2013 WSOP Events 12 and 13 Updates
Saturday June 8, 2013 : PRO AND AMATEUR BRACELET WINS AT WORLD SERIES OF POKER
Mike Matusow and Lev Rofman the latest victors
The World Series of Poker consigned two more events in this year's series to the history books Friday, with a recreational player winning event 12, and a high profile professional player taking down number 13.
In event 12 – the $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold'em – Lev Rofman, a 37-year-old recreational player resident in Las Vegas but originally from Texas, survived an entry field of 923 other players to claim the $166,136 first prize and his first WSOP bracelet, in the process denying acclaimed poker ace Allen Cunningham a sixth bracelet.
It was Rofman's first WSOP event, making the triumph all the more special.
Down to the heads up, it was Rofman vs. veteran ace Allen Cunningham, with most railbirds believing a sixth WSOP bracelet lay just ahead for Cunningham, who held a more than 2 to 1 chip lead, soon extended to a 7 to 1 advantage.
They were taken by surprise by the recreational player, who seemingly undaunted by his opponent's experience and chip stack, fought on and in just on 20 hands pulled off the surprise of the day by beating Cunningham and sending the pro home with the second prize of $102,819.
Another top international player, professional Mike Matusow (45), carried off the honours, the money and his fourth WSOP bracelet in the following event, the $5,000 buy-in Seven-card Stud Eight-or-Better competition, besting a field of 209 opponents.
The victory gave Matusow the first prize of $266,503, bringing his career earnings to well over $8 million, including $750,000 he won earlier this year at the 2013 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.
Matusow had to work for his WSOP win, facing a final table that included highly respected players like Mike Leah, Gavin Smith, Vladimir Shchemelev, Yuval Bronshtein, David Baker, Matthew Ashton and Tony Cousineau.
With the departure of Mike Leah in the third spot, it was down to UK pro Matthew Ashton and Matusow to battle it out in the heads up, and the Brit came off second, claiming the runner-up prize of $164,700.
