$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 75/150
Players: 321
There are plenty of players worth knowing in today’s field, but we thought we’d single out a few we recommend keeping an eye on.
Ryan Laplante – What a year it has been for Laplante, who earlier this summer notched an astounding 12 cashes during the 2016 World Series of Poker. The best result? That would be a win in Event #12: $565 Pot-Limit Omaha for $190,328 and his first gold bracelet.
The day after his win at his bracelet ceremony, Laplante, an openly gay poker player, made a heartfelt speech in the wake of the worst mass shooting in American history where 49 people lost their lives inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.
“I am so proud to call myself a World Series of Poker champion,” Laplante said battling back tears. “I’m proud to call myself an openly gay man. I encourage all of you to be proud of who you are.”
Laplante, who has been playing since 2011, is already having a career year with $287,556 in winnings thus far in 2016. His previous best was $234,604 back in 2014.
Nick Yunis – Only two players from Chile have amassed more than $1 million in earnings. Nicolas Fierro sits atop the South American country’s all-time money list with more than $1.7 million in lifetime earnings, while Yunis is in second with $1,152,604.
Just a couple days ago, Yunis finished third in Event #21: $300 Charity Series of Poker, which earned him $2,000. Before that, he was in Vegas for the 2016 World Series of Poker where he put together six cashes, including a sixth-place finish in Event #9: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Championship for $56,202.
As far as his overall poker résumé is concerned, Yunis’ career-best score was $249,152 for winning the 2015 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic Event #12: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em. The only other six-figure score of his came right here at Seminole Hard Rock when he placed fifth in April’s WPT SHRP Showdown High Roller for $133,950.
Ari Engel – If you’ve spent any time on the tournament circuit, there’s no doubt you’ve crossed paths with Ari Engel. All he does is travel from stop to stop playing poker, and it seems all he does when there is win.
Engel has eight WSOP Circuit gold rings to his credit, which ties him with Valentin Vornicu and Chris Reslock, though that triumvirate trails Alex Masek’s by a single ring. While Engel is a Circuit beast, he established himself as a powerhouse earlier this year when he won the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event for $1,120,110.
Most recently – three days ago to be exact – Engel came out on top of the SHRPO Event #19: $1,650 No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up for $22,400. Only time will tell if Engel can capture another title in this event.