Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em
Day 3 Completed
Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em
Day 3 Completed
“I’m on cloud nine,” an elated Jason James told PokerNews after taking down Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em. “This bracelet is cool because I get to share it with a friend,” James continued. “It’s f****ng incredible,” added his teammate Jimmy Setna after Team Setna fought through four days of play to win their first bracelets and split the first place prize of $190,910. They topped the field of 1,437 teams that created a prize pool of $1,264,560.
The fun and unique format created hype around the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with the final day playing down from three tables to a winner. The final five players were all looking for their first bracelets, but it seemed fate was set from the start.
Place | Team | Country | Payout |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jimmy Setna - Jason James | Canada | $190,910 |
2 | Aaron Thomas – Burcu Dagli | United States | $127,254 |
3 | Mark Bagin - Kevin Bagin | United States | $91,234 |
4 | Richard Ali - Patsy Altomari | United States | $66,238 |
5 | Joshua Hopkins – Charles Honkonen | Canada | $48,708 |
6 | Jason Wheeler - Anthony Nardi | United States | $36,282 |
7 | Sheraton Hall - Malcolm Trayner | Australia | $27,382 |
8 | Marcos Extercotter - Henry Fischer | United Kingdom | $20,942 |
9 | Toby Boas - Angel Boas | United States | $16,232 |
The duo have been teammates and good friends for over a decade. “We’re roommates right now,” Setna added; both have spent this series grinding as much as they could handle.
Both players have been playing for over ten years and have only grown to love the game more. In the mid-2010s, the pair started taking poker seriously and made careers through tournament and cash game winnings. “I always had a lot of belief,” shared James, adding, “I knew it was gonna happen for Jimmy as well.”
Lady Luck played her part in Team Setna's victory, too. James eliminated Javier Rodriguez of Team Perez with ace-queen versus kings , ridding them of a dangerous foe.
"I thought they were formidable foes, and after I scored that knockout, I felt our experience helped a lot.”
Finally, Setna praised those who supported him by saying, “I’m just very thankful; we have a ton of support around us. I have support from my fiancé as well.” “Lauren, I love you!” chimed in James, and Setna added, “And I love my fiancé Irena!” as both players made sure to thank those who helped them achieve this moment.
Short stacks seemed to enjoy all the luck, with no players busting until an hour into the action. Team Thomas was responsible for both the early eliminations, increasing their stack to 1,700,000. Once the first team busted, it was a quick rush down to the two-table redraw.
Team Thomas picked up aces in quick succession to send Team Cacoilo and Team Scott to the rail as play quickened in pace. Team Setna knocked out Team Perez in a hand referenced above, and the final table was set.
Team Boas fell first, losing with cowboys, before Team Thomas found a two outer to eliminate Team Exterkotter shortly after. Recent bracelet winner Malcolm Trayner hit the rail with Team Hall losing a coinflip.
The next to be sent home was Team Wheeler at the hands of Team Ali. Team Hopkins fell to Team Setna, as Team Setna gained a massive chip lead with over a third of the chips in play.
Team Ali briefly climbed to the top of the chip counts but then lost most of their stack to Team Setna’s two pair. Their run ended soon after reducing the team count to only three. At the time, Team Setna held over seventy percent of the total chips in play.
It only took five hands to conclude the tournament. First, Team Bagin busted against James' ace-high. Two hands later, Team Thomas was sent to the rail when their king-queen couldn't get there against Team Setna's dominating ace-queen, and the Tag Team event finally had its champion.
That does it for PokerNews coverage from Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em, but there are still plenty of tournaments at the 2024 WSOP. Make sure to follow all the action from the Main Event and all other events within the series.
Aaron Thomas of Team Thomas moved all in from the small blind and Jason James made the call from the button. Both players revealed their hands.
Aaron Thomas: K?Q?
Jason James: A?Q?
The board ran out 6?7?J?J?9? for James to win the pot and the event.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jimmy Setna - Jason James |
28,740,000
14,115,000
|
14,115,000 |
|
||
Aaron Thomas – Burcu Dagli
|
Busted |
Jason James moved all in out of the small blind against Mark Bagin, who was in the big blind.
