2024 World Series of Poker

Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 2
Event Info

2024 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
44
Prize
$501,040
Event Info
Buy-in
$800
Prize Pool
$3,630,213
Entries
4,263
Level Info
Level
44
Blinds
2,500,000 / 5,000,000
Ante
5,000,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
356
Players Left
1

Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration No-Limit Hold'em

Day 2 Completed

"I've Got This" Francis Anderson Claims First Bracelet and Career-Best Score of $501,040 in $800 Independence Day Celebration!

Level 44 : Blinds 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante
Francis Anderson
Francis Anderson

After over 13 hours of play on Day 2, the novel Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration at the 2024 World Series of Poker has come to a close, with Francis Anderson standing at the mountaintop.

After navigating through a field of 4,263 players, Anderson defeated Brent Lee after a brief but intense heads-up battle to bring home the gold bracelet, along with a hefty sum of $501,040.

Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Francis AndersonUnited States$501,040
2Brent LeeUnited States$323,080
3Taylor WilliamsUnited States$241,850
4Donnie BarnardUnited States$182,350
5Bamshad AziziUnited States$138,490
6Tom CohenIsrael$105,960
7Martin ZamaniUnited States$81,660
8Regina Vega SevilhaBrazil$63,410
9Jaskaran BrarCanada$49,613

Winner's Reaction

Although Anderson is no stranger to the tournament grind, according to The Hendon Mob, this breaks his previous career-best score of $449,912 that he received in 2022 for his third-place finish in the WSOP Monster Stack.

��Oh, it��s pretty insane���� Anderson said in his post-win interview, ��Like I��ve won a lot of money in poker, but this is by far my biggest outright victory, like not even close my last one was only like $50,000����

Anderson is originally from Poughkeepsie, NY but has been living in Las Vegas for the past six years as a professional poker player. And as a pro, yes money means a lot, but winning is what means the most to a lot of these players, and you could tell it was an emotional moment for Anderson.

��Yeah my opponent [Lee], he was a solid player, but then right away he won a big pot against me and I was down to like 8 big blinds�� but I just kept telling myself don��t give up, all you have to do is double up one time and I got this����

And sure enough, this inner dialogue allowed him to overcome more than a 3:1 chip deficit and turned the tide in his favor, eventually closing out the win.

Day 2 Action

Of the 356 players who returned to action today, the majority of them fell to the wayside early in the day, as less than 100 remained by the first break. Some big names that made Day 2 but failed to make a deep run included John Riordan (97th-$4,780), Kenny Hallaert (126th-$4,150), Wing Po Liu (147th-$4,150), and Ben Yu (268th-$2,840).

Mark Seif managed to make a decent run with a 41st-place finish for $13,350 and Ari Engel also did well with a payout of $16,300 for 35th.

There was a brief lull in the action after the players reached the final three tables, but it was during this time that Anderson had a big moment when he busted Maksim Petrov by flopping a set with pocket tens against the pocket queens of Petrov to send him out in 23rd place. He then used this momentum to guide his way to the final table, where he was second in chips only to Bamshad Azizi.

Final Table

Once the players returned from their dinner break, it was Jaskaran Brar who was first to fall to Anderson in ninth place when his ace-five couldn't hold up to pocket tens.

It was Azizi��s turn to score a knockout when his pocket aces felted a short-stacked Regina Vega Sevilha in eighth, much to the disappointment of her zealous Brazillian rail. Then the action was back to Anderson who knocked out fellow pro Martin Zamani when Anderson out-pipped him with pocket tens (once again) to Zamani��s pocket nines and he exited in seventh.

Azizi then scored another crazy knockout when he got it in with pocket sixes against the pocket kings of Tom Cohen, but a six smacked down on the river to eliminate Cohen in brutal fashion. After that, Azizi then doubled up two players back-to-back and eventually hit the rail when he ran nines into Lee��s jacks and failed to improve.

Lee then went on a tear as he knocked out Donnie Barnard in fourth with pocket queens followed quickly by Taylor Williams in third with pocket fives. These three eliminations really set up Lee for his heads-up match with Anderson as he held a 2:1 chip lead. He then proceeded to win a huge pot off of Anderson to further widen the gap, but that��s when Anderson turned on the gas and started to work his magic.

He first scored a double with ace-jack suited against the pocket fives of Lee, and then when Lee moved all in on the river with top pair of queens, Anderson flicked in the call with pocket kings to score another huge double to put him far in the lead.

Anderson then finished the job when he called Lee��s all in with pocket fours and was up against queen-deuce suited. No improvements were made to Lee��s hand on the board and he exited as the runner-up, while Anderson ran and embraced his rail as an official bracelet winner.

Francis Anderson
Francis Anderson

Well, that��s all we have for tonight as Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration has come to a close, but there is always plenty of content from the 2024 WSOP here on PokerNews, so continue to stay tuned!

Tags: Ari EngelBamshad AziziBen YuBrent LeeChangle LinDonnie BarnardFrancis AndersonJaskaran BrarJohn RiordanKenny HallaertMaksim PetrovMark SeifMartin ZamaniRegina Vega SevilhaTaylor WilliamsTom CohenWing Po Liu

Brent Lee Eliminated in 2nd Place ($323,080)

Level 44 : Blinds 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante
Brent Lee
Brent Lee

Brent Lee moved all in for his last 42,000,000 and Francis Anderson made the call.

