Ali Imsirovic Wins 2018 Poker Masters $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event

Ali Imsirovic outlasted a field of 66 entries to win event 5 of the 2018 Poker Masters. The strong turnout built for the $25,000 buy-in event built a $1,650,000 final prize pool, with a top prize of $462,000 being awarded to Imsirovic for coming out on top.

“This is by far the proudest accomplishment of my poker career,” Imsirovic told Poker Central reporters after securing the title. “Last year I was watching the Poker Masters on PokerGO, thinking I might play this in a few years. I feel very humbled and fortunate to already be here now.”

This was the largest tournament score of the young poker pro’s career, bringing his lifetime live earnings to just shy of $1.6 million. In addition to the money, he also earned 300 points in the race for this year’s Poker Masters purple jacket. This was his second point-earning score of the series, having finished eighth in the kickoff $10,500 event. He now sits in a tie for third place with Ben Yu in the series standings with 360 total points.

“Winning the_ Poker Masters_ would be like winning the World Series of Poker main event to me because I play poker to become the best, and a win like this would make me feel as though I’m getting there.”

Here is a look at the current top ten in the purple jacket race:

Almedin came into the final day of this event in third chip position with six players remaining. The shortest stack was Daniel Negreanu, who was eliminated in sixth place when he flopped bottom pair out of the big blind with 52 and got all-in against Ben Yu’s pocket eights. Yu’s hand held up and he won the pot, sending Negreanu to the rail with $99,000.

Imsirovic also scored the next knockout, raising with the AK and then calling an all-in from Jason Koon, who held the A10. Almedin flopped two pair and kept the lead from there. Koon earned $132,000 for his third cash of the series. This was his 14th final table of 2018, with three titles and $11,470,518 in earnings accrued along the way. As a result of his incredible consistency so far this year Koon has climbed into fifth place in the Card Player Player of the Year rankings.

Imsirovic continued to grow his stack by knocking out current POY race leader Jake Schindler in fourth place. This was Schindler’s 25th final table finish of the year, and he earned $165,000 when his all-in move with 86 was looked up by Imsirovic’s A9. After both players missed the flop, Imsirovic paired his ace on the turn to send Schindler on his way.

The Imsirovic elimination spree continued when he moved all-in with pocket sixes from the small blind and received a call from short-stacked Brian Rast with the A3 in the big blind. Neither player improved and Rast was knocked out in third place ($214,500).

Heads-up play began with Imsirovic holding more than a 2-to-1 chip advantage over Ben Yu, who was at his second final table of the series after finishing third in the $25,000 pot-limit Omaha event a few days ago. The final showdown didn’t last very long. Imsirovic limped in from the button holding the 55 and then called a 25 big-blind shove from Yu, who held the A6. Imsirovic flopped a set and held from there to secure the final pot of the tournament. Yu earned $330,000 as the runner-up finisher.

Here are the payouts and Card Player Player of the Year points awarded at this final table:

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