The ongoing saga that is the 2020 World Series of Poker Main Event continues. Earlier this month, Damian Salas won the international leg of the WSOP Main Event. He will face the winner of the American leg of the tournament. We now know who that is.
Joseph Hebert came into the final table with a dominating chip lead and eventually took down the American title. He will now face Salas in the final. However, the final did not go off on Wednesday as anticipated. Instead, it will be delayed until January 3rd due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in the United States.
Joseph Hebert Wins American WSOP Main Event
When a player heads into the final table as the chip leader, they usually have a good shot at winning. In the case of Joseph Hebert, he came into the final table with nearly a 3 to 1 lead over the rest of the field.
The final table was cut down to eight players before play began on Monday as Upeshka De Silva tested positive for COVID-19 and was subsequently disqualified. According to WSOP rules, players could be DQ’d for testing positive for coronavirus or refusing to travel to play for the final table. Peiyuan Sun was DQ’d from the international final after refusing to travel to Rozvadov.
MAIN MAN: Joseph Hebert wins @WSOP Main Event US final table in memory of mother
– Next up: $1 million heads-up showdown for bracelethttps://t.co/XIkFntLWc0#poker #PokerOnline #LasVegas #pokernews
— US Poker (@uspoker) December 31, 2020
The final table of the American leg of this event was relatively uneventful for Hebert. He managed to hold to his chip lead the entire time. Eventually, he faced Ron Jenkins heads-up for the title. Hebert started with a 2 to 1 chip lead and heads-up play lasted a single hand.
In that hand, Jenkins three-bet to 2.3 million with pocket queens, and Hebert shoved with Ac-Qs. Jenkins made the easy call and looked to double up. The flop was Yahtzee for Hebert as he flopped an ace. The turn and river fell baby cards and Jenkins fell in second place. Jenkins earned $1 million for his runner-up finish.
Joseph Hebert went wire-to-wire at the final table, winning the American leg of the WSOP Main Event for $1.55 million. Prior to the Main Event final, he dedicated his performance to his mother. Hebert’s mother passed this Summer after suffering a pulmonary embolism.
Hebert will now get a chance to win the bracelet against international winner Damian Salas. However, he will have to wait a few more days to battle for the bracelet.
Salas Denied Entry to the United States – Heads Up Finale Delayed to January 3rd
On Saturday, Damian Salas was to begin his journey to the United States to battle for the Main Event bracelet. However, there was one snag. The United States is requiring that anyone visiting Europe stay there at least 15 days before coming to the United States. Salas had only been there 13 days since flying to Rozvadov to play in the Main Event final table.
Salas was denied entry in both Miami, Fl and Dallas, TX. As such, he could not come to the United States. The WSOP had previously stated that they would rearrange things for the finale if travel restrictions caused an issue.
As such, the WSOP Main Event finale will be moved to January 3rd. This will allow Salas to comply with travel restrictions. Unless Salas or Hebert wind up testing positive for COVID-19, the event should go off without a hitch.
The heads-up finale will award a WSOP bracelet and the title of World Champion of Poker to the winner. The winner also receives a $1 million prize added by Caesars Entertainment. Unfortunately, the finale will not air live on ESPN TV. However, it will be taped for later broadcast.