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Markus Gonsalves turned a 6 max background into a WSOP breakthrough, winning Event #73: $5,000 6 Handed No Limit Holdem for $979,655 and his first bracelet.
Good to know
- Gonsalves beat 1,402 entries at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
- The prize pool reached $6,449,200.
- Xiaoyao Ma finished second for $653,037.
Gonsalves Wins His First Bracelet
Gonsalves had spent more than two decades in poker before landing WSOP gold. The San Diego player entered the final day with a huge lead, lost control during a wild short handed stretch, then came back to finish the job.
“It’s something every player dreams of,” Gonsalves told PokerNews after the win. “I’ve been playing poker for 21 years,” he added.
The payout pushed his live tournament earnings beyond $3 million and almost doubled his previous top live score of $554,495. Ma also earned a major career result, with the $653,037 runner up prize nearly doubling his recorded live earnings.
Gonsalves said 6 handed poker fits him well because he began as an online cash player at 6 max tables. “It’s more fun,” he said. “[It’s] more creative, and more aggressive,” before joking about the “extra space at the table.”
Even after the bracelet win, he does not plan to leave cash games behind. “I’ll play the Main [Event],” he said, with dinner for his rail and rest next on the list.
Final Day Swung Hard
Oliver Weis started the final table slide after losing a big pot to Jeremy Izquierdo, then paid off Gonsalves with top pair against aces. Weis soon ran ace high into Xiaoyao Ma and left in seventh. Joshua Boulton followed in sixth after Gonsalves hit the turn, while Dominykas Mikolaitis went out in fifth when Gonsalves flopped trips.
Ma removed Daniel Rezaei in fourth after winning a preflop flip. Three handed play then changed the table fast. Izquierdo doubled, hit a two outer against Gonsalves, and briefly took the lead. Gonsalves answered with his own two outer, then knocked Izquierdo out in third when kicker trouble ended the Frenchman run.
Heads up play opened with Ma behind, but he fought back and took the lead. He had a chance to close it, only for Gonsalves to hit a three outer and leave Ma short. Ma doubled once, but another three outer ended the match and sent the bracelet to Gonsalves.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout |
| 1 | Markus Gonsalves | United States | $979,655 |
| 2 | Xiaoyao Ma | United States | $653,037 |
| 3 | Jeremy Izquierdo | France | $460,256 |
| 4 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | $328,810 |
| 5 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | $238,152 |
| 6 | Joshua Boulton | United Kingdom | $174,909 |
| 7 | Oliver Weis | Germany | $130,287 |
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