Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
Day 4 Completed
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
Day: 4
Event Info
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
The 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas has entered the second half of the festival by crowning a winner in the record-breaking Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship. Out of a field of 731 entries, two Texans shared the biggest portion of the $6,798,300 prize pool. Ap Louis "Lou" Garza came out on top of a short-lived heads-up duel with Arthur Morris to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet.
One year ago, Garza finished tenth in Event #56: $50,000 Poker Players Championship 6-Handed, which he decided to skip this time, while he already had a WSOP Circuit ring on his poker resume after taking down a $365 No-Limit Hold'em in Dallas back in January 2018. Garza also had a ring in his pocket on the final table and spontaneously proposed to his girlfriend Carla minutes after his victory while his rowdy Texan rail was still celebrating all around them.
Garza obliterated his WSOP earnings of more than half a million dollars so far and banked a payday of $1,309,232 as his career earnings in WSOP tournaments skyrocketed to nearly $1.8 million. He did it in style with the most swag of all finalists, wearing just an unbuttoned sleeveless denim jacket, plenty of jewelry, and Christian Dior shades. The only thing missing was his Cowboy hat that he had been wearing during the 2022 WSOP.
Runner-up Morris already had a WSOP Circuit ring and six top ten finishes in WSOP gold bracelet events to his name, including a deep run in this very event back in 2021, when he finished in seventh place for $93,406. This time, the consolation prize was much bigger as Morris added a career-best score of $809,167 to his bankroll.
Start-of-the-day chip leader Stanislav Halatenko had to settle for third place, which came with a payday of $570,307. Travis Pearson and Peng Shan completed the line-up for the final day, whereas Sam Soverel, Kosei Ichinose and Ren Lin had been eliminated the previous night on the official eight-handed final table.
Final Table Result Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lou Garza | United States | $1,309,232 |
| 2 | Arthur Morris | United States | $809,167 |
| 3 | Stanislav Halatenko | Ukraine | $570,307 |
| 4 | Travis Pearson | United States | $407,915 |
| 5 | Peng Shan | China | $296,154 |
| 6 | Sam Soverel | United States | $218,297 |
| 7 | Kosei Ichinose | Japan | $163,405 |
| 8 | Ren Lin | China | $124,243 |
Garza and Morris started the live-streamed conclusion last and second-last in chips but overcame the commanding lead of Halatenko to battle for the victory. Especially Garza stood out in his daring outfit, which certainly makes him stand out from the casual crowd in live poker tournaments.
"Man, that's just me all day, any day, Monday, Tuesday, Jesus' birthday, your birthday," Garza said without hesitation when asked about his stylish outfit that he had been sporting throughout the tournament and in previous years. It was typical Texas style, and he was up against fellow Texan Morris, who he described as "tough" and "knows what he is doing."
"You know, they get four cards, and I get four cards, even though we are good friends," Garza added with a smirk on the face.
The two rails supporting the final duo from the same home state created a rowdy atmosphere in the Thunderdome, which could be heard in the entire Horseshoe Event Center, and the volume went up significantly during the final stages.
"That was fun ... that's part of the game; I love it," Garza said with a wide smile on his face. He was supported by a dozen friends on the rail that made noise for hundreds of spectators. While they were already on the phones recording in the boisterous aftermath, Garza pulled out a ring to surprise his girlfriend right on the stage even before the winner pictures were done.
“Don’t think any other time would be right besides now because I don’t think I would even be right here without her," the new WSOP gold bracelet winner admitted.
Garza and Morris were not afraid to get their chips in despite six-figure pay jumps on the line. At some point, the bottom four stacks were separated by only a handful of big blinds, while Halatenko dominated at the top with more than half of the chips in play. Garza and Halatenko had bumped heads during big pots and fists with a smile on his face the previous night when the eventual champion joked they were "in the same boat", not afraid to put their chips on the line.
Potential ICM considerations didn't play any role for Garza, even with the added spotlight of the live stream setup and a seven-figure payday up for grabs.
"No, not really. I am taking spots if I see it, like I don't care if I bust. If I lose with the spot, I'll take it. I don't really care too much about ICM," Garza concluded.
Action of the Final Day
Halatenko entered the final day with nearly half of the chips in play and he remained near the top of the leaderboard for an extended period. Arthur Morris earned a double through Travis Pearson before Lou Garza carved a bite out of Halatenko's stack with aces versus naked kings.
The action slowed down thereafter, with the bottom four on the leaderboard separated by only a couple of big blinds before Morris earned another double. This time, it came against Shan when his bottom two pair and nut flush draw were up against the top pair, straight draw, and inferior flush draw of his opponent.
Shan's roller coaster ride with seven-figure pay jumps ultimately ended in fifth place before Garza scored a crucial double through Halatenko to cement his distinct second place on the leaderboard. Pearson then got it in with a dominated pair against Garza and found no help to become the second casualty.
Having secured a large pay jump, Morris was the far shortest stack but then rivered a flush to double through Garza to leap right back into contention. When the stack sizes were about to get nearly even, Garza won a big pot off Morris to leave the latter on just five big blinds. It was far from over, however, as Morris doubled right back before winning several hands in a row to pull into second place and even took over the lead from Halatenko for the first time on the final day.
The momentum slowly shifted to Garza, who jumped to more than half of the chips in play before a clash of the two shorter stacks got the chips in between Morris and Halatenko. In a nearly identical scenario, Morris got there again by turning superior two pair and leaving Halatenko on the ropes. There was no coming back from a single big blind for Halatenko, and Morris entered the heads-up stage against Garza with a narrow lead of 39 versus 33 big blinds.
