The first non-hold’em event of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) concluded with Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Omaha specialist James Chen emerged victorious from a field of 928 entries to secure his first career bracelet. Chen’s strong performance kept him at the top of the leaderboard throughout the tournament, and his momentum carried over to the final table.
“It was fun, cards were hitting. I made a lot of hands and it was great,” Chen shared with WSOP after his win.
In the heads-up battle, Chen defeated Lewis Brant to claim the top prize of $209,350, the biggest piece of the pie of the $1,238,880 prize pool. This win was especially significant for Chen, who came close to winning his first bracelet last year in this event’s $10,000 Championship version. He ultimately finished as a runner-up to Ben Lamb, who described his victory as “running hotter than the sun.”
“Last year, to come so close was disappointing, but this year, to get it done was amazing,” Chen remarked. Since 2017, Chen has accumulated 17 WSOP cashes totaling more than $600,000, all in Omaha events. “I play Omaha and the different variants. I primarily play cash games, but at The World Series, I usually just play tournaments.” This year’s $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship starts on Saturday, and we’re sure we’ll see Chen at the event as well.
In other notable, three WSOP bracelet holders were knocked out before the final table. Eric Baldwin fell in 19th place ($8,129), Benjamin Yu exited in 15th ($9,988), and 80-year-old three-time WSOP bracelet winner “Miami” John Cernuto was the unfortunate final table bubble man, after a series of all-ins.
Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
| 1 |  James Chen | United States | $209,350 |
| 2 | Lewis Brant | United States | $139,563 |
| 3 | Sovann Pen | United States | $97,445 |
| 4 | Adam Nattress | United States | $69,129 |
| 5 | Curtis Phelps | United States | $49,842 |
| 6 | Pearce Arnold | United States | $36,531 |
| 7 | Curtis Phelps | United States | $27,227 |
| 8 | Todd Dakake | United States | $20,640 |
| 9 | Jamie Kerstetter | United States | $15,920 |
100% up to $600 Bonus or $100 Free Tickets&Cash
Sign-up for the best GGPoker deal!
New Customers Only | 18+ | T&C Apply
Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Final Table Recap
A total of 22 players returned for the final third day of Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Adam Nattress, Aleksey Filatov, and James Chen were the top three stacks heading into the day, and all three made it to the final table. “Miami” John Cernuto, who started the day in eighth place, was knocked out by Lewis Brant just before the official final table.
Jamie Kerstetter squeezed into the final table with only two big bets. She went up against James Chen and Lewis Brant, but after a series of bets, Brant scooped up the main and side pot, eliminating Kerstetter.
Todd Dakake lost a big pot against Pearce Arnold, leaving him short. He managed to double up once but was soon knocked out by Sovann Pen. On a flop of 7♥4♦3♠, Dakake bet with 8♦8♠6♥5♥, and Pen raised. On turn 5♦, Dakake bet again, Pen raised, and Dakake was all-in. The river paired the board with 7♣, giving Pen a full house and the best low with A♠J♦4♥4♠.
Moments later, Lewis Brant put Curtis Phelps all-in preflop with A♥Q♠3♥2♥ against A♦Q♣Q♠2♠. The board ran out 5♣J♣3♠A♠9♦, giving Brant two pair and a low to scoop the pot.
It took almost four hours for the next elimination, which was Aleksey Filatov. He had been among the bigger chip stacks but returned from the dinner break with only two big bets. K♥7♠5♠4♦ was enough to put all his chips in on a board of 5♣7♦Q♦. Adam Nattress called with A♣Q♠J♥4♠, and a runner-runner two pair eliminated Filatov in sixth place.
Pearce Arnold, with even fewer chips than Filatov, managed to ladder up before he went all-in himself. With A♦9♣7♣2♣ on a K♠Q♦9♥ board, he was drawing thin against Chen’s A♥K♥Q♥J♠, and it was all over on the turn.
From then on, Chen dominated, winning pot after pot and accumulating over eighty percent of the chips. It seemed just a matter of time before he knocked out everyone. His first victim was Nattress, as the players got all-in on a 9♣3♦10♦ flop. Nattress tabled A♥10♣4♣2♥, and Chen showed K♦K♣8♦6♣. Chen was ahead, but the turn 4♠ put Nattress in the lead until a river K♠ gave the hand back to Chen.
Soon after, Pen was eliminated. After a series of bets, Chen put Pen all-in on a board 3♠7♣9♦9♠Q♠ with A♦9♣6♥4♦. Pen called his last bet on the river with A♥J♦10♦7♠, learning the bad news.
Heads-up started with a 10:1 chip lead for Chen over Lewis Brant. After winning a few pots, Brant managed to claw back to a less than 4:1 deficit, but it wasn’t enough. In the final hand, both players were all-in preflop. Brant held a better hand with A♦K♠Q♥10♦, but no low possibility, and the board 9♦7♣2♣7♦4♦ missed him entirely, while Chen scooped the pot with K♥7♠4♠3♦, earning his first World Series of Poker bracelet.
* Images and hands courtesy of WSOP.
100% up to $1,000 Deposit Bonus
Join our club for the best KKPoker deal!
New Customers Only | 18+ | T&C Apply
FREE $55 Ticket + 100% up to $1,200 Bonus
Sign-up for the best WPTGlobal deal!
New Customers Only | 18+ | T&C Apply
