming into the day he said, “I use a lot of my perception and others’ perception of me so even with a short stack I know the big stacks don’t want to just give their chips away. So, when I make a move they will respect that. I knew just a couple pots and I would be back to average so I never felt down.”
He also gave credit to the run of cards he received heads up and three-handed and credited second-place finisher Ben Thomas.
Action of the Day
The day began with just five players remaining, all fairly close in chips. The first level of play was a wild one with multiple double-ups. Eventually, after an hour of play, Brett Apter met his demise in fifth place as he went from big stack to short stack then to out in the course of just one level. In his final hand, he got his short stack all in with ace-eight only to see Thomas roll over aces.
Immediately following Apter’s elimination, the start-of-day chip leader and Gulfport local, Jeremy Eyer was eliminated in fourth place by Thomas after flopping top pair of eights only to see he was up against pocket jacks.
Three-handed play was a topsy-turvy affair as Thomas held the chip lead. He was hurt multiple times by Hamid Izadi in all-in pots when Thomas could not quite manage to ever finish off Izadi. Thomas also dropped chips to Kasabov in a few spots to allow for his rise to the eventual title. After over two hours, three-handed play was ended when Izadi went out in third place after losing a flip with ace-jack to Kasabov's pocket tens.
Heads-up play began with a big chip advantage for Kasabov and only continued to grow as he won almost all of the hands to whittle Thomas down to just a handful of big blinds before he was forced to get it in and was finished off after less than 10 hands of heads up to give Kasabov the ring.
All the events at the WSOP Circuit IP Biloxi combined attracted 2,538 entrants creating a total prize pool of $1,178,239. BJ McBrayer won the Casino Champion title with 120 points including six cashes and four final tables. That means he too has earned a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
Here's a look at all those who captured rings at the WSOP Circuit IP Biloxi stop:
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 NLH Double Stack | 148 | $48,840 | Jonathan Honeycutt | $12,946 |
| Event #2: $400 NLH | 665 | $219,449 | Yousef "Joe" Saleh | $34,004 |
| Event #3: $250 NLH | 147 | $29,400 | Charles Brady | $7,791 |
| Event #4: $400 NLH One-Day | 90 | $29,700 | Russell Boyette | $8,815 |
| Event #5: $400 NLH 6-Handed | 107 | $35,310 | Robert Cheung | $9,921 |
| Event #6: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha | 79 | $26,070 | William Pollard | $8,068 |
| Event #7: $400 NLH 8-Handed | 153 | $50,490 | Trace Henderson | $13,382 |
| Event #8: $400 Monster Stack | 332 | $109,560 | Shawn Quillin | $24,264 |
| Event #9: $600 NLH | 145 | $74,675 | Corey Harrison | $20,027 |
| Event #10: $1,700 Main Event | 281 | $425,715 | Boris Kasabov | $98,044 |
| Event #11: $400 NLH One-Day | 125 | $41,250 | Jason Tang | $11,241 |
| Event #12: $400 NLH One-Day | 88 | $29,040 | Gavin Munroe | $8,615 |
| Event #13: $400 NLH Double Stack | 178 | $58,740 | Melisa Singh | $14,902 |
That wraps it up for the PokerNews coverage of the IP Biloxi circuit stop. Our coverage of the WSOP Circuit continues later this week from the Harrah's Las Vegas stop.