It was the 30th time that Erik Seidel sat a final table in the World Series of Poker, but he wouldn't succeed in his quest for a ninth bracelet on Thursday night. Instead, it was England's John-Paul Kelly taking home the coveted piece of jewelry in Event 20, the $1,500 pot-limit hold 'em tournament.
Kelly, 23, was making his second appearance at a final table in only his third trip to the WSOP. Last year, he finished ninth in the $2,500 pot-limit Omaha event, for his only other cash. Despite the lack of success at the WSOP to this point, Kelly had numerous tournament accomplishments overseas, including a run of seven wins in a 15-month span from 2005 to 2006.
"This has to be the highlight of my life, so far," said Kelly to the WSOP after the win. Although his plans to celebrate were still up in the air, Kelly said, "it will probably involve a lot of alcohol."
The final table lasted five hours and Kelly never relinquished the chip lead he held entering the final day of play. On the final hand, Kelly hit top pair on the turn and enticed his opponent, German Marc Tschirch, to call for his tournament life. It was that type of aggression that led Kelly to his first WSOP title.
Although not celebrating a bracelet, Seidel earned $24,919 for his seventh-place finish. His 55th lifetime cash continues an amazing streak of 16 years in a row that he's cashed at the WSOP. With eight bracelets, Seidel is tied in fifth place with Johnny Moss on the all-time list.
Other notable finishers include Kathy Liebert (29th), Mark Seif (33rd) and Joe Sebok (36th).
Below are the complete results of Event 20:
Event 20: Pot-limit hold 'em
Buy-in: $1,500
Entries: 633
Prize pool: $864,045
Players in the money: 63
1. John-Paul Kelly ($194,434)
2. Marc Tschirch ($120,102)
3. Jason Dewitt ($78,826)
4. Kyle Carlston ($54,711)
5. Aaron Virchis ($40,048)
6. Tony Steward ($30,837)
7. Erik Seidel ($24,919)
8. Andrew Radel ($21,082)
9. Ravi Raghavan ($18,637)
10. Philip Collins ($13,332)
11. David Sands ($13,332)
12. Alexey Popov ($13,332)
13. Petteri Pirinen ($9,919)
14. David Chicotsky ($9,919)
15. Blake Stepp ($9,919)
16. Michale Roche ($7,586)
17. Nick Stowell ($7,586)
18. Michael Shelton ($7,586)
19. Andreas Vandevenne ($5,901)
20. Kyle Allen ($5,901)
21. Mohsen Mousavi ($5,901)
22. Reyes Isaias ($5,901)
23. Wolbert Bartlema ($5,901)
24. William Beasley ($5,901)
25. Larry Daigle ($5,901)
26. Jacob Bazeley ($5,901)
27. Elton Beebe ($5,901)
28. Mark Radoja ($4,795)
29. Kathy Liebert ($4,795)
30. Eddylee Martin ($4,795)
31. Justin Frank ($4,795)
32. William Massad ($4,795)
33. Mark Seif ($4,795)
34. Roland De Wolfe ($4,795)
35. Anthony Graphia ($4,795)
36. Joe Sebok ($4,795)
37. Mike Sexton ($3,983)
38. Richard Gallagher ($3,983)
39. Matthew Honig ($3,983)
40. Jeremiah Vinsant ($3,983)
41. Darryll Fish ($3,983)
42. Jared Jaffee ($3,983)
43. Saul Brooks ($3,983)
44. Brian Schwartz ($3,983)
45. Brian Langston ($3,983)
46. Yesniel Pulido ($3,352)
47. Shawn Van Asdale ($3,352)
48. Scott Sitron ($3,352)
49. Philip Yeh ($3,352)
50. David Stroj ($3,352)
51. Leonard Vancruchten ($3,352)
52. Waylon Frey ($3,352)
53. Jon Hoellein ($3,352)
54. Steven Lake ($3,352)
55. Fred Berger ($2,851)
56. Frank Andrews ($2,851)
57. Horst Riedlinger ($2,851)
58. Bill Seber ($2,851)
59. Everett Carlton ($2,851)
60. Justin Scott ($2,851)
61. Guy Cicconi ($2,851)
62. John Duthie ($2,851)
63. Oleg Prosandeev ($2,851)