This Week’s Big Winner: Hands That Propelled Scott Blumstein To Winning the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event

Thanks to the elimination of the November Nine concept, the 2017 World Series of Poker main event was able to name a champion in July, with 25-year-old Morristown, New Jersey native Scott Blumstein emerging as the winner of the title, the bracelet and the $8.15 million first-place prize.

The tournament drew a whopping 7,221 entries, creating a total prize pool of nearly $68 million. Blumstein entered the final table with the chip lead and then won a massive pot to give him the majority of chips in play. From that point on, he applied relentless pressure and eventually came out on top after ten grueling days of action.

The win marked Blumstein’s first ever cash at the summer series. His previous best score came at the 2016 Summer Poker Open at the Borgata in New Jersey, where he won a $500 preliminary event for $199,854.

Here are the biggest hands that propelled Blumstein to the win.

Tournament: WSOP No-Limit Hold’em Main Event
Buy-In: $10,000
No. of Entries: 7,221
Prize Pool: $67,877,400
1st Place Prize:$8,150,000

The Action

With two tables remaining, Blumstein raised to 1,200,000 and Ott three-bet to 3,100,000. Blumstein called and the flop fell 10 6 4. Ott bet 2,400,000 and Blumstein called. The turn was the Q and Ott moved all in. Blumstein quickly called with pocket kings, and Ott showed K J for an open-ended straight draw. The river was the safe 2, and Blumstein doubled up. Ott was still sitting on a comfortable stack with more than 30,000,000.

The Action

With 13 players remaining, Blumstein raised to 1,300,000 from the hijack and Stewart moved all in for 7,725,000. Blumstein thought it over for a bit before calling with K Q, but Stewart had the better hand with A 9. The flop came down A 8 7 and Stewart paired his ace, but Blumstein also had outs with the nut flush draw. The turn was the 10d, giving Blumstein additional outs to make a Broadway straight. The river was the 4, and Blumstein made his flush to scoop the pot. Stewart took home $535,000 for his 13th-place finish.

The Action

Dubini raised to 1,200,000 from the cutoff and Blumstein moved all-in from the big blind. Dubini snap called with pocket queens and Blumstein was in trouble with A 2. Dubini was looking to score a big double up near the final table bubble, but the board ran out A 9 5 K J, ending his tournament run. Dubini pocketed $535,000 for his 12th-place run, and Blumstein began to distance himself from the rest of the field.

The Action

At the ten-handed, unofficial final table, Hesp raised to 1,600,000 from the hijack, and Blumstein called from the cutoff. Sinclair three-bet to 5,400,000 and Hesp folded. Blumstein called and the flop came down 9 7 3. Sinclair bet 4,000,000 and Blumstein called. The turn was the 6 and Sinclair bet 7,500,000. Blumstein called once again and the river was the A. This time, Sinclair fired in a bet of 13,000,000. Blumstein went into the tank for two minutes before calling with pocket tens, and Sinclair mucked. With that pot, Blumstein chipped up to more than 96,000,000 and claimed the chip lead.

The Action

With eight players left at the final table, Blumstein raised to 2,200,000 from under-the-gun and Hesp called from the big blind. The flop came down A 7 5 and both players checked. The turn was the 10 and Hesp checked again. Blumstein bet 3,000,000 and Hesp check-raised to 7,000,000. Blumstein didn’t wait long, reraising to 17,000,000. Hesp jumped out of his chair, and then moved all in. Blumstein immediately called with A A and Hesp showed his A 10, drawing dead. The inconsequential river card was the 3, and Blumstein doubled up to more than 156,000,000. Hesp was left with just 24,000,000, but he managed to hang on until fourth-place, banking $2.6 million.

The Action

Blumstein raised to 4,200,000 from the button and was called by Saout in the small blind. The flop came down J 7 6 and Saout checked. Blumstein checked behind and the turn was the 4. Saout checked again and this time, Blumstein bet 5,600,000. Saout called and the river was the J. Saout checked for a third time, and Blumstein moved all in. Saout still had 26,100,000 behind, which would be good enough for fourth of the five players remaining, but eventually, he made the call with K J for trip jacks. Blumstein held 5 3, however, for a turned straight, and the pot was enough to give him more than three-fifths of the chips in play. Saout was eliminated in fifth-place, taking home $2 million.

The Action

Pollak moved all-in for 35,200,000 from the button and the action fell on Ott in the small blind. He then moved all in to isolate for 45,800,000. Blumstein then looked down at his cards before asking for a count on his two remaining opponents. After just a bit, he made the call with A Q, and was thrilled to see that he was ahead of Pollak’s Q 10 and Ott’s K 9. Blumstein was a 49 percent favorite to win the tournament without even getting to the money presentation, but the board ran out K J 3 4 6 and Ott’s pair was enough to earn him a near-triple up. Pollak earned $3.5 million for third place, while Blumstein went into heads-up play with a nearly 2:1 lead.

The Action

Blumstein limped from the button and Ott reraised to 8,000,000 from the big blind. Blumstein then moved all-in, putting Ott to the test. Ott went into the tank for nearly a minute before calling off his last 55,500,000 with A 8. Blumstein held a dominated A 2, and according to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator, he was just a 23 percent favorite to win the pot and the tournament, although he would chop the pot around 20 percent of the time as well. The flop of J 6 5 kept Ott in the lead, as did the 7 on the turn. With one card to come, Ott was a more than 93 percent favorite to double up, but the 2 on the river ended his tournament run. He earned $4.7 million for his runner-up effort, while Blumstein took home the title, the bracelet and the $8.15 million first-place prize.

Final Table Results

1. Scott Blumstein — $8,150,000
2. Daniel Ott — $4,700,000
3. Benjamin Pollak — $3,500,000
4. John Hesp — $2,600,000
5. Antoine Saout — $2,000,000
6. Bryan Piccioli — $1,675,000
7. Damian Salas — $1,425,000
8. Jack Sinclair — $1,200,000
9. Ben Lamb — $1,000,000