It was an all-out battle tonight at the final table of Event #17: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. On a final table that took close to nine hours to play out, half of those nine hours were a marathon back and forth heads up match between Nick Kost and eventual winner Jim Collopy.
Neither player was ever willing to give an inch, but after the dust settled, Collopy stood up from his seat with renewed energy at the realization that he had just taken down his third career WSOP bracelet and the first-place prize of $262,542 and with Limit Omaha 8 or Better being one of his favorite games, this win was special.
Event #17: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Collopy | United States | $262,542 |
| 2 | Nick Kost | United States | $162,266 |
| 3 | Kyle Burnside | United States | $117,404 |
| 4 | Qinghai Pan | United States | $85,977 |
| 5 | James Obst | Australia | $63,737 |
| 6 | Aubrey Gilbert | United States | $47,838 |
| 7 | Kyle Cartwright | United States | $36,358 |
| 8 | Igor Zektser | United States | $27,986 |
| 9 | Brian Kelley | United States | $21,821 |
Winner's Reaction
Collopy is no stranger to the winner's circle. He told PokerNews that he likes to play hi-lo split games in general and has been working on these types of games a lot, so winning a bracelet in one of his favorite variants was not only a lot of fun, but also really rewarding.
When asked how it felt to get his third bracelet in a split event, he said, "It was terrific that over 1,000 people were here to play this event, so it's just really special to close out the bracelet in a tournament like this."
He's also no stranger to marathon heads-up matches as he was one-half of one of the longest heads-up battles in WSOP history a number of years ago, so when it came to his ability to wait out his opponent and maneuver his spots, he came well-equipped.
Final Day Recap
When the final table began, Kost held the chip lead and did so for most of the final table, but as heads-up play approached, Collopy made himself more and more of a force at the table.
Brian Kelley was the first finalist to fall, and only a few hands later, Igor Zektser bowed out in eighth.
Then came the untimely demise of Kyle Cartwright, who seemed to have too many outs against James Obst's two pair.
Aubrey Gilbert crashed out in sixth before Australia's Obst fell at the hands of Collopy in a massive pot.
Four-handed play ended when Kost eliminated Qinghai Pan, and heads-up was reached when start of Day 2 chip leader Kyle Burnside bowed out, with Collopy again doing the damage.
By the time heads-up play began, Collopy held a slight lead and would go on to trade blows for over four hours before the final hand came down
Collopy pulled away from Kost over and over again, and even though it was a back-and-forth battle, Collopy never let his opponent get him worse than even in chips. Kost would even go on to mention how strong of an opponent Collopy is, saying that he's incredibly tough to play against.
Collopy made the final push toward the bracelet over the course of the last dozen or so hands that would see him take Kost from close to even in chips to out of the tournament. By finding spots to draw extra bets out of his opponent that many others may not have found, he was able to close out a very special win and add to his legacy.
With how well Collopy is playing right now, we could very well see him making other deep runs this summer, and after the performance he put on at this final table, it would come as no surprise if he found himself with a shot at a fourth bracelet sooner rather than later.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of the 2023 World Series of Poker from Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas!
