Kory Kilpatrick Wins Event #20: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout ($254,891)
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At the start of Tuesday, 10 players had (basically) an equal shot at a gold bracelet in Event #20: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout. Three players - Taylor Paur, Chris Bell, and Phil Galfond – were looking for their second bracelet, but it was Kory Kilpatrick who topped them all, capturing his first piece of World Series of Poker gold.
Kilpatrick, a Georgia native, bested Eric Wasserson heads up to earn $254,891 and the title. He now has nearly $700,000 in career live tournament earnings, and this is his largest score by nearly double. In 2013, Kilpatrick finished third in a Hollywood Poker Open event in Lawrenceburg, earning $129,641. This marks his first live tournament win.
The runner-up finish for Wasserson was also his largest live score. The Pennsylvania cash game pro earned $157,490 for second place, and now has nearly $400,000 in career live tournament earnings.
Wasserson delivered several bad beats at the final table – cracking kings with ace-queen, and ace-king with ace-jack – and on the final hand he was once again dominated, this time by Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick’s 
held against Wasserson’s 
as the board ran out 
.
Paur, Galfond, and Bell all fought valiantly for what would have been their second WSOP gold bracelet, but they were all eliminated consecutively in seventh, sixth, and fifth places respectively. Paur ran pocket eights into Noah Bronstein’s pocket jacks; Galfond’s ace-four suited was dominated by Jack Duong’s ace-jack suited; and Bell’s ace-queen was dominated by Wasserson’s ace-king. In all of those all-in hands, the superior hands held up.
Over three hours lapsed before there was an elimination at the final table. Narenda Banwari found himself with a short stack, and he lost a race with pocket sevens against Duong’s ace-jack suited. Another three-and-a-half hours passed before Dylan Linde busted in ninth place – Wasserson cracked his kings – and not long after Michael Stonehill lost a race to Duong and exited in eighth place.
Two hands after Bell was eliminated in fifth place, Duong busted in fourth. He moved all in on a completed board of 
, and Kilpatrick snap-called with 
. Duong revealed that he had a straight with 
, and was off to the cage to get paid.
Bronstein held the chip lead at one point during the final table, and tripled up with aces when he became the short stack during five-handed play, but was unable to extend his run past third place. He moved all in for 20 big blinds or so with pocket fives and was racing against Kilpatrick’s ace-eight off-suit. The turn card was an eight, and Bronstein was sent packing.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kory Kilpatrick | $254,891 |
| 2nd | Eric Wasserson | $157,490 |
| 3rd | Noah Bronstein | $115,659 |
| 4th | Jack Duong | $85,616 |
| 5th | Chris Bell | $63,877 |
| 6th | Phil Galfond | $48,043 |
| 7th | Taylor Paur | $36,414 |
| 8th | Michael Stonehill | $27,812 |
| 9th | Dylan Linde | $21,409 |
| 10th | Narendra Banwari | $16,609 |
*Every player at the final table was American
That does it for our coverage of Event #20 of the 45th-annual World Series of Poker, but stay tuned as we offer coverage for every single bracelet event. Until next time, good night from Las Vegas!