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Chance Kornuth Holds Overall Lead for Poker Masters Championship After Four Events

2019 Poker Masters

The 2019 Poker Masters is in full swing. Through Friday, the first four events have played to a conclusion with Jonathan Depa, Isaac Baron, Ryan Laplante, and Jared Bleznick all taking down titles.

However, it is Chance Kornuth that holds the overall lead for the 2019 Poker Masters Championship after finishing runner-up in the first two events.

Isaac Baron Wins Event #1

The first event of the 2019 Poker Masters was a $10,000 NL Hold’em Event. The event drew a field of 97 entries and had a stacked final table that included Scott Blumstein, Jeremy Ausmus, Dan Shak, and Isaac Baron.

By the time heads-up play was reached between Chance Kornuth and Isaac Baron, Baron held a massive chip lead. In the final hand, Baron shoved with 5-3 and Kornuth called with A-9. Baron caught a three and ended up winning his first Poker Master title.

After winning the event, Baron told reporters, “There were obviously some small dips along the way, but in general it was a straight-up trajectory and a really smooth tournament for me. It’s been amazing playing at the PokerGO Studio. This is the nicest place I’ve ever played poker. The whole setup, the dealers, the free food, it’s tough to beat. it’s great.”

Baron won the first event, earning $223,100 in prize money in the process.

Ryan Laplante Wins $10k PLO

The second event of the 2019 Poker Masters was the $10k PL Omaha Event. A field of 62 entrants took to the felt in this event, producing a final table that included Ali Imsirovic, Ryan Laplante, Tim McDermott, and Brent Roberts.

Chance Kornuth made his second straight final table and once again made it heads-up, this time against Ryan Laplante. Once again, Kornuth settled for runner up when he ran trips into a full house. Laplante walked away with the $186,000 top prize, but Kronuth managed to earn 210 more points to move him into first for the 2019 Poker Masters Championship.

Jonathan Depa Wins $10k Short Deck

The first Short Deck NL Hold’em Event concluded on Thursday with the $10k Short Deck drawing a field of 37 entries. The final table was a stacked one that included Sam Soverel, Alex Foxen, Ben Yu, Jonathan Depa, and Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel.

Seidel made a run for the title but fell in third place. This led to a heads-up battle between Jonathan Depa and Alex Foxen. In the final hand, Foxen was all-in with J-9 against Q-J for Depa. Depa flopped a pair of queens and that was enough to give him the title and $133,200 in prize money.

Depa has been on a bit of a heater lately. A couple of weeks ago, he defeated Phil Ivey heads-up in a €50k King’s Short Deck High Roller in a side event of the 2019 WSOP Europe. After winning this event, Depa said that “heaters are always fun.” We thank Mr. Depa for his profound wisdom.

Jared Bleznick Wins $10k 8-Game

The most recent event to play to completion at the Poker Masters is the $10k 8-Game. The mixed games tournament drew a field of 45 entrants and the final table included names such as Brandon Adams, Cary Katz, Nick Schulman, Jared Bleznick, and Mike Gorodinsky.

Cary Katz has a tendency to go deep in high roller tournaments at ARIA and fall just shy of winning. He kept that pattern going as he finished runner-up in this one. He battled Jared Bleznick for the title but in the final hand, he ran two pair into aces-up during a PLO hand.

Jared Bleznick earned $153,000 and 300 points towards the 2019 Poker Masters Championship. After four events, Chance Kornuth has the overall lead with 420 points. The winners of the first four events are in a four-way tie for second for 300 points.

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