Anatolii Zyrin Wins 2019 WSOP $1,500 Mixed Omaha Eight-or-Better Event

Anatolii Zyrin has won the 2019 World Series of Poker $1,500 Omaha mix event, overcoming a field of 717 total entries to secure his first WSOP gold bracelet and the top prize of $199,838. The 29-year-old Russian poker pro and livestreamer sported a helmet in his winner photos, having skateboarded to the Rio during this event.

“This tournament is something unimaginable,” he said after securing the title. “I want to dedicate this win to my parents.”

Zyrin told WSOP reporters that his parents didn’t necessarily look kindly upon his chosen profession, but hoped that this win on the global stage would help change their mind.

Zyrin finished runner-up in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em shootout at the WSOP just over three weeks prior to making the final table of this event. Despite having less experience playing Omaha eight-or-better, Zyrin managed to defeat the defending champion of this event, Yueqi Zhu, heads-up for the win.

This event features pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better, limit Omaha eight-or-better, and Big O (five-card pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better. It first premiered at the series in 2017. Zhu has made the final table each of the three times this tournament has been held, finishing sixth in 2017, first in 2018 and now second in 2019. With an average field size of 726 entries since it debuted, Zhu has managed an average finishing spot of third place.

The fourth and final day of this event began with Zyrin leading the remaining four players. Zyrin got off to a bad start, falling all the way down to 280,000 after having started the day with 3.3 million. He managed to fight his way back up the leader board, before making two pair and the nut low in Big O to eliminate Mesbah Guerfi in fourth place ($58,289).

Three-handed play continued for over an hour. Zyrin and Zhu spent much of that time trading the lead back and forth while WSOP bracelet winner James Van Alstyne tried to hold on. Van Alstyne got his final bets in on a Q53J board in limit Omaha eight-or-better with J1099 for a flush draw, a straight draw and a pair. Zyrin called and had him in rough shape with KQ109 for a higher flush draw, a higher pair and a wrap straight draw. The 7 on the river gave Zyrin the winning flush and knocked Van Alstyne out in third place ($84,106).

Zhu held the chip lead to start heads-up play, but Zyrin was able to fight his way into the lead. By the time the decisive pot arose Zyrin had built more than a 7-to-1 lead. Zhu got all-in with AQ42 against the A542 in limit Omaha eight-or-better. The board came down 1096A2. The two players chopped the high side of the pot with aces and deuces, but Zyrin got the entire low side with his 6-5-4-2-A. Zhu was left with just more than a single big bet after being quartered. He was all-in on the next hand. Ayrin made a six-high straight to scoop the high and low, sending Zhu to the rail with $123,466.

Zyrin was awarded 912 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. It was his second POY-qualified score of the year. Zyrin climbed into 65th place in the 2019 POY race standings, which are sponsored by Global Poker.

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

For more coverage from the summer series, check out the 2019 WSOP landing page, complete with a full schedule, results, news, player interviews, and event recaps.

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