Brian Lemke overcame a 4-1 chip disadvantage heads up to defeat German pro Fabian Quoss and claim victory of the World Series of Poker $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event early Tuesday morning.
Lemke, at 32 years old the oldest player at the final table, managed to outlast a collection of young superstars to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet and a payday of $692,658. Others at the final table included Thomas “Thunder” Keller, Mike Sowers, Liya Gerasimova and Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron, whom many considered to be the best player and favorite going into the final day.
It was Lemke who got the best of Baron in a huge pot with seven players remaining. With blinds at 20K/40K and a 5K ante, Baron raised to 100K from middle position and Lemke, seated directly to Baron’s left, called. The two players saw an ace-high rainbow flop and Baron led for 140K. Lemke raised to 400K and Baron took s ometime before eventually moving all in for 1.5 million, having Lemke covered. Lemke made the call:
Baron: [As][Jc]
Lemke: [Ad][Qc]
Lemke’s higher kicker held on as the best hand, crippling the prominent high-stakes online player. Baron was eliminated on the next hand by Quoss and took home $88,784 for his efforts.
Danny Illingworth was the next to go. Playing in his first ever WSOP event after turning 21 last week, Illingworth earned $109,871 for his sixth-place finish after Keller sent him to the rail.
Gerasimova’s fantastic run ended when she called an all-in from Mike Sowers with A-Q but couldn’t outrun the pocket eights of Sowers. The only lady at the final table was eliminated shortly after by Quoss, who called her short stack push with pocket tens. Gerasimova, the girlfriend of Pokerstars Team Pro and 2008 WSOP Main Event runner-up Ivan Demidov, earned $142,688.
After doubling with pocket eights it was the same hand that provided the death blow to Sowers. He moved all in from the button with Q-T and Quoss called instantly with eights and flopped a set. Sowers was drawing dead on the turn and exited in fourth place.
Keller, who was short-stacked for most of the day, made an untimely move against Quoss that sealed his fate in third place. Keller limped in early position and then moved all in over the top of a Quoss raise. Keller promptly found out what he’d gotten himself into when Quoss called and flipped over pocket aces. His Q-J couldn’t catch up and he left the final table in third place.
A three-hour heads-up match ended with Quoss all-in with A-Q against Lemke’s A-8. Lemke made a straight on the turn to capture the title.
Lemke is the cousin of the late PokerRoad radio producer Justin Shronk, who passed away in April. He wore a shirt at the final table that honored Shronk, who was a beloved member of the poker community.
Here are the final results of the $5,000 No Limit Hold‘em Event #15:
1. Brian Lemke – $692,658
2. Fabian Quoss – $427,912
3. Thomas Keller – $280,852
4. Mike Sowers – $194,931
5. Lika Gerasimova – $142,688
6. Danny Illingston – $109,872
7. Isaac Baron – $88,784
8. Billy Kopp – $75,115
9. Christian Iacobellis – $66,403
The $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-better World Championship and $1,000 Ladies Event will crown champions at the Rio Tuesday evening. John Monnette leads the way in the Omaha event with more than 1.1 million chips as 18 players are still alive. Ben Boyd is second with 663K. Monnette took second in the $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball event to Phil Ivey and will seek redemption when play resumes this afternoon.
Lisa Parsons and seven other will be chasing chip leader Lori Bender when the Ladies Event final table gets underway. Parsons is the only “name” left in the field. She was one of the last women standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, taking 76th for $77,200.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for updates on all of today’s events at the World Series of Poker.