Bagin was in a precarious spot with a sub-three big blind stack after committing 300,000 for the big blind and 300,000 for the ante. With so much of his stack already in the pot, Bagin made the call to put his tournament at risk.
Mark Bagin: J?8?
Jason James: A?5?
The dealer fanned 10?6?K? on the flop, keeping James’ ace in the lead. The 2? on the turn and 3? gave James and Team Setna the knockout blow of Team Bagin.
Team Bagin finished the tournament in third place with a $91,234 payout.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jimmy Setna - Jason James |
26,440,000
11,815,000
|
11,815,000 |
|
||
Mark Bagin – Kevin Bagin | Busted |
Action was caught after the flop of 6?Q?2? and Jason James from Team Setna checked to Mark Bagin. Bagin fired for 400,000 and James called.
The turn was the Q? and both players were quick to check.
While the river was the 6?, James fired for 300,000 and received a call from Bagin. He revealed Q?6? to take the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Mark Bagin – Kevin Bagin |
2,400,000
-1,450,000
|
-1,450,000 |
Aaron Thomas from Team Thomas moved all in for 3,050,000 and Jason James from Team Setna made the call from the big blind. Both players revealed their hands.
Aaron Thomas: K?3?
Jason James: Q?Q?
The board ran out 8?Q?9?5?K? for Thomas to take the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jimmy Setna - Jason James |
14,625,000
-7,875,000
|
-7,875,000 |
|
||
Aaron Thomas – Burcu Dagli
|
6,400,000
4,400,000
|
4,400,000 |
Mark Bagin – Kevin Bagin |
3,850,000
950,000
|
950,000 |
Richard Ali moved all in for the rest of his team’s chip stack and was called by Jason James, who earlier took a large chunk from Team Ali’s chips.
Richard Ali: 9?9?
Jason James: A?J?
Ali’s lead before the flop didn’t last long after the dealer fanned J?7?3? on the board. James’ pair of jacks took the lead and Team Setna didn’t relinquish it once 2? hit the turn and 2? arrived on the river.
Team Ali finished the tournament in fourth place for a $66,238 payout.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jimmy Setna - Jason James |
22,500,000
4,750,000
|
4,750,000 |
|
||
Richard Ali - Patsy Altomari | Busted |
Level: 33
Blinds: 150,000/300,000
Ante: 300,000
Aaron Thomas from Team Thomas raised to 500,000 from the button and Patsy Altomari from Team Ali moved all in for 2,850,000. Thomas made the call and both players revealed their holdings.
Patsy Altomari: A?K?
Aaron Thomas: K?10?
The board ran out 10?A?9?2?6? for Altomari to find the double.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Richard Ali - Patsy Altomari |
6,300,000
3,600,000
|
3,600,000 |
Aaron Thomas – Burcu Dagli
|
2,000,000
-3,250,000
|
-3,250,000 |
A showdown escalated quickly in a hand between Jason James of Team Setna and Richard Ali, team captain of Team Ali.
James raised to 500,000 under the gun and action folded to Ali, who defended his big blind.
The dealer fanned Q?9?6? on the board and the excitement level went through the roof after Ali checked. James bet 450,000, which resulted in Ali check-raising to 1,300,000.
James took a few moments, and then came over the top with a 3,000,000 re-raise. Ali looked down at his stack, and then pushed all in, which resulted in a snap call from James, who put in his team’s remaining 8,625,000 and was at risk.
Jason James: Q?9?
Richard Ali: J?10?
Ali flopped an open-ended straight draw, while James flopped two pair.
The dealer placed J? on the turn, and then 3? on the river gave Team Setna the winning hand and massive double up.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jimmy Setna - Jason James |
17,750,000
9,550,000
|
9,550,000 |
|
||
Richard Ali - Patsy Altomari |
2,700,000
-12,100,000
|
-12,100,000 |