The third and final day in Event #45: $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better has come to a close, and the 587 entries into the event have been whittled down to just one. Eddie Blumenthal came out on top of the star-studded field to take down his maiden World Series of Poker bracelet, outlasting Hall of Famers and Players of the Year alike at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas
Not only did Blumenthal get his first taste of WSOP silverware, but he earned almost a quarter million in the process, taking home the top prize of $248,545; the lion’s share of the $1,306,075 prize pool that had been generated.
It’s his career best score in a mixed game event, as well as his first win in one, leapfrogging his $155,971 won after coming agonizingly close in 2021’s $10,000 H.O.R.S.E event, ending up with a third-place finish. This result takes his career earnings over the three-million mark, and has him knocking on the door of Wisconsin’s top five all-time.
Cheered along by his rail, there was nothing that could’ve stopped him from taking down the competition, as he took the chip lead with five remaining, and traded that badge with third-place finisher Donovan Bates all the way to three-handed play. Once the podium was set, he was nigh on impossible to stop, as he whittled his opponents down to further increase his advantage.
Runner-up Nikolai Fal managed to claw back to even as heads-up began, but it would be over in a matter of minutes as Blumenthal continued to extract max value in both game variants, and increase his chip stack exponentially.
Fal played a great game as well, and the two showed a lot of respect for each other throughout the day, sharing a handshake after the final hand. Something of a stud aficionado, his first bracelet came in the Hi-Lo format in 2024, but he was unable to get his hands on a second, as he heads home with $165,530 for his efforts.
Event #45: $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddie Blumenthal | United States | $248,545 |
| 2 | Nikolai Fal | Russian Federation | $165,530 |
| 3 | Donovan Bates | United States | $114,310 |
| 4 | Soshi Yasoshima | Japan | $80,340 |
| 5 | Adam Walter | United States | $57,490 |
| 6 | Mark Vathanasin | United States | $41,900 |
| 7 | Dekel Balas | Israel | $31,100 |
| 8 | Todd Ivens | United States | $23,540 |
Winner’s Reaction
Blumenthal has had his fair share of close calls in the past, recalling to PokerNews that this was his tenth final table, but undoubtedly the most memorable. Having come so close in the past, he finally managed to go all the way, as running good and playing even better made for a dream combination to secure the win.
“It feels nice to finally have a whole final come together, and be able to close it out,” remarked Blumenthal, acknowledging that in the past cards haven’t fallen in the right way, and minor mistakes have resulted in changes of fate. “I’ve been right in the spot to get a bracelet a few times before,” he added, as his first triumph comes even sweeter given his closeness in the past.
Blumenthal also noted that the final table especially felt very different from those that he had played in before, in that there were “a lot of really talented players in Stud-8 and O-8” involved, as well as players without a mixed games background running deep and playing well. It was by no means an easy battle, but he managed to make the most of his table draws across the three days and play to his strengths against each new challenger he faced.
Although he has some incredible scores in Hold’em, and is very comfortable with the format, Blumenthal certainly has prowess in the many other poker formats on offer.
“I definitely prefer mixed games to hold’em, they’re way more fun,” he noted, adding that the two variants involved in the tournament were two of his best, so a half-and-half event with the two of them certainly suited how he played. He managed to stay “locked in” between the switches in-game, and managed to find a great balance in playing each.
Although some players struggle to completely change gear after a game switch, Blumenthal pointed out that following an intense eight hands of Stud, where dead cards are extremely important, Omaha becomes something of a refresher, in that your own cards are the ones that you focus on. He described it as “kind of fun, that back and forth.”
A further aspect of the game is the limits, which he explained are a completely different animal from No and Pot-Limit variants. Every decision in a limit game could well open the door to elimination, and the jump from small bets to big bets can compound decisions into huge effects.
Blumenthal will by no means slow down, and rightly so, as a summer full of mixed games still lies ahead. Having had a “rough start to the series” and a “pretty bad time” up until now, he noted that “it only takes one” to completely change the outcome of a trip.
A well-earned victory can certainly lead to more, as multiple $10,000 mixed tournaments will have Blumenthal in the field, and there is no reason to believe he can’t turn one victory into to, as he has finally found the winning formula after so many close calls.
