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Upeshka De Silva Wins 2015 WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

27-Year-Old Poker Pro Earns First Gold Bracelet For Topping 1,655-Player Field

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The latest 2015 World Series of Poker $1,500 no-limit hold’em champion has been decided. Upeshka De Silva topped a field of 1,655 players to capture his first WSOP gold bracelet and the $424,577 first-place prize.

The 27-year-old poker pro from Katy, Texas came into the final table in this event as the chip leader and just kept climbing, knocking out seven of the eight players that joined him at the final table en route to the biggest score of his tournament career.

“This is surreal, that’s the best way to describe how I feel right now,” De Silva said afterward. “I waited my whole life for this. When you imagine how the last hand will be played out, that’s what I experienced. It was like a dream coming true.”

De Sylva tore through a final table, but things slowed down when he reached heads-up play against Ireland’s Dara O’Kearney.The two battled it out for 67 hands before play was halted late on day 3. They returned on day 4 and played only nine more hands.

In the final hand O’Kearney moved all in with the 2Diamond Suit2Club Suit and De Silva made the call with the ASpade SuitKHeart Suit for a classic race. The flop came down 10Diamond Suit6Spade Suit6Club Suit to keep O’Kearney in the lead, but De Silva picked up extra outs with tens, kings and aces all possible ways for his to take the lead.

The turn was indeed the 10Club Suit, counterfeiting O’Kearney’s deuces put De Silva in the lead. The 9Spade Suit on the river secured the pot and the title for De Silva and sent the Irishman to the rail as the runner up with the $262,502.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at this final table:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Upeshka De Silva $424,577 1,080
2 Dara O’Kearney $262,502 900
3 John Dolan $172,752 720
4 Patrick Rojek $124,537 540
5 Ilkin Savalan Amirov $91,157 450
6 Bobby Moore $67,697 360
7 Jorden Fox $50,985 270
8 Vasily Tsapko $38,920 180
9 Jason Koon $30,095 90

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2015 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.