“Let's go, Texas,” the rails chanted at the start of the duel, having previously gone back and forth with banter for hours.
Both players then tossed their gloves, and the fireworks commenced in a fast-paced battle. Garza extended his lead briefly before Morris struck back and got a gutsy bluff through. When all the chips went into the middle again, Morris' double-suited ace-queen had hit top pair while Garza looked him up with the second pair, gutshot and nut flush draw.
The most unlikely card came on the river to seal Garza's victory when he made trips fours, and his rowdy rail jumped onto the feature stage moments later. When the celebrations had slowed down for a second, Garza dropped to his knees and proposed to his girlfriend and put a fitting end to the tournament.
That concludes the PokerNews coverage for the Main Event of all four-card lovers, but the next two Pot-Limit Omaha high-stakes competitions are just around the corner. Event #57: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha is set to kick off on Sunday, June 25, 2023, whereas Event #71: $50,000 HIGH ROLLER Pot-Limit Omaha follows a few days later. Both Garza and Morris are expected to showcase their PLO skills once more in either of them.
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Lou Garza opened preflop action by limping in. Arthur Morris raised to 2.4 million, and Garza called.
The flop came 4?2?Q?. Morris bet the pot, pushing in 5.6 million. Garza raised, which would put Morris all in. Morris made the call, and both players revealed their hands.
Arthur Morris: A?Q?9?9?
Lou Garza: A?4?3?3?
Morris' top pair with top kicker was ahead, but Garza had numerous draws and outs. The 8? turn was clean for Morris, who still needed to fade a multitude of outs to stay alive.
The river brought the 4?, and Garza's rail erupted as he won the hand and the tournament.
Morris congratulated his opponent, and takes home $809,167 for his runner-up finish.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
43,860,000
13,260,000
|
13,260,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Lou Garza called the big blind with A?9?3?3?, with Arthur Morris checking his option with Q?10?7?4?.
The flop came 3?A?9?, matching all of Garza's cards. Garza put in a bet of 700,000, and Morris folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
30,600,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
|
|
13,150,000
-3,000,000
|
-3,000,000 |
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Arthur Morris raised to 1.2 million with 9?9?8?7?, and Lou Garza called with J?10?10?9?.
The flop came 5?A?7?, leading to two checks. The A? turn brought a second check from Garza. Morris led out for 2 million, which Garza matched.
The river brought the A?, and both players checked. Garza showed his pair of tens, which beat out Morris' pair of nines for the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
27,600,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
|
|
16,150,000
-700,000
|
-700,000 |
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Lou Garza raised to 1.8 million with A?A?10?6?, and was called by Arthur Morris with 10?9?7?5?.
The flop came 2?3?4? which led to two checks. The J? turn brought with it a bet of 2.2 million from Morris despite having only a draw. Garza did decide to come along.
The river came the 5?, and Garza's aces remained the best hand. Morris, having only a pair of fives, announced pot and went all in for 8.25 million. Garza would win the tournament with a call, but would need to see through his opponent's bluff.
Garza confirmed with the dealer that Morris was all in. He shuffled his chips as he thought aloud. After thinking for around three minutes, Garza folded. "Nice hand, buddy," he said to Morris. "Nice bluff."
Morris slammed his hand face up to show the bluff as his rail cheered. "That's the f***ing bluff," he told his supporters. "Pure zero."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
26,900,000
-4,300,000
|
-4,300,000 |
|
|
16,850,000
4,300,000
|
4,300,000 |
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Lou Garza three-bet the pot to 4,500,000 with the K?Q?10?10? and Arthur Morris called with the Q?Q?5?4?.
The A?6?4? flop brought a bet by Garza for 2,800,000 and he won the pot, instantly turning around to his rowdy rail and soaking in the celebration.
In the next limped pot the turn showed 10?3?2?9? and Morris bet 900,000 with the Q?10?7?7?. Garza raised the pot to 4,500,000 with the 8?6?3?2? and Morris folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
31,200,000
6,500,000
|
6,500,000 |
|
|
12,550,000
-6,500,000
|
-6,500,000 |
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Lou Garza limped with K?7?2?2?, and Arthur Morris checked his option holding A?4?4?2?.
The flop came J?2?A?, giving Morris two pair but Garza a set. Morris led out for 1,000,000, which was raised by Garza to 2,800,000. Morris made the call.
The turn brought the 9?, leading to a check from Morris. Garza put out a bet of 4,500,000, and Morris made the decision to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
24,700,000
4,600,000
|
4,600,000 |
|
|
19,050,000
-4,600,000
|
-4,600,000 |
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
The cards are back in the air with 39 big blinds for Arthur Morris and 33 big blinds for Lou Garza. Both contenders have locked up $809,167 for their efforts but the winner can look forward to a payday of $1,309,232 and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
Level 35
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
One hand after his stack was reduced to a single big blind, Stanislav Halatenko was in the small blind. Lou Garza limped the button with the K?Q?8?2? and Halatenko moved all-in for 650,000 out of the small blind with the K?Q?8?4?.
Arthur Morris called with the Q?Q?J?10? and Garza came along, too. The two active players checked the 9?6?3? flop and the 7? turn. On the 5? river, Garza improved to a flush and his bet of 1,000,000 was not called by Morris.
Halatenko's tournament concluded with a third-place finish for $570,307 and the two remaining players are now on a break prior to the heads-up duel for the WSOP gold bracelet.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
23,650,000
-1,250,000
|
-1,250,000 |
|
|
20,100,000
1,900,000
|
1,900,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||