The Week in Poker: Strasser, Rybin Kick Off Tours With Titles

With the bulk of the 2013 World Series of Poker having completed and the long wait for the November Nine and finish of this year's Main Event having begun, other tournament tours have gotten back into action, with the 2013-14 World Series of Poker Circuit and Season XII of the World Poker Tour having gotten underway. Both tours crowned their first champions of their new seasons this week, with Jason Strasser claiming the first WSOP-C Main Event ring in Foxwoods and Alexey Rybin taking the first WPT title of the year in Cyprus.

Strasser Snares First 2013-14 WSOP-C Title

The Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut was among the final stops of the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit, but Foxwoods was positioned as the very first of 22 stops for the 2013-14 season.  

The first $1,675 buy-in Main Event of this year's WSOP-C attracted a total of 591 entries altogether, creating a total prize pool of $888,568. After three lengthy and intense days of poker, it was Jason Strasser of New York City earning his largest ever live score by winning the title and $186,600 first prize.

Among those making relatively deep runs but coming up shy of the final table were Raj Patel (13th, $11,373), Leo Wolpert (18th, $9,418), and Aaron Massey (29th, $4,975).

As reported by the WSOP Live Updates team, Strasser was in the middle of the pack among the final 11 players who made it to the third and final day of the event, though had edged up into a virtual tie for the lead with Wes Wyvill by the time John Ting (11th) and Forrest Mansur (10th) were eliminated, each earning $13,861 for their finishes.

It was an all-American final table. As it would happen, Strasser and Wyvill would be the ones to make it to heads-up. However, while Wyvill would maintain a big stack throughout the final table, Strasser would slip all of the way to short-stacked status and be fifth of the final five for a time before earning a couple of double-ups through Joe Morneau, then another through Bryan Leskowitz to climb back into contention.

Wyvill would knock out Morneau in third, using 10d-10h to best Morneau's Ac-Kc after the board came Jd-Js-10s-5h-Jc, and thus enjoyed a lead versus Strasser to start heads-up play with just over 7 million while Strasser had a little under 5 million.

Strasser would battle back to even the score, however, then had about a 2-to-1 chip lead when a hand arose that saw Wyvill call a preflop button raise from Strasser, then check-raise Strasser following a Qh-5c-3d flop. Strasser called, and Wyvill then check-called a bet from Strasser following the 6c turn.

The river brought the 5s and another check from Wyvill, and when Strasser shoved Wyvill called all in.  Strasser showed Kh-5h -- he'd made trip fives on fifth street -- and Wyvill showed he'd had a queen as he mucked. 

2013-14 WSOP-C Foxwoods Main Event final table results:
1st:  Jason Strasser -- $186,600
2nd:  Wes Wyvill -- $115,069
3rd:  Joe Morneau -- $84,414
4th:  Bryan Leskowitz -- $62,555
5th:  Mike Guadano -- $47,095
6th:  James Rubin -- $35,898
7th:  Scott Baker -- $27,545
8th:  Keith Donovan -- $21,770
9th:  Frank Pezzullo -- $17,357

Besides the first prize and WSOP-C gold ring, Strasser also earns a spot in the season-ending WSOP National Championship at Caesars Atlantic City in May 2014.

Rybin Goes Wire-to-Wire at WPT Cyprus

The other big Main Event to play out this week happened at the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic in Kyrenia, Cyprus where the World Poker Tour launched its 12th season. A field of 262 players entered the $4,400 buy-in Main Event in Cyprus, with Russia's Alexey Rybin prevailing to earn $258,000 worth of the tourney's $1 million prize pool.

Rybin ended Day 1a as the chip leader among those who survived from the 137 who started that flight. There were 125 more who played Day 1b, with Bernard Samaha ending that day with the chip lead both for the flight and overall in the tournament.

Rybin was thus third overall in chips among just over 100 players who began Day 2, but ended that day in first position among the 31 survivors, then was first to end Day 3 (of 14), to end Day 4 (of six), and at tourney's end, too.  

By leading at the end of every day he played, Rybin is being regarded as a "wire-to-wire" winner, which according to the WPT Live Updates team makes him the first player to accomplish such a feat on the WPT since Kevin Saul won his WPT title at the Bellagio Cup in 2007. (Saul, incidentally, was the last winner at WSOP-C Foxwoods earlier this spring.)

Rybin did lose the lead during the six-handed final table yesterday, surrendering the top spot for a time to fellow Russian Andrei Nikonov. Rybin would battle with a short stack for a while, but had chipped back up by the time he knocked out Nikonov in third when the latter's Ac-Jh failed to improve versus Rybin's Ad-Qs.

Rybin and Albert Daher were close to even to start the heads-up match, but Rybin won a huge double-up early on in a strange hand that saw him moving all in on a Ad-Kh-Jh-2d board and Daher tanking before calling the shove. Rybin showed Ah-Kd for top two pair, and Daher actually mucked his hand before the river card was dealt, having been knocked down to just 315,000 while Rybin was up to 7.4 million.

Daher battled for a while after that, but ultimately lost a preflop all-in with Ks-9c versus Rybin's As-5h when an ace flopped and Daher failed to catch up.

Season XII WPT Cyprus Main Event final table results:
1st:  Alexey Rybin (Russia) -- $258,000
2nd:  Albert Daher (Lebanon) -- $160,200
3rd:  Andrei Nikonov (Russia) -- $103,700
4th:  Kayhan Tugrul (Turkey) -- $75,600
5th:  Sergey Rybachenko (Russia) -- $56,600
6th:  Pierre Sayegh (Lebanon) -- $46,000

Like Strasser, Rybin enjoys an extra bonus thanks to his victory, in his case earning a seat in the $25K WPT World Championship that will end the tour's season next May at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada.  

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