Noori Among Four Bracelet Winners on Day 20 of WSOP

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on October 20th, 2021

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The World Series of Poker can capture succinctly the bankroll bookends of the game of poker. There is the $500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Freezout playing at an accelerated pace. And then there is the $50K buy-in High Roller, playing slowly and with a small, elite group of high-stakes poker players. Of course, there’s all types in between those bookends as well, but it shows how inclusive the WSOP can be.

The series can also be a mix of the old and the new. David “Bakes” Baker is a name from the poker boom, who won his first WOP bracelet in 2010 and a second in 2012. And there are the newer, younger players. One can spot them in any tournament and at some final tables.

Again, it shows the broad appeal of the WSOP.

Four players won bracelets on Day 20. Let’s talk about it.

Event 30: $1,500 Monster Stack NLHE

After taking its time playing down toward the final few tables, the Monster Stack event started Tuesday with just 24 players remaining. PokerNews reporter Dannah Kamp busted in 13^th place for $41,026, and the day’s chip leader, Jaesh Balachandran, departed in tenth place for $51,286.

As the final table played, all eyes were on Ryan Leng. Having just won a gold bracelet – the third of his career – days ago, he took some momentum to the table. But Michael Noori was unstoppable and earned his first piece of WSOP gold. He told PokerNews:

“I feel pretty good. I’m still kind of in shock. The heads-up match went really quick; I’m still processing it and going through it. I had two huge coolers that went my way, so I was fortunate enough to win the bracelet today.”

 

@mikenoori claims the 2021 MONSTER STACK title! Along with his first gold bracelet, Noori cashes for $610,346, brining his WSOP career earnings to over one million dollars.
📸 @timeweavers https://t.co/EaX2y4Q0jJ pic.twitter.com/8zPQToB0nq

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) October 20, 2021

Event 34: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw

Day 3 of this event started with two-time bracelet winner David “Bakes” Baker – not to be confused with David “ODB” Baker – toward the bottom of the leaderboard. But he had been to that winner’s circle before and wanted to relive those moments. He did just that. Baker took a massive chip lead into head-up play against Peter Lynn and took it to the finish line. And Bakes did walk away with his third career bracelet, the first one in nine years. He spoke to PokerNews after this win:

“It feels amazing. I wanted it real bad. … I came out here, and initially, I was only going to do ten days. But when you come out and win you just want to keep playing. So, I’ll be here through the Main Event.”

 

https://twitter.com/DMBakes/status/1450662516594331655?s=20

Event 35: $500 NLHE Freezeout

From 132 players at the start of Day 3, only two remained late into the night to play heads-up poker. Anthony Koutsos and Charbel Kanterjian played for several hours before Koutsos won his first bracelet. He chatted with PokerNews afterward:

“I feel strangely level. Head-up felt pretty fun, all the back and forth felt like a home game. … The money doesn’t mean much; it was more about the competition and the drive to win.”

 

Event #35: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout has deemed a champion. Anthony Koutsos walks away with his debut gold bracelet and $167,272.
📸 @timeweavers https://t.co/cpLD3M7jZK pic.twitter.com/8ozuPmjBvw

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) October 20, 2021

Event 36: $10K Dealer’s Choice Championship

This one boiled down to a who’s who of mixed games. Jake Schwartz may have the chip lead going into the final day of action, but Adam Friedman is close behind, not only wanting to defend his title from the last series but to win this event for the third time. Phil Hellmuth made yet another final table, and Daniel Negreanu is hungry to win his seventh bracelet. Poker fans will want to watch this one play out.

 

Event 37: $1,500 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty

A super-turbo structure finished this tournament in one day, but it wasn’t easy. And it ran until the wee hours of the morning before Lithuanian Karolis Sereika defeated Brazilian Pedro Padilha for his first WSOP title. He told PokerNews:

“This is the first live Lithuanian WSOP bracelet, so that means a lot to me and all Lithuanian players. I’m very happy and very excited. Just so many emotions… I really wanted it with all my heart.”

 

Lithuania's Karolis Sereika succeeds in grabbing his first WSOP gold bracelet by winning Event #37: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty.
📸 @timeweavers https://t.co/SXGjgN0pef pic.twitter.com/SBKqPo7s4k

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) October 20, 2021

Event 38: $50K NLHE High Roller

Not many players have $50K to put up for one No Limit Hold’em tournament, but a solid group of pros did just that. Registration remains open until the start of Day 2, though, so more may join in. When the night ended, Australian Michael Addamo led the 21 survivors of Day 1.

 

Highlight of the Day

Brandon Shack-Harris played the recent HORSE event in memory of his grandmother, Helen Shack and to celebrate his other grandmother’s upcoming 90^th birthday. He dedicated it to friend’s grandmothers, too, and celebrated them on Twitter as people sent pics of their grandmas. Check out his Twitter feed at @Oscillator_WSOP for more.

https://twitter.com/Oscillator_WSOP/status/1450171993941184514?s=20

https://twitter.com/Oscillator_WSOP/status/1450519368681472004?s=20