The planned four-day $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship event unexpectedly stretched into a five-day marathon as the final two contenders, Mike Leah and Maksim Pisarenko, decided to pause their battle after (only) seven hours of (to be fair) a very intense play on Day 4.
It could be that they wanted a bit more spotlight for their epic World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet showdown, or maybe they just knew that this heads-up battle would be lengthy and arduous.
In the end, the lights shone the brightest for Maksim Pisarenko, who emerged victorious, claiming his first-ever WSOP bracelet and a massive $399,988 prize. This win marks the biggest achievement in the Russian player’s live tournament career.
Just a few months ago, Pisarenko showcased his prowess in mixed games by winning the $5,100 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event during PokerGO’s PGT Mixed Games series, defeating none other than Benny Glaser in heads-up play. It looks like this victory foreshadowed Pisarenko’s success in the WSOP Championship, bringing his total live tournament earnings close to $1.3 million.
On the other side of the coin, the quest for a second bracelet continues for Mike Leah. The Toronto native, who won his lone WSOP bracelet in 2014 during the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, has come agonizingly close several times since then. However, the elusive second bracelet remains just out of reach. For now.
Event #45: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 |  Maksim Pisarenko | Russia | $399,988 |
| 2 |  Mike Leah | Canada | $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 |
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Event #45: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Final Table Recap
From a starting field of 281 players, seventeen survived the first two days of action in Event #45: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. The official final table was reached during Day 3 when Christopher Chung was eliminated in tenth place by chip leader Steve Zolotow, who had a 48 big bet stack, with only Maria Ho close behind with 34 big bets.
Greg Mascio, by far the shortest stack, couldn’t stretch his three big bets much further than a couple of hands on the final table. He was all-in during a Stud Hi-Lo round on third street alongside three other players. Robert Wells showed the most aggression during the hand and made everyone fold by sixth street. Mascio started the hand with aces in the hole, but even that wasn’t good enough as Wells held rolled-up fives that stood.
Patrick Moulder struggled to gain momentum at the final table. He placed his final bet in Razz, starting with 9-5-A, and Maria Ho challenged him with 8-7-6. Moulder ended up with a jack, while Maria finished with an eight, taking the chips from Moulder.
Soon after, Wells exited in seventh place during the Stud round. Wells got it in on third street with pocket tens, while Ho and Mike Leah joined the pot. Ho folded on fifth street as Leah revealed pocket queens and a flush draw. Wells failed to improve, drawing dead on the sixth street.
Only one more player needed to bust before a player would bag and tag to continue on Day 4, and with much disappointment to her many fans, it was Maria Ho who bowed out in sixth place. She lost a big hand in the Limit round and put her last chip in under the gun in Omaha 8. Zolotow, Leah, and Benny Glaser saw the flop of 5♣6♥8♣. Glaser bet, Zolotow called, and Leah folded. The same bet-call action followed on the turn 6♣ and river 7♥. Glaser revealed A♥J♣4♣2♣ for the nut low and a flush, while Zolotow mucked his 8♥7♠5♥4♠. Ho’s A♦Q♥9♦3♦ was not enough to claim a share of the pot.
One of the best mixed games players in the world, Benny Glaser, bagged the most chips at the end of Day 3 with 22 big bets, followed closely by Maksim Pisarenko with 21. Lawrence Brandt and Steve Zolotow were in the middle with 12 and 9 big bets, respectively, while Mike Leah was barely holding on with only two big bets.
More than five hours of play on Day 4 were needed to get the first elimination, and it wasn’t one that you would expect as Glaser was the first to wave goodbye, eliminated by none other than Leah, who doubled up eight times over the course of the day. Leah opened the pot in the small blind, and Glaser defended. On an 8♦9♦6♣ flop, Leah made a continuation bet, Glaser raised, and Leah put him all-in. Glaser showed J♥9♣ for the top pair, while Leah had 10♦5♦ for a flush and straight draw. The turn brought a decisive A♦, ending the mixed GOAT run.
Zolotow managed to double up twice but couldn’t do it a third time against Leah. Stud Hi-Lo was the culprit as Zolotow couldn’t improve on his A♦10♦3♠ starting hand, while Leah’s A♠5♦A♥ held, sending the two-time WSOP bracelet winner out in fourth place.
Pisarenko left Brandt short in the Limit Hold’em round, and Leah delivered the final blow in Omaha Hi-Lo. All four bets went into the middle preflop, with Brandt showing A♥K♣Q♠5♠ and Leah tabling A♦9♠4♦4♦. The flop of 10♠2♣7♣ still left the pot up for grabs, but the turn 9♦ gave Leah a significant lead. The river 5♥ was essentially blank, reducing the field to just two players.
Both remaining players decided to postpone the final battle for the WSOP bracelet and $399,988 first-place prize to the next day. Pisarenko started with a slight chip lead, but both players exchanged the lead several times, each getting opportunities to close it out. Leah, however, found himself running on fumes. He managed to double up multiple times, but after four hours of heads-up play, he finally succumbed.
In a Seven Card Stud hand, Leah put all his chips in with split kings but was crushed by Pisarenko’s split aces with a king behind. Leah improved to two pair on sixth street with (K♦6♦)K♣Q♠2♦6♥, while Pisarenko hoped to pair his board showing (A♥K♠)A♣6♠2♣5♣. This is precisely what happened on seventh street as he caught a 5♦ for a higher two pair, clinching his first-ever World Series of Poker bracelet.
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* Images and hands courtesy of WSOP and PokerNews.