Brent Lee: Q?2? All in
Francis Anderson: 4?4?

Needing to find a Queen or diamonds, the board ran out 10?9?6?3?5? and Lee was unable to do so. He was eliminated in second place after an incredible tournament run.

Player Chips Progress
Francis Anderson us
Francis Anderson
271,500,000
48,500,000
48,500,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Brent Lee us
Brent Lee
Busted

Tags: Brent LeeFrancis Anderson

Anderson Doubles Again

Level 44 : Blinds 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante

Francis Anderson raised to 10,000,000 on the button and Brent Lee defended in the big blind.

The flop came 4?Q?7? and Lee check-raised to 20,000,000 over Anderson's bet of 9,000,000. Anderson made the call.

The turn landed the 4? and Lee bet 25,000,000. Anderson called.

On the 8? river, Lee moved all in, putting Anderson at risk for his last 56,500,000. Anderson flicked in the call and tabled K?K?, besting the Q?6? of Lee.

Player Chips Progress
Francis Anderson us
Francis Anderson
223,000,000
123,600,000
123,600,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Brent Lee us
Brent Lee
48,500,000
-137,500,000
-137,500,000

Tags: Brent LeeFrancis Anderson

Anderson Doubles

Level 44 : Blinds 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante
Francis Anderson
Francis Anderson

Francis Anderson moved all in for his last 42,500,000 and Brent Lee made the call, covering Anderson.

Francis Anderson: A?J? All in
Brent Lee: 5?5?

A fair fight with the gold bracelet on the line, the dealer put out J?2?J?3?A? and Anderson doubled up to close the gap in this heads-up battle.

Player Chips Progress
Brent Lee us
Brent Lee
186,000,000
-31,000,000
-31,000,000
Francis Anderson us
Francis Anderson
99,400,000
44,900,000
44,900,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Brent LeeFrancis Anderson

Lee Increases His Lead Heads-Up

Level 44 : Blinds 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante

Brent Lee limped in the small blind and Francis Anderson raised to 1,300,000 in the big blind. Lee made the call.

The flop came 8?10?5? and Anderson check-called a bet of 9,000,000 from Lee.

The turn landed the K? and Anderson check-called again, this time for 20,000,000.

The river brought the J? and Anderson checked once more. Lee moved all in, putting Anderson to the test for his remaining 54,500,000. After some thought, Anderson tossed his cards into the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Brent Lee us
Brent Lee
217,000,000
26,000,000
26,000,000
Francis Anderson us
Francis Anderson
54,500,000
-13,700,000
-13,700,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Brent LeeFrancis Anderson

Level: 44

Blinds: 2,500,000/5,000,000

Ante: 5,000,000

Taylor Williams Eliminated in 3rd Place ($241,850)

Level 43 : Blinds 2,000,000/4,000,000, 4,000,000 ante
Taylor Williams
Taylor Williams

Taylor Williams moved all in from the small blind for 33,500,000. Brent Lee was in the big blind and made the call and was in great shape to score another knockout.

Taylor Williams: A?5? All in
Brent Lee: 5?5?

"Just one of those pointy cards." said Williams before the dealer put out Q?3?Q?8?J? and Williams was sent to the payout desk, bringing an end to his tournament run.

Player Chips Progress
Brent Lee us
Brent Lee
191,000,000
37,500,000
37,500,000
Taylor Williams us
Taylor Williams
Busted

Tags: Brent LeeTaylor Williams

Donnie Barnard Eliminated in 4th Place ($182,350)

Level 43 : Blinds 2,000,000/4,000,000, 4,000,000 ante
Donnie Barnard
Donnie Barnard

Donnie Barnard moved all in from the cutoff for 42,000,000 and Brent Lee reshoved on the button to isolate.

Donnie Barnard: Q?9? All in
Brent Lee: Q?Q?

The flop came 10?J?2?, with Barnard picking up an up-and-down straight draw. The A? turn and J? river offered no help to Barnard, and his tournament run came to an end.

Player Chips Progress
Brent Lee us
Brent Lee
153,500,000
48,500,000
48,500,000
Donnie Barnard us
Donnie Barnard
Busted

Tags: Brent LeeDonnie Barnard

Bamshad Azizi Eliminated in 5th Place ($138,490)

Level 43 : Blinds 2,000,000/4,000,000, 4,000,000 ante
Bamshad Azizi
Bamshad Azizi

Bamshad Azizi open-jammed his 31,000,000 chip stack from under the gun. Action folded around to Brent Lee in the small blind who made the call, covering Azizi.

Bamshad Azizi: 9?9? All in
Brent Lee: J?J?

Azizi was looking for a nine but could not find one as the board ran out A?4?10?4?4? and he was sent to the payout desk.

Player Chips Progress
Brent Lee us
Brent Lee
105,000,000
58,000,000
58,000,000
Bamshad Azizi us
Bamshad Azizi
Busted

Tags: Bamshad AziziBrent Lee