Vanessa Selbst wins Event #19 Pot Limit Omaha

Vanessa Selbst wins Event #19 Pot Limit Omaha
Selbst became the 12th woman to win an open event at the WSOP, when she outlasted a field of 758 competitors.
Seat 1: Jamie Pickering — 329,000Seat 2: Eugene Todd — 127,000Seat 3: Mel Randolph — 117,000Seat 4: Jamie Robbins — 70,000Seat 5: Vanessa Selbst — 1,047,000Seat 6: Stanley Statkiewicz Jr — 318,000Seat 7: Ken Lairson — 16,900Seat 8: Craig Natte — 108,000Seat 9: Thom Schultz — 144,000
The short stack of the final table was the first to go. Ken Lairson came to the final table with only two big blinds worth of chips. While he was able to last one orbit, he was forced all in from the big blind with 8s5s2s7h when Selbst raised with AsQsQc7s. The board read Td5c3dTs6h at the end of the hand, and Lairson’s flopped pair was not enough to best Selbst’s queens, and he was eliminated in 9th place, earning $20,700.
The next player to be eliminated was Jamie Robbins, who came to the final table with the second smallest chip stack. His all-in raise with AsKsQhTh would be called by Jamie Pickering’s KcQdJs7c.
The flop, 8s5c4c, would give Pickering a flush draw. The turn, 6c, would give Pickering his flush and the river, Qd, would give a consolation pair to Robbins. His 8th place finish would allow him to pocket $28,490.
Mel Randolph’s second to last hand, As6d4d2c, paired all three cards on a flop of Ad6c2s. He pushed all in and was called by Eugene Todd, who had made a set with his Qd7h2s2h. The turn and river were no help to Randolph, who went out in the small blind on the following hand. Randolph won $36,261 when he finished in 7th place.
Craig Natte raised all-in preflop and was called only by Selbst. Their hands and the board looked like this:
Selbst: AcAh8s5s
Natte: KcQdJs7c
Board: Kh4d3c6c5h
While Natte’s hit a pair of kings on the flop, Selbt’s Aces held up. Natte busted out in 6th place taking home $46,621.
Eugene Todd raised three players preflop with AdAsQs6s to go all-in, but was only called by one: Selbst. Selbst’s KsJcJs9d would need a lot of help from the board. She got that help, and the board read Jd8d2h4h2d giving her a full house. Eugene Todd walked away with $59,053 and a 5th place finish.
After a flop of Tc4d4h, Vanessa Selbst moved all-in. Thom Schultz, called her raise, putting himself all-in. Selbst, showed A-Q-T-6, while Schultz showed A-K-Q-6. Selbst would win the hand with her pair of tens as the turn and river missed both players. A 4th place finish, would earn Schultz $72,004.
Before the final two could play heads up, Statkiewicz would be eliminated. Selbst raised preflop to 60,000 and was called by Statkiewicz. The flop of JsTs8s was good enough for a 90,000 bet from Selbst and an all in reraise from Statkiewicz. Selbst called and both showed their cards:
Selbst: Ad6s5c4s
Statkiewicz: AsQdTc8c
Selbst’s flopped flush would be good as the turn, 6s, and river, 2h, would not give Statkiewicz the full house. He left $88,062 richer with his 3rd place finish.
Heads up play usually pits quality players playing great poker. However, Jamie Pickering saw it as a time to start playing his hands blind. His irrational play would end up costing him the chip lead, and eventually the tournament.
On the final hand, both players limped preflop. After a Th8c7c flop, Selbst raised post flop and Pickering raised all-in. Happily, Selbst called, and showed, JsJc9d2c, for the flopped straight. Pickering showed, AsQsTsTh. The turn, 5s, and river, Ah, would seal the victory for Selbst. Pickering would pocket $145,459 for his runner up finish.
Selbst’s win was her first WSOP event after several cashes, including three previous final tables. She took home $227,965 for her win, and became the first woman to win a Pot Limit Omaha event at the WSOP.