Timur Margolin Wins 2018 WSOP $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Event

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Timur Margolin is the latest champion decided at the 2018 World Series of Poker. The 34-year-old poker pro from Israel defeated a field of 1,248 entries to take down event no. 43, a $2,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament. Margolin had finished second in this same event in 2015, but this year he improved on that performance to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet and the top prize of $507,274.

As the champion of this event, Margolin also earned 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his third final-table finish of the year, including finishing second in the WSOP International Circuit Czech Republic €1,650 buy-in main event for $166,050 and 760 points. Margolin now sits in 29th place in the 2018 POY standings.

Margolin had plenty of tough competition to deal with at the final table, including the likes of Ismael Bojang, six-time WSOP bracelet winner Chris Ferguson, 2016 WSOP Circuit Chicago main event winner Dylan Linde and 2016 WSOP $565 pot-limit Omaha event winner Ryan Laplante.

Margolin entered the fourth and final day of this event in second chip position behind Ferguson with six players remaining. He survived to four-handed play, and then was able to come from behind in an all-in pot to double through Ferguson to move to the top of the chips counts. Margolin has shoved from the button with Q10 and gotten called by Ferguson’s AJ from the big blind. After a flop of 552 Margolin called for specifically the Q, and then promptly hit that exact card on the turn to take the lead. He then announced that he was rooting for the 8 on the river. That was precisely what rolled off the deck, securing the hand for Margolin.

Ferguson fell to the shortest stack after that hand, and was sent to the rail not long after when his nut flush draw failed to improve against Margolin’s top pair. Ferguson took home $161,371 as the fourth-place finisher while Margolin took a comanding lead into three-handed play.

Margolin extended his lead even more by knocking out Michael Marder in third place. He held just over a 3-to-1 chip advantage of Ismael Bojang, who was at his 12th WSOP final table. The two ended up trading the lead several times over the course of heads-up play.

By the time the final hand arose it was Margolin in the lead with around 11.2 million to Bojang’s 4.4 million. With blinds of 120,000-240,000 Bojang moved all-in from the button with the A2 and Margolin called with the KQ. The board ran out K54Q8 to give Margolin top two pair and the pot. Bojang earned $313,444 as the runner-up, the largest cash of his career.

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.

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