Earlier this morning, Richard Ashby finished fourth in Event #11's $10,000 Omaha High-Low Championship. He took away $165,216 in prize money, which marked Black Belt Poker's first cash at the 2011 World Series of Poker.
Despite making his fifth final table appearance, Richard will be disappointed with the final result. He started the day fourth in chips, and after eliminating the likes of Freddy Deeb, Michael Chow and Perry Green en route to the final table, he took out overnight chip leader Guillaume Rivet to give himself a stack of 2.4 million with just six remaining. His nearest competitor had 1.3.
Unfortunately, Lady Luck turned her back on Richard at the vital time, as the Black Belt Poker pro doubled up George Lind and was quartered by Russian Viacheslav Zhukov. A few hands later, Richard's descent was complete as he found himself all in with 2c-4h-5d-6s versus Ah-2h-5c-Qd on the turn of a 2d-8c-7d-4c board. Despite holding the low for half the pot, the river came a cruel Ac to seal Richard's fate.
This was the third Championship event of the Series so far after the Heads-Up and Pot Limit, and managed to attract a credible field of 202, thus creating a $1,898,800 prize pool and $465,216 first prize. Richard's finish elevated his total WSOP winnings to over the three-quarter million mark. Josh Arieh, Mike Sexton, Shaun Deeb and Jason Mercier also made the money.
Richard was vying for his second bracelet after winning a Seven-Card Stud event last year for $140,467. Just over a week later, he added a further $378,027 when he finished second in the $10,000 HORSE Championship. A repeat performance, however, wasn't to be, but it marked an incredible start for Richard who was playing in his first event since arriving only a few days ago.
Richard's final table appearance forms a promising sign for next Wednesday's 'Slice of the Action' winners. Every month we host an Orange Belt Freeroll in which players win a share of a Black Belt in a preselected tournament; next week's Freeroll winners will earn a slice of Richard's action in the $10,000 PLO Championship on June 24. The Freeroll starts at 8pm, so don't miss out on your chance to share in the glory.
Before Richard jetted off to Sin City, we interviewed him at his home at Watford. In the interview, Richard talked about his hopes for his opening event, as well as his thoughts on a number of other topics such as his WSOP predictions, how he prepares for the two-month stint, and his feelings when he held aloft that bracelet gold. Click here to view the full interview.
Click here for a the full schedule and results for the 2011 WSOP.
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