2019 Poker Masters Kicks Off: Baron Wins Opening Event

Isaac Baron continued his impressive return to the felt with a victory in the 2019 Poker Masters opening event. Baron came out on top of a 97-strong field in the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em event for a $223,100 score.

Fans of online poker will know of Baron. The Californian was known as “WestmenloAA” used to crush the high stakes cash games prior to “Black Friday” but seriously reduced his volume after. The number of live tournaments Baron played continued to fall and he failed to record a single cash in 2017. He reached the money in three events in 2018 for a combined $129,330.

The current year has been kind to Baron who won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in Las Vegas. Baron picked up $407,739, his first six-figure prize for three years. Now he has a Poker Masters title to his name and an additional $223,100 in winnings.

Baron Leads 2019 Poker Masters Opening Event Final Table

Those 97 players who started the 2019 Poker Masters opening event with high hopes were reduced to only eight over the course of 21 levels on Day 1. Baron bagged the chip lead with 3,055,000 chips. Jeremy Ausmus (1,995,000) and Ralph Wong (1,770,000) also bagged seven-figure stacks.

None of the eight players returning for Day 2 could win less than $38,800 as the money bubble had burst. J.J Feregrino burst the money bubble after busting in 15th place. Feregrino gained some company on the sidelines in the shape of Stephen Chidwick and Randall Emmett. Alex Foxen, Joseph Orsino, Antonios Roungeris, and Sean Winter also exited on Day 1 of the 2019 Poker Masters.

The final table became an all American affair when Vietnam’s Thai Ha crashed out. High stakes regular Dan Shak followed Ha to the cashier’s desk. 2017 WSOP Main Event champion Scott Blumstein followed suit in sixth-place, a finish worth $58,200.

Sam Soverel ran out of steam to finish in fifth place for $77,600. Soverel excelled at the recent British Poker Open with two wins, two runner-up finishes and a third-place. The Florida native has won more than $3.9 million during 2019 alone.

Jeremy Ausmus busted out in fourth place, at the hands of Baron, and collected $97,000. A six-figure score was guaranteed for the remaining three players.

Baron Dominating Short-Handed Play

Ralph Wong padded his bankroll with $116,400 after a clash with Baron did not go to plan. This left Baron holding a massive chip lead over the talented Denver native Chance Kornuth. Heads-up only lasted one hand and saw Baron set Kornuth all-in. Kornuth called off his short stack with ace-nine, Baron showed five-three and spiked a three.

This left Kornuth to bank $164,900, Baron became the first winner of the 2019 Poker Master and recipient of $223,100.

2019 Poker Masters Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold’em Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Isaac Baron	United States	$223,100
2	Chance Kornuth	United States	$164,900
3	Ralph Wong	United States	$116,400
4	Jeremy Ausmus	United States	$97,000
5	Sam Soverel	United States	$77,600
6	Scott Blumstein	United States	$58,200
7	Dan Shak	United States	$48,500
8	Thai Ha	Vietnam	$38,800

Ryan Laplante Leads the $10,000 PLO Event

The 2019 Poker Masters runs until November 13th and November 6th sees another champion crowned. Everything points towards Ryan Laplante triumphing in the $10,000 PLO event as he holds a substantial chip lead.

Ha and Kornuth keeps Laplante company at the six-handed final table. John Riordan, Tim McDermott and reigning Poker Masters overall champion Ali Imsirovic are also present and correct. $186,000 awaits the eventual champion with each of the six finalists guaranteed $37,200.

Eight other events adorn the high roller schedule, including a $10,000 Short Deck event. The first of the $25,000 buy-in events run from November 9th with the $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em running November 12th. A massive $100,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event on November 13th brings the curtain down on the 2019 Poker Masters.

David Peters is one player we expect to turn out for the $100,000 event. Peters won this tournament in 2018, defeating Dan Smith heads-up to scoop the $1,150,000 top prize. It would be surprising to not see the likes of Justin Bonomo, Jason Koon, and Bryn Kenney too.

Matthew Pitt

If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.

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