Lazrus Snags 2021 WSOP Online High Roller Championship

The $3,200 High Roller Championship was the 28th bracelet-awarding event of the 2021 WSOP Online festival. It attracted 202 entrants who re-entered 163 times, for a total attendance of 265. Daniel “RiverRats” Lazrus was one of those entrants. Lazrus went on to be the last man standing, winning a gold bracelet and $205,347.

The top 36 finishers shared the $805,600 prize pool, so spare a thought for Sang “youngkoi” Lee. Lee bust at the hands of Dan “BackDoorDan” Smith in 37th place and burst the money bubble. Lee’s exit hand was a massive cooler. Smith opened with a raise, Lee three-bet to 73,225, leaving himself 1,606 chips behind. Smith set his opponent all-in, and Lee called. It was Qc-Qd for Lee and Ad-Ah for Smith.

Dozens of established pros padded their bankroll with some prize money. Bryan “Pellepelle” Piccioli, Nick “CashUsKlay” Schulman, and Josh “YoelROmero” King were among them, the latter falling in ninth and setting the final table.

Lazrus Fifth From Eight at the Final Table

Nobody expected Lazrus to stage a comeback because four WSOP champions were seated at the final table. James “BOCRATONE” Collopy was one, but his time at the final table proved to be short-lived.

Collopy committed his stack with Ah-Ts, and David Peters, a three-time WSOP champion, called with Ad-Jc. Peters’ jack-kicker played when the five community cards ran Kc-4h-4c-8d-6h.

Another bracelet winner crashed out in seventh-place, Jeremiah “freestylerr” Williams. He lost a coinflip with 6s-6c against the Ac-Qs of Brett “Metanemesis” Apter, himself a former WSOP champion. An ace on the river sealed Williams’ fate.

Lazrus put on his executioner hat to dispatch Felix “madenspauwke” Van De Put in sixth. Van De Put jammed all-in for four big blinds with what turned out to be Ah-9c. Lazrus called with the lesser Ac-7h, but was rewarded with a 4d-5d-Qh-7s-2c board.

Peters won his third WSOP bracelet a couple of days ago but could not win his fourth here. Daniel “juice” Buzgon raised, Michael “DirtyMike973” Marone called on the button before Peters ripped it in for 11 big blinds from the big blind. Buzgon re-shoved and Marone folded. Buzgon showed Ad-Qc and Peters As-Ac. Queens landed on the flop and turn of the Qs-4c-2d-Qh-7h board to resign Peters to a fifth-place finish.

Hitting Form At The Right Time

Lazrus hit form at the right time, boosting his stack at the business end of the tournament. Marone open-shoved from the small blind for a handful of big blinds with 7s-7h, and Lazrus called with the superior 8s-8c. A final board reading 8h-Qd-6s-7c-Td sent Marone home in fourth.

Third place and the last five-figure prize, $87,246, went to Apter. Apter moved all-in for 1,126,117 at the 30,000/60000/6,000a level with Kh-Jc. Buzgon looked him up with 8s-8h. Those snowmen would not melt as the dealer fanned the Qc-Qh-4h-9h-5d community cards.

Buzgon went into heads-up with a 3,893,701 to 2,731,299 chip lead over Lazrus, yet the latter emerged victoriously.

The final hand, during the 30,000/60,000/6,000a level, saw Lazrus open to 150,000, and Buzgon called. Buzgon check-called a 90,000 continuation bet on the Ad-8h-Td flop. There was similar action on the 2h turn, except the bet from Lazrus weighed in at 612,010. Buzgon checked for a third time on the 3s river. Lazrus ripped it in for 2,464,187 with the pot standing at 1,716,030, and Buzgon called. Lazrus flipped over Ah-Tc for two pair, much stronger than the Ac-4c of his now defeated opponent.

$3,200 High Roller Championship Final Table Results

Place	Player	Prize
1	Daniel “RiverRats” Lazrus	$205,347
2	Daniel “juice” Buzgon	$126,882
3	Brett “Metanemesis” Apter	$87,246
4	Michael “DirtyMike973” Marone	$61,145
5	David “dpeters17” Peters	$43,744
6	Felix “madenspauwke” Van De Put	$32,385
7	Jeremiah “freestylerr” Williams	$24,249
8	James “BOCARATONE” Collopy	$18,126

Lazrus hails from Long Beach, New York, and only has seven cashes on his Hendon Mob profile. Three of those stem from online WSOP events, including an eighth-place finish on July 18, 2021, that netted him $12,456. He now has a six-figure haul to brag about and a WSOP bracelet of which he can be proud.

Brad Johnson

You name the game, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Brad has either played it or placed a wager on it! Brad calls himself a natural gambler, and someone who gains as much enjoyment from writing about the crazy game of poker as he does playing it.

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