The WSOP Circuit event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles is always a popular one and this year proved no exception. The main event attracted 756 entrants that created a huge prize pool of $1,134,000 that easily beat the $1 Million that was guaranteed and was run over 5 days due to the 3 starting flights. At the end of those long 5 days it was Nipun Java who claimed victory, the circuit gold ring, a seat in the National Championships and a paycheck for a cool $226,785.
A total of 81 players eventually made the money seats with the smallest cash being $2,825, however the final day started with just 13 players all vying for the top prize. Java took to the felt as chip leader on that final day and although that lead was exchanged between a few players throughout the course of play, he was never far away from the top, and it was him that did most of the damage to the rest of the field. Players fell by the wayside pretty quickly and that final day field of 13 became 2 before too long, with Java going heads up with Shane Schleger, however Schleger didn’t last long, and it was just two hands later that Java was crowned champion. It was however the build up to heads up play that made for such a fast heads up finale, with Java acknowledging the fact that luck was indeed on his side. After the win he said that, “I went into day 2 with a top 20% stack, at the end of day 2 I had the biggest rush I have had in a long long time, whether I had the worst hand or the best hand, I won the pot and eliminated a lot of people. It made me realize that how much importance luck is in a tournament, but I’ll take it.”
Java kept that lucky run going all the way through the final table picking up wins when he really needed them to keep his stack on top saying that, “I did win an insane number of flips in the past few days. I’ve lost count how many I won.” Great play is one thing but having luck on your side is a totally different thing, and when the two are combined, it takes a whole lot of stopping...just ask Nipun Java!
Those players who fancy a shot at the big time and getting in on the WSOP action in Las Vegas this summer should get signed up to Bovada Poker. They have recently announced that they will be sending players to Vegas to represent them, and you could be one of those players!
