Klein Causes Major Upset in $25K H.O.R.S.E Event

Jesse Klein caused a major upset at the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) by becoming the $25,000 H.O.R.S.E champion. Klein only had $23,100 in live poker tournament winnings before this event. His victory boosted that sum by $552,182.

Klein hails from Philadelphia where is owns a recruitment business. High-stakes mixed game cash games are his main focus when he hits the tables. All that grinding cash games paid off in this $25,000 buy-in event.

The tournament attracted 78 entrants who created a $1,842,750 prize pool that the top 12 finishers shared. The bubble burst late on Day 2 when Yuval Bronshtein busted during a Stud Hi-Lo round against Ben Yu.

PokerGO co-founder Cary Katz was the first player to see a return on his investment. Katz crashed out during a Razz round, again versus Yu, and fell in 12th for $42,162.

Roland Israelashvili and Daniel Negreanu bowed out during the same hand, to bring the curtain down on Day 2. British mixed-game specialist and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Benny Glaser busted those two stars.

Klein Second in Chips at the Final Table

Klein sat down at the final table second in chips and guaranteed $52,211. All eyes were on Phil Hellmuth who was in the hunt for his 16th WSOP bracelet.

The final nine became eight when Hellmuth sent Matt Glantz to the rail. Yu continued his hot streak with the elimination of DJ Buckley, but Yu came unstuck during an Omaha Hi-Lo round and fell in seventh.

Klein won a large Razz pot against Hellmuth to leave the 15-time WSOP champion as the short-stack. Hellmuth crashed and burned during the Seven Card Stud round. He completely missed while Chad Eveslage made a pair of sevens. Hellmuth walked away with $95,329 and another near miss.

Philip Sternheimer’s fifth place finish came with the tournament’s first six-figure score. He got the last of his chips in on sixth street in a Seven Card Stud round against fellow Brit Glaser. Sternheimer held a pair of tens, but Glaser has eights and threes.

Glaser improved his chip stack by eliminating Eveslage in fourth. Stud Hi-Lo did the damage, scooping both the high and low pot to resign Eveslage to a $169,218 consolation prize.

It took almost three hours for the next bust out. Frenchman David Benyamine losing out to Klein.

No Fourth Bracelet For Glaser

Klein went into heads-up holding a 10,170,000 to 1,525,000 chip lead over Glaser. It proved too much of a gap for the three-time WSOP champion to bridge. The final hand happened in a Seven Card Stud round where Glaser needed a king on seventh street, but he caught a nine.

Glaser netted $341,274 while Klein walked away with $552,182 and a coveted gold bracelet.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Jesse Klein	United States	$552,182
2	Benny Glaser	United Kingdom	$341,274
3	David Benyamine	France	$236,626
4	Chad Eveslage	United States	$169,218
5	Philip Sternheimer	United Kingdom	$124,935
6	Phil Hellmuth	United States	$95,329
7	Ben Yu	United States	$75,260
8	DJ Buckley	United States	$61,549
9	Matt Glantz	United States	$52,211

Two other players became 2021 WSOP champions. Jimmy Barnett, a dealer at Caesars Palace, won the $500 Casino Employees event. Barnett came out on top of a 419 entry field to secure $39,013 and a place in the WSOP history books.

Jeremy Ausmus won the other bracelet. Ausmus took down the $1,000 Covid-19 Charity Relief Event for $48,681 and his second career bracelet. Ausmus outlasted 259 opponents on his way to victory. The prize money won pushes his lifetime winnings past $8.7 million.

It is early days but the opening trio of events have all had relatively low attendance figures. Here is hoping that changes over the next few days and weeks.

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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