2016 WSOP Event 44

2016 WSOP Event 44

28-year-old Steven Wolansky, a professional player from Florida, secured his nineteenth WSOP cash, his third final table and his second WSOP bracelet in the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Holdem event to claim the main prize of $298,849 – one of his biggest wins yet.
 
2,076 entries were recorded from the event, including a large contingent of international aces looking for a share of a prize pool that reached $1,868,400, allowing 312 finishers to cash.
 
Wolansky fought his way through a tough final table to face California pro Wenlong Jin in the heads up, with the Florida player at a 3 to 1 disadvantage. Wolansky remained calm and disciplined as he methodically reduced Jins lead for over two hours before time was called and the duo returned for an unscheduled extra day.
 
During the final day the two evenly matched players were neck-and-neck, but Wolansky played an aggressive game that kept his opponent in a largely defensive mode, a strategy that enabled the Floridian to gain the lead and finally shut Jin down in under an hour.
 
For his impressive effort, Jin took home $184,631, his thirteenth WSOP cash.
 
Among the many notable players in the competition was Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, who quietly made his seventh cash this series.