There are plenty who think the same, as shown by his incredible rail, who rooted and shouted for him right until the very end. “It’s fun to win with your friends, we win together,” he added. Those who know him knew these close calls would turn into gold, and now those who don’t know it too.
Final Day Action
Jun Weng was the first to fall during the final day of action, his elimination coming very early on in the level as his all-in was called off by Blumenthal in Omaha, who had him pipped for both the high and the low portion of the hand. It took a while for more bustouts to follow, but once they did, they came thick and fast, as Ian Cohen, Danny Chang, and Sean Yu all fell before the two-table redraw took place.
When three became two, more players followed suit, with Stanislav Ivanov the first casualty. He was set to triple up on sixth, but the deck had other ideas as Justin Liberto pulled trips on seventh to end his bracelet dreams. Tyler Phillips busted shortly after, in an upsetting end to a very swingy day. Shortly after securing a massive triple by boating up on seventh, it was Omaha that would be his downfall, as he couldn’t get a piece of the pie in a four-way pot.
The final lady in the field, Cyndy Violette, was vying for her second bracelet, with her first coming in Stud Hi-Lo back in 2004. She nursed a shorter stack for most of the day, before having her aces cracked by Blumenthal in Omaha Hi-Lo. Both she and Frederic Moss received $11,470 for their efforts, as the latter found himself flopped nearly dead to Donovan Bates’ trips, and was unable to find running cards to survive.
Andrew Yeh was another player in the field looking to double their bracelet tally, as his first, too, had come in a mixed game, that being the 2022 H.O.R.S.E. Unfortunately for Yeh, his two pair on sixth got cracked on the very same street by Dekel Balas, rounding out the field to ten.
Jonathan Nebbout then claimed the title of final table bubbler, as he made a second deep run of the summer following his third place finish in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. He turned nut straight in Omaha lost out to a rivered flush, as all the remaining players moved to the only table left.
The unofficial final table’s casualty was yet another player who has had a great summer so far. Justin Liberto, off the back of both a bracelet win and a runner-up finish in Omaha variants, was back doing what he does best: running deep. Unfortunately for him, the official final table was one step too far, as he was the shortest stack of the final nine, and got scooped in stud by tablemates Soshi Yasoshima and Eddie Blumenthal.
The three following eliminations both came in stud, also, with Todd Ivens getting in his short stack on fourth. He finished with a pair and a low, but in a tale as old as time, he couldn’t take down any portion of the pot, with two opponents having the best of it on either side. Seventh-place finisher Dekel Balas bricked out on his low draw, and couldn’t get anything going for the high, ending up with no pair and just a queen as his high card, he took home a respectable $31,100.
Mark Vathanasin had nursed a short stack for quite a while, making a $10,000 pay jump from seventh to sixth in the process. He had some ups and downs, but ended up being outdrawn by Blumenthal to confirm the final five.
Fourth place finisher Adam Walter and fifth place Soshi Yasoshima exited in the Omaha streets, with Walter outkicked by Fal, before the Russian took another life, with Yasoshima’s pair no match for his top two alongside the third nut low.
Three-handed play carried on for quite a while, until chip leader at the start of the Day Donovan Bates was left without any left. He had picked up the extremely unfortunate habit of bricking on seventh, with many a hand going all the way, then heading to his opponent. His two pair was cracked by eventual champion Blumenthal, as he headed home with a podium finish.
The heads-up battle was poised to be a grueling one, but Blumenthal took matters into his own hands and started grinding away at Nikolai Fal’s stack. With scooped pots coming thick and fast, and folding out his opponent on multiple occasions, it was only a matter of time before the chips could get in preflop.
That’s exactly what happened, and at the first time of asking the two chopped it up, but just one hand later Blumenthal made trips with a low, and was handed a well-earned first bracelet, which could well be the first of many.
That’s a wrap on PokerNews live coverage of this event, as a Mixed Hi-lo hopeful will have to wait another year for a chance at WSOP glory. Stay tuned, as there is so much more poker yet to be played with the series just approaching the halfway mark.
