The $5,000 buy-in 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) bestbet Scramble Championship kicked off with Day 1a at midday ET on Friday, and it took one humble high-profile participant barely any time to double his beginning stack
Jeremy Becker, the Las Vegas every day event legend, began off robust because of a lucky river card that despatched one other participant dwelling hours earlier than the dinner break. However he’d run into his personal misfortune a bit later.
Day 1a, the primary of two beginning flights — Day 1b takes place on Saturday — had over 130 entrants on the time of publishing, and registration for the session will not shut till after Degree 8, or round 9:45 p.m. Many massive identify professionals akin to Joe McKeehen, Brian Altman, and Ali Imsirovic have already taken their seats. Eric Afriat, a three-time WPT winner, was a fast exit, and the defending champion, Frederic Normand, busted and reentered throughout the first few ranges.
“Jbex” Spikes King on the River
World Poker Tour stay reporters caught a monster hand throughout Degree 2 involving Becker. The hand started with David DiBernardi elevating the 300 massive blind to 700 from the cutoff with Q♣Q♥. Imsirovic made the decision on the button earlier than Becker, holding A♥Ok♥ within the massive blind, three-bet it to three,500.
DiBernardi then got here again excessive with a increase to eight,500, sufficient to persuade Imsirovic to fold. Becker, nevertheless, wasn’t going wherever and as an alternative made it 20,500. His opponent tanked for about two minutes earlier than six-bet jamming for 41,600, and Becker referred to as with a bigger stack.
The flop got here out 5♦2♠2♦, clear for the queens, as was the 9♣ on the flip. However the Ok♣ on the river gave Becker a win in a race in what was the biggest pot of the day to that time. He was as much as 99,000 following that hand, almost double the 50,000-chip beginning stack.
Becker then continued to rise to above 150,000 chips because of a three-way chopped pot through which he busted a participant and break up the primary pot with Maurice Hawkins. Issues had been going effectively for the Wynn Las Vegas every day poker event legend at bestbet in Jacksonville.
However then he ran right into a tough scenario in opposition to WPT commentator Tony Dunst. Becker informed PokerNews “I turned a set and thought I had him set-over-set, so I put him all in on the river. However he hit a 6 so river a gutter ball for the straight.” That hand dropped his stack again all the way down to round 80,000 on the time of publishing, on the second 15-minute break of the day. However he stays in good spirits regardless of the set again.
“I am not even on tilt one bit,” Becker stated about his declining chip stack.
Becker rose to mainstream poker prominence prior to now yr when he went from taking part in low-stakes every day tournaments in Las Vegas to main occasions such because the WPT bestbet Scramble, and he hasn’t modified a bit.
“It is undoubtedly superior as a result of people who I idolized or noticed on TV that made me higher by watching them, now I am taking part in with them on daily basis,” Becker stated of transferring up in stakes to compete in opposition to the most effective on the earth. “It is actually a dream come true, however as an example (the WPT bestbet Scramble) wasn’t occurring, and I am simply at dwelling, no greater buy-ins, I will be on the Wynn taking part in the every day. I simply like to play and I am tremendous lucky to play at nearly any stakes I need proper now.
The standard poker professional remains to be in an awesome place regardless of the robust hand in opposition to Dunst halfway by means of Day 1a.
*Photographs courtesy of Katerina Lukina/World Poker Tour.
