October 21, 2022
Mike Patrick
While the $5,000,000 guaranteed Main Event is the crown jewel of the World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic festival, the multitude of side events leading up to it has also been a huge success. They’ve drawn some of the biggest names in poker from around the world with a variety of High Rollers, Pot Limit-Omaha, and mixed game tournaments as well.
Over $3,100,000 in prize pools were generated over the 20+ daily tournaments that began on October 8. Here’s a look at some of the winners.
Two High Rollers For Bonomo
The only player to take home two titles at this year’s Five Diamond is poker’s all-time tournament earnings leader, Justin Bonomo.
He earned his first win in Event #10, a $10,000 High Roller that saw him defeat a field of 16 players, including Stephen Chidwick heads-up to win $75,792.
Event #10: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em Results
| PLACE | NAME | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $75,792 |
| 2 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $58,608 |
| 3 | Yasuhiro Waki | Japan | $25,600 |
Bonomo then picked up his second High Roller title of the festival in Event #22, a $25,000 buy-in event that drew 17 runners.
Bonomo defeated Sam Soverel heads-up to claim that title and $229,500, with Chidwick finishing third.
Event #22: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em Results
| PLACE | NAME | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $229,500 |
| 2 | Sam Soverel | United States | $127,500 |
| 3 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $68,000 |
Bonomo also picked up a third-place finish in Event #6, a $10,000 High Roller with 15 entries won by Nick Schulman, with Sean Winter finishing second.
Nick Schulman
Event #6: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em Results
| PLACE | NAME | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Schulman | United States | $81,000 |
| 2 | Sean Winter | United States | $45,000 |
| 3 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $24,000 |
Kempton Wins Highest of PLO High Rollers
Pot-Limit Omaha was also represented in the High Roller streets, with Michael Duek ($105,800) and Ronald Keijzer ($108,000) taking home $10,000 buy-in titles, while in Event #20: a $25,000 buy-in PLO event, it was Isaac Kempton defeating a field of 23 entries including Jeremy Ausmus heads-up to win $264,500, while Keijzer added a third place finish to his tally.
Event #20: $25,000 High Roller PLO Results
| PLACE | NAME | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isaac Kempton | United States | $264,500 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | $161,000 |
| 3 | Ronald Keijzer | Netherlands | $92,000 |
| 4 | John Riordan | United States | $57,500 |
Elezra and Kihara Win 8-Game Events
The mixed game community got a pair of Five Diamond titles to chase with a $10,000 High Roller and a $1,620 event also up for grabs.
Event #8: the 8-Game High Roller saw an elite field of 12 mixed gamers take their shot, with a pair of Poker Hall of Famers who are no strangers to high-stakes mixed games at Bellagio meeting heads-up for the title. It was Eli Elezra winning it, defeating Mori Eskandani to win $57,000.
Eli Elezra
Event #8: $10,000 High Roller 8-Game Mix Results
| PLACE | NAME | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eli Elezra | Israel | $57,000 |
| 2 | Mori Eskandani | United States | $53,000 |
| 3 | Brian Rast | United States | $10,000 |
Meanwhile in Event #3, the $1,620 8-Game event, 47 entries came out with Naoya Kihara defeating Matthew Gonzales heads-up to take home the $25,302 first prize.
Below is the complete list of Five Diamond World Poker Classic Side Event Winners.
Five Diamond Side Event Winners
| EVENT | ENTRIES | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $560 No-Limit Hold’em | 138 | $100,000 | Robert Goldstein | United States | $18,015 |
| Event #2: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | 9 | $225,000 | Steve Zolotow | United States | $135,000 |
| Event #3: $1,620 8-Game Mix | 47 | $68,385 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | $25,302 |
| Event #5: $1,620 6-Max No-Limit Hold’em | 83 | $124,500 | Breno Silva | Brazil | $35,807 |
| Event #6: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | 15 | $150,001 | Nick Schulman | United States | $81,000 |
| Event #7: $1,100 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em | 91 | $100,000 | Mike Meskin | United States | $31,119 |
| Event #8: $10,000 High Roller 8-Game Mix | 12 | $120,000 | Eli Elezra | Israel | $57,000 |
| Event #9: $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha | 56 | $61,600 | Justin Lapka | United States | $20,100 |
| Event #10: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | 16 | $160,000 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $75,792 |
| Event #11: $1,100 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | 114 | $110,580 | Valentyn Shabelnyk | Ukraine | $41,583 |
| Event #12: $10,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha | 23 | $230,000 | Michael Duek | United States | $105,800 |
| Event #13: $600 No-Limit Hold’em | 51 | $26,520 | Jordan Helms | United States | $9,814 |
| Event #14: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | 18 | $180,000 | Pete Chen | Taiwan | $97,200 |
| Event #15: $400 No-Limit Hold’em | 80 | $26,400 | Richard Kemperman | United States | $8,844 |
| Event #16: $10,000 High Roler Pot-Limit Omaha | 20 | $200,000 | Ronald Keijzer | Netherlands | $108,000 |
| Event #17: $1,600 Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em | 63 | $90,405 | Fikret Kovac | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $25,766 |
| Event #18: $10,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | 4 | $40,000 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $25,000 |
| Event #19: $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 54 | $52,380 | Gregor Sverko | Croatia | $19,380 |
| Event #20: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha | 23 | $575,000 | Isaac Kempton | United States | $264,500 |
| Event #22: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em | 17 | $425,000 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $229,500 |
The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic is a $10,400 buy-in, $5 million GTD tournament that runs from October 19-23. WPT Five Diamond is the longest-standing recurring WPT tournament, taking place at Bellagio since 2002. It has endured the test of time, and holds unique historical significance as the starting point for the World Poker Tour. PokerNews will be offering daily content from the event, so stay tuned for more big WPT recaps, stories, and more!
*Images courtesy of WPT/Joe Giron.
Mike Patrick
