Julien Martini Wins 2018 WSOP $1,500 Omaha Eight-or-Better Event

Card Player’s 2018 WSOP coverage is sponsored by BetOnline Poker. Get a 100% bonus, up to $1,000, by joining now. The site offers great cash game action and a chance to win more than $1 million in guaranteed tournaments throughout the month.

The 2018 World Series of Poker $1,500 Omaha eight-or-better event was originally scheduled to last only three days, with the planned finish of the event on Saturday, June 2. Late that night play was halted with four players remaining, which meant that an extra day was added to the schedule. After five more hours of play on Sunday a winner was finally decided. France’s Julien Martini emerged victorious in the end, defeating a field of 911 players to win his first gold bracelet and the $239,771 first-place prize. This was by far the largest cash of the 26-year-old’s live tournament career, and it brought his lifetime earnings to $448,240.

“I was dreaming about this for seven years,” Martini told WSOP reporters after taking down the event. “It’s one of the best things in my life. I’m super proud and very happy.”

The final day began with Martini as the chip leader, with Kate Hoang in second place. Hoang is no stranger to WSOP Omaha eight-or-better final tables, having finished second in the 2016 WSOP $3,000 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event for $182,281. Mack Lee and William Kopp both survived to day four with only 2 big bets each, and it wasn’t long until both were sent to the rail.

Heads-up play began with Martini holding 3,700,000 to the 3,000,000 of Hoang. The two traded the lead a few times. The event ran so long that the tournament staff had to manually input the final levels, which were quite high compared to the amount of chips in play. In the end Martini was able to take down a key pot without showdown to take a definitive lead. A few hands later she was all-in with the Q773 for less than big bet. Martini called with the K1044. The board ran out J103QK and Martini made two pair on the high-only board to scoop the pot and secure the title. Hoang took home $148,150 as the runner-up finisher, the second largest score of her career.

Plenty of big names made deep runs in this event including Card Player’s own Jeff Shulman (12th – $13,091), Danny Wong (13th – $10,340), Chris Bjorin (17th – $8,296), Mike Wattel (21st – $6,764), Jason Lester (28th – $56,05), Mike Leah (30th – $5,605), Victor Ramdin (38th – $4,723), Shaun Deeb (44th – $4,723), Benny Glaser (63rd – $3,526), John Monnette (67th – $3,127), Allen Kessler (75th – $2,823), John Racener (86th – $2,595), and Robert Mizrachi (90th – $2,595).

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

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2018 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

Related Articles

Poker Strategy: 2-7 Triple Draw With Randy Ohel

Dorsey Wins WSOPC Planet Hollywood Main Event

Jack Sinclair Wins 2018 WSOP Europe Main Event

Most Viewed Articles