On the 1st of July, 2016, Event #54 took place at the World Series of Poker: $888 Crazy Eights 8 A No Limit Hold'em tournament with eight-handed play. With multiple re-entries allowed across four starting flights and a staggering top prize of $888,888, the event became a massive attraction for poker enthusiasts, drawing in 6,761 players, which was an impressive increase of 341 players compared to the 2015 Main Event!
Seth Palansky, the Vice President of WSOP, stated, \"We came up with this idea to provide another affordable entry event while ensuring it had its own unique appeal.\"
This idea quickly evolved into the decision to create an 8-handed structure with an $888 entry fee, leading to the birth of the Crazy Eights tournament.
Day 1 – Flight A
Flight A began bright and early on July 1st at 10 AM Vegas time, welcoming 1,291 participants. A distinctive feature of this event was that players from each flight would cash, resulting in 194 players from Day 1 receiving a minimum payout of $1,333.
Notable players present during Day 1a included Antonio Esfandiari and Vanessa Russo, although both fell short before making a profit. Ultimately, 36 competitors advanced to Day 2, with Daniel Fried leading in chips.
Day 1 – Flight B
Flight B launched at 4 PM Vegas time on the same day, attracting 1,525 players. Out of this group, 229 players made the money, with 51 of them progressing to compete for the substantial first-place prize of $888,888 on Day 2.
Antonio Esfandiari made a return, joined by other well-known figures like Phil Laak and Matt Affleck. However, it was Andy Spears from Buffalo who dominated this flight with a staggering 499,000 chips going into Day 2.
Day 1 – Flight C
On July 2nd at 10 AM PST, Flight C commenced with 1,715 entrants. This flight saw 258 players cashing in, while 58 secured their spots for Day 2. Among those who cashed were former 888poker ambassador JC Tran and former Main Event champions Martin Jacobson and Carlos Mortensen. Another noteworthy player advancing was WSOP bracelet holder Noah Schwartz.
This flight also included numerous winners of 888poker Crazy Eights packages, featuring Team888 members like Kara Scott and Bruno Kawauti.
Day 1 – Flight D
The last Flight D kicked off on July 2 at 4 PM Vegas time. Drawing in 2,230 players, 335 managed to min-cash while 62 players stored their chips for Day 2. Among the survivors were bracelet winners Michael Wang, Sam Stein, and Alex Lindop.
Various 888poker Crazy Eights package winners were present as well, including Bruno Kawauti taking another shot alongside his fellow Brazilian, Bruno Foster.
Day 2
Day 2 commenced on July 4th with 206 competitors vying for a share of the $5,403,391 prize pool, boosted by the 1,680 players who entered multiple times and the 216 who participated in four events.
Although 206 players began Day 2, many with shorter stacks quickly faced elimination. Chip leader Andy Spears was among those eliminated before the second break. Notable finishes included:
Tom McCormick - 51st place, marking his 59th career WSOP cash.
Ted Lawson - 61st place
Allen Kessler - 78th place, achieving his 51st WSOP cash.
Day 3 – The Final Table
Day 3 assured that the player finishing in 12th position would earn a respectable $46,098, which went to Francis Anderson. The competition continued with 11 players as Chase Johnson and Hung Le held slight advantages on their respective tables. After eliminating David Jackson and a surprising exit for Chase, the final table was established.
Seat 1: Dimitar Danchev - 3,850,000
Seat 2: Hung Le - 4,980,000
Seat 3: Nils Bardsley - 1,420,000
Seat 4: Henry Grunzweig - 4,660,000
Seat 5: Loni Harwood - 4,095,000
Seat 6: Aurelien Guiglini - 6,120,000
Seat 7: Yang Zhang - 2,440,000
Seat 8: Michael Lech - 3,315,000
Seat 9: Rafael Yaraliyev - 2,940,000
The final table escalated quickly! In just 46 hands, only 3 players remained. Danchev lost to Lech after both players hit flushes, but Lech's king-high beat Danchev's nine-high.
Lech then faced off with Hung Le in a heads-up battle for the title and the impressive prize of $888,888, holding a chip lead of 25 million to 7 million.
We Have a Champion!
Hung Le found himself pitted against Michael Lech, who boasted an impressive $800K in online poker earnings. Hung acknowledged his own lack of tournament experience, describing himself as primarily a recreational cash game player. The $888 Crazy Eights event marked his WSOP debut. underdog \"It's the only way I can outplay him; he's just too skilled for me,\" the excited Le shared with reporters. \"He plays aggressively and navigates the flop exceptionally well. Following him on the flop is a gamble I can't afford to take.\"
Le adopted a highly aggressive strategy before the flop, which surprisingly yielded success. He quickly doubled his stack and during the 101st hand, pushed all-in on a board showing Ad-10c-4d-8d with pocket twos. Lech, holding QcJc, couldn’t hit a winning card with the river showing 6d.
Originally from Vietnam, Hung now resides in Dayton, Ohio. His journey is a true underdog story; he has five children and describes his family as lower-middle class. Winning this life-altering sum on Independence Day was a monumental occasion for them.
Following his win, Le remarked, \"I came to Las Vegas hoping for a stroke of luck.\"
Hyacinth Swanson is a part-time poker player with experience in both live and online games, who also enjoys writing and editing poker-related content. She currently operates the marketing company PurpleGob.com.
And, didn’t he just! Well played!
Final Table Results
1st: Hung Le - $888,888
2nd: Michael Lech - $401,888
3rd: Dimitar Danchev - $297,888
4th: Rafael Yaraliyev - $222,888
5th: Henry Grunzweig – $167,888
6th: Loni Harwood – $128,888
7th: Aurelien Guiglini - $96,888
8th: Yang Zhang – $74,888