Connor Drinan Wins 2021 World Series of Poker $1,500 Omaha Eight-or-Better Event For Second Bracelet

Connor Drinan emerged victorious from a field of 607 entries in the 2021 World Series of Poker $1,500 buy-in Omaha eight-or-better event, earning $163,252 and his second gold bracelet. The 32-year-old poker pro now has more than $13 million in total career tournament earnings to his name, including the more than $1.4 million he earned when he took down the final bracelet event of the 2020 WSOP Online.

In addition to the hardware and the money, Drinan also earned 840 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his first POY-qualified score of the year.

The final day of this event kicked off with 15 players remaining and Drinan in the lead. It took a few hours for the field to be narrowed down to the final table of nine. Michael Moed finished ninth ($12,693), with Travis Pearson’s straight and nut low took three-quarters of the pot and four-time bracelet winner Robert Mizrachi splitting the low-half of the pot.

Drinan scored his first knockout at the final table with sevens full of kings beating the unimproved low cards of Curtis Phelps (8th – $16,266). Kris Kwiatkowski was the next to fahttps://www.cardplayer.com/admin/news/news/26277-connor-drinan-wins-2021-world-series-of-poker-1-500-omaha-eight-or-better-event-for-second-bracelet/editll, earning $21,192 as the seventh-place finisher. Carl Lijewski ran into the flush of Sandy Sanchez to hit the rail in sixth place ($28,056).

Micah Brooks’ last chips were chopped up by the big stacks, with Drinan making nines full of aces for the high side while Pearson hit the nut low on the turn. Brooks was eliminated in fifth place, earning $37,750 for his deep run.

Four-handed action continued for roughly 90 minutes before the next bustout occurred. Sandy Sanchez got all-in preflop with AK66 and was up against two opponents. The final board read KJ8106, giving Sanchez a rivered set. It was no good, as Drinan showed AQ92 for the broadway straight. Sanchez took home $51,590 as the fourth-place finisher.

Robert Mizrachi lost a big pot to Drinan during three-handed action that left him short. He got all-in not long after that with KQ43 against the 10632. The board came down Q1067A and Drinan made two pair and the nut now to scoop. Mizrachi fell just short of his fifth gold bracelet, earning $71,602 for his third-place showing.

With that Drinan took nearly a 3:1 lead into heads-up play. Pearson was able to battle his way into the lead, but Drinan regained control in time for the final hand of the tournament. The chips got in on a flop of KQ6 with Pearson holding K1052 for top pair and some backdoor possibilities. Drinan revealed the 9665 for bottom set. The turn brought the 4 to give Pearson some hope, but the 9 rivered locked up the pot and the title for Drinan. Pearson earned $100,901 as the runner-up finisher.

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

Photo credit: WSOP / Melissa Haereiti.

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