Matthew Lambrecht clinched his maiden World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and his first seven-figure score in Event #76: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em for $1,018,933 — a career-best. Lambrecht overcame his compatriot Damarjai Davenport heads-up who banked $678,707 for his efforts.
A total of 965 entries were recorded which generated a prize pool of $8,974,500, and eclipsed the 568 that played last year's edition of the event.
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Lambrecht | United States | $1,018,933 |
| 2 | Damarjai Davenport | United States | $678,707 |
| 3 | Tauan Naves | Brazil | $478,247 |
| 4 | Simas Karaliunas | Lithuania | $341,963 |
| 5 | Vladimir Minko | Russian Federation | $248,174 |
| 6 | Eshaan Bhalla | United States | $182,846 |
| 7 | Andrei Konopelko | Belarus | $136,792 |
| 8 | Robert Heidorn | Germany | $103,942 |
| 9 | William Jia | Australia | $80,238 |
"I feel great," were Lambrecht's first words as he spoke with PokerNews. "I recently just had my biggest score so this is another one, so it's like, certainly. Maybe I'll play more of the bigger stuff later this year or next year, like the $25ks or something," replied Lambrecht when he was asked about how the money would change his poker world.
"Maybe I'll play more of the bigger stuff later this year or next year, like the $25ks or something"
Lambrecht, who already won two WSOP rings in his career, was then asked if he preferred the Mystery Bounty format or different poker variants.
"I like it. I've done very well in Mystery Bounties, whether or not that's just luck but I think it's good, you know. It kinda mixes things up, no complaints. There's still a huge prize pool".
"I think I might have pulled four today, and maybe four yesterday. I think the biggest I got was a $25,000 at the end just now," replied Lambrecht on the bounties he collected.
Lastly, Lambrecht was asked what's next for him at the WSOP. "Umm, Main Event. Let's do it! I'll probably play Day 1c".
Nine players came back on Day 3 for the final table of Event #76: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed). However, dreams of success quickly disappeared for William Jia, who lost a flip to the chip leader Tauan Naves in the first minutes of the day to finish in ninth place for $80,238.
Robert Heidorn was more fortunate at first as he doubled up, but after he moved all-in once again with ace-eight, he ran into Matthew Lambrecht’s ace-king and was eliminated. He won $103,942 for his eighth place, plus at least $200,000 in mystery bounties. Moments after his elimination, Andrei Konopelko was sent to the rail as well by Naves’ kings (7th - $136,792).
At the same time, Eshaan Bhalla came back from short stack to big stack by winning a big flip. The same situation occurred to Damarjai Davenport, who saw his stack decrease during the first levels before doubling up with kings against Bhalla.
Bhalla was next to double, and he was imitated by the future winner Matthew Lambrecht who found aces at the perfect time to win the chip lead pot against Naves.
After this new double up, Naves, Minko, and Bhalla were all short-stacked. But out of these three, Bhalla was first to fall (6th - $182,849) while Minko survived thanks to quads to reach the next break. However, he didn't last long after the restart, as his tens got cracked by Lambrecht's two pair (5th - $248,174).
These two eliminations benefited Naves, who doubled up twice and reached a new pay jump after Simas Karaliunas' elimination in fourth place for $341,963. But despite having the loudest rail of the final table, Naves' tournament eventually came to an end in third place for $478,247 when he ran ace-five against Lambrecht's ace-queen.
Thanks to this last hand, Lambrecht started the last duel with more than twice Davenport's stack. Although Davenport doubled up once, Lambrecht continued extending his lead. Ultimately, cards went on their backs one last time and Lambrecht was crowned the winner of this $10,000 Mystery Bounty.
This concludes PokerNewscoverage of the event. Be sure to check out our live-reporting hub for continuing coverage of the 2024 WSOP and other events around the globe.
