Happy Holidays Indeed: Joseph Hebert Wins WSOP Main Event Domestic Tournament

Written By Marc Meltzer on December 29, 2020Last Updated on January 21, 2021

Clearly, the coronavirus pandemic has made this year challenging for people across the globe.

However, many have adapted to the changes, including the World Series Of Poker, which had to be postponed and reinvented.

Live poker tournaments that spanned weeks at the Rio in Las Vegas were substituted with various online poker events in the US and abroad. After the completion of these online sections, a select group of players gathered at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino to participate in a few small live events.

And now, the Main Event is all set for its domestic vs. international heads-up showdown.

Joseph Hebert Wins the US WSOP Main Event

Sticking to the unique WSOP experience theme, the final table play lasted a mere four hours. Joseph Hebert, hailing from Metairie, Louisiana, began the US WSOP Main Event’s table as the leading chip holder.

Hebert emerged as the chip leader and champion of the 2020 WSOP US Main Event. He will be walking away with the grand prize of $1,553,256 and the WSOP trophy.

Additionally, he will compete head-to-head with international champion Damian Salas for a chance to win another $1 million, earn the gold bracelet, and claim the title of world champion.

Ron Jenkins of South El Monte, California, came in second and earned $1,002,340. Contrary to prior years, only Herbert and Jenkins left the WSOP Main Event final table with over $1 million.

Going into the heads-up play against Jenkins, Hebert had a 2-to-1 chip lead. However, there wasn’t much direct competition as Hebert took home the main event’s top prize with just one hand.

With an Ace-Queen in his hand, Hebert observed an ace appear on the flop, giving him the opportunity to triumph over Jenkins’ pocket queens and secure the title of US champion.

After participating in a $300 satellite tournament, Hebert qualified for the Main Event with a $10,000 buy-in.

WSOP gets off to a rocky start

The final table for the domestic Main Event took place on Monday evening. However, even before the card shuffling and dealing began, some drama unfolded for the first live WSOP tournament since the start of 2020.

Upeshka De Silva earned a spot at the final table during the online portion of the 2020 WSOP. However, due to a positive COVID-19 test, he was unable to participate. Despite this, he still received the ninth-place prize of $98,813.

The initial two days of the 2020 WSOP Main Event took place online at WSOP.com. Out of the 705 players, only nine made it to the live final table at the Rio. However, due to De Silva being disqualified, only eight players ended up participating.

The last eight players at the US WSOP Main Event final table competed for a grand prize of $1,553,256.

Salas emerged victorious from the international bracket of the GGPoker international WSOP tournament. On January 3, the two players will compete for a gold bracelet and $1 million.

2020 WSOP Final table prizes

This year, only two WSOP Main Event final table participants became millionaires. However, the rest of the US final table participants also performed reasonably well.

This is how the payouts were allocated:

  • Michael Cannon came in 3rd place and won $529,258.
  • Ryan Hagerty came in 4th place and won $387,130.
  • Ye “Tony” Yuan came in 5th place and won $286,963.
  • Harrison Dobin, in 6th place, won $215,222.
  • Shawn Stroke, who finished in 7th place, won $163,786.
  • Gershon Distenfeld finished in 8th place with $125,885.
  • Upeshka De Silva, who finished in 9th place, won $98,813.
Photo by AP / John Locher
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Marc Meltzer

Marc was raised in the challenging neighborhoods of South Bronx. His unique blend of being a fan of both the Yankees and Jets accounts for his frequently unconventional perspective. As a freelance writer and social media advisor, Marc’s work involves writing about steak, alcohol, gambling, and Las Vegas – a demanding task, but one that needs to be done.

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