Maksim Pisarenko Holds Slight Lead Over Mike Leah as H.O.R.S.E. Championship Pauses
Day 4 has been unexpectedly suspended as Mike Leah and Maksim Pisarenko agreed to bag up and resume their battle for the bracelet at 10 a.m. local time on Friday in Event #45: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship (8-Handed).
Pisarenko ended the day with 5,720,000 in chips to give him a slight lead over Leah, who bagged up 5,145,000. In addition to the bracelet, they will be competing for the $399,988 first-place prize at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Leah has over $8 million in live-tournament earnings and holds one WSOP bracelet that he won a decade ago in the Asia-Pacific variant. In addition to his bracelet, the grizzled poker veteran holds six circuit rings.
Pisarenko has live-tournament cashes dating back to 2015 and, while he does not hold a WSOP bracelet, Pisarenko won a PokerGO Tour $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. event earlier this year for $117,450. The Russian pro boasts live-tournament earnings of over $800,000 — including a 13th-place finish in the Limit Stud Championship just one week ago.
Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $399,988 | ||
| 2 | $266,658 | ||
| 3 | Lawrence Brandt | United States | $183,049 |
| 4 | Steve Zolotow | United States | $128,863 |
| 5 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | $93,094 |
| 6 | Maria Ho | United States | $69,063 |
| 7 | Robert Wells | United Kingdom | $52,651 |
| 8 | Patrick Moulder | United States | $41,281 |
| 9 | Greg Mascio | United States | $27,694 |
Day 4 Action
Mike Leah entered as the short stack of the final five players, but the resilient Canadian pro continued to prove his grit by doubling up multiple times in quick succession at the start of play. At one point, Leah was one card away from elimination in Stud Hi-Lo, but ended up peeling a six to quadruple up. Amazingly, Leah doubled up no fewer than eight times in the first couple of levels.
Unexpectedly, it was five-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser who found himself on the short stack despite coming in as the chip leader and arguably the favorite to win. Glaser lost more than his fair share of hands at showdown, including a hand wherein Leah scooped a huge pot from Glaser and Steve Zolotow. Glaser ultimately fell to Leah in Limit Hold’em after getting all in with top pair and getting outdrawn by Leah’s flush.
Zolotow made a valiant effort and managed to double up on three separate occasions four-handed. However, “The Bald Eagle” still made his exit in fourth place against Leah, who claimed his second knockout against Zolotow in a hand of Stud Hi-Lo. This event marked Zolotow’s second final table at the 2024 WSOP as Zolotow finished in third place in Event #18 just a couple weeks ago.
Two-time bracelet winner Lawrence Brandt followed Zolotow out the door not long after losing a big hand in Limit Hold’em to Pisarenko. Brandt committed the rest of his chips in a hand of Omaha against Leah, but Leah’s knockout streak continued after making a pair of nines against Brandt’s ace-king-queen-five.
Play will resume on Level 27 with 18:47 left on the clock when Leah and Pisarenko come back to play. At that time, the tournament will continue until a champion is decided.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we bring you the thrilling conclusion of the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E championship!