On Friday night, William Kopp bested a 1,125-player field and defeated Michael Rodrigues heads up in a one-sided match to claim his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet and the $259,549 first-place prize in Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.
The Ohio native added to his $1 million in career-tournament earnings and joined his sister, Katie Kopp, who won the 2022 Casino Employees Event, as a WSOP bracelet winner. Today’s victory marks Kopp’s eighth cash of the series and his biggest cash to date.
“It feels really good, especially since my best friend won a bracelet this year and my sister won one last year,” Kopp said when asked how he felt about his victory.
Kopp attributes part of his success to having a strong poker family.
“When we were growing up we were always about poker. We’re pretty close…me, my sister, and my mom. We all talk poker and help make each other better,” Kopp said.
…a pair of lucky socks may also have helped, according to Kopp.
“It’s the first time I wore my lucky socks in two years,” Kopp explained. “The last time I wore them I had a big score too.”
2023 WSOP Event #66 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Kopp | United States | $259,549 |
| 2 | Michael Rodrigues | Portugal | $160,418 |
| 3 | Mike Linster | United States | $113,991 |
| 4 | Sterling Savill | United States | $82,104 |
| 5 | Joseph McCarthy | United States | $59,953 |
| 6 | Loni Hui | United States | $44,391 |
| 7 | John Goyette | United States | $33,335 |
| 8 | Anthony Zinno | United States | $25,394 |
| 9 | Aaron Wallace | United States | $19,627 |
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Action of The Day
Day 3 began with a flurry of double-ups that saw Mike Linster, Anthony Zinno, and Philipp Krieger all double up through Kopp — more than halving his stack from the start of play. The escalating blinds kept forcing the action, however, and after Jorge Leon was knocked out early, Kopp was able to quickly rebound through the eliminations of both Krieger and Yuval Bronshtein to retake the chip lead and reduce the field down to a final table.
Wallace fell in ninth place in short order after getting his aces cracked by Kopp and Zinno quickly followed suit after bricking with a pair and a flush draw against Kopp’s top pair.
Despite entering the final table second in chips, John Goyette hit a bad run that saw both Linster and Joseph McCarthy double up through him to leave him short-stacked. Goyette would end up running into McCarthy’s aces and failing to improve to bow out in seventh place.
McCarthy and two-time bracelet winner Loni Hui, who had been nursing short stacks for much of the day, managed to hold on for multiple pay jumps before exiting in sixth and fifth place respectively.
Four-handed play saw momentum shift massively in Rodrigues’ favor after he managed to double through Kopp and take the chip lead. Rodrigues continued his ascension by eliminating Sterling Savill in fourth place, at which point Rodrigues held more than half the chips in play.
Kopp wouldn’t be denied, however, as he gained a much-needed chip boost after knocking Linster out in third in a pot where Linster’s low was counterfeited by a running two pair that left him second best.
Kopp began his heads-up duel against Rodrigues with a fairly significant chip deficit but was quickly able to grind Rodrigues’ stack down with relentless aggression. A key turning point occurred when Kopp quartered Rodrigues with a six-high straight and nut low — giving Kopp an over two-to-one chip advantage. Just a few hands later, Rodrigues made his last stand with a flopped flush draw that ended up bricking out against Kopp’s Broadway straight to end the tournament.
That’s a wrap for PokerNews coverage of Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better here at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Be sure to check out our live-reporting hub for continuing coverage of the 2023 World Series of Poker.
In this Series
- 1 Peter Thai Wins First Bracelet of the 2023 WSOP: Event #1: $500 Casino Employees ($75,535)
- 2 Alexandre Vuilleumier Captures 2023 WSOP Event #2: $25K High Roller Title
- 3 Cody “1eggadaymike” Bell Wins WSOP Bracelet and $87,665 in the Triple Treys Summer Tip Off
- 4 Michael Moncek Wins Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha for $534,499
- 5 Chad Eveslage Steamrolls to Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #5: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice (6-Handed) ($131,879)
- 6 Ronnie Day Reigns Supreme in Event #4: Tournament of Champions ($200,000)
- 7 Vadim Shlez Takes Down Event #7: $1,500 Limit Hold’em For $146,835
- 8 Chanracy Khun Wins Event #8: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship
- 9 Nick Schulman Wins Event #9: Seven Card Stud For Fourth WSOP Bracelet ($110,800)
- 10 Ian “IanMa” Matakis Wins Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder for $120,686
- 11 Ryan “dna2rna” Hughes Wins Third Bracelet, Defeats Shaun “fortnite” Deeb in Online Battle
- 12 Tyler Brown Crowned Champion of Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions ($1,000,000)
- 13 Kenneth O’Donnell Wins Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack For $351,098
- 14 The Chosen One: Chad Eveslage Wins Third Bracelet in the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship
- 15 Estes Nabs Second WSOP MI Online Bracelet; Kershaw Victorious in First PA Event
- 16 Joseph Altomonte Returns to Poker With a Bang; Rakes in $217,102 and a WSOP Bracelet
- 17 Jeremy Eyer Defeats Felipe Ramos in Gruelling Heads Up Duel for $5K Freezeout Title ($649,550)
- 18 Danny “jackdaniels1” Wong Finally Bags WSOP Bracelet After 13 Hour Day
- 19 Isaac Haxton Removes Name from “Best Without a Bracelet” List w/ $25K High Roller Win
- 20 Brian Yoon Wins 5th WSOP Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship
- 21 Brazil Out in Force for Reis’ First Bracelet in $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
- 22 Three Isn’t a Crowd for Jim Collopy Who Wins His Third WSOP Bracelet
- 23 Valentino Konakchiev Denies Andres Korn a Second Bracelet in $2.5K NLHE Freezeout
- 24 Michael Rodrigues Becomes First Badugi Champion in Event #20: $1,500 Badugi
- 25 Stephen Nahm Toasts To His Victory in Event #21: $1k Pot-Limit Omaha
- 26 Fifth Bracelet for Josh Arieh in Event #22: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship for $316,226
- 27 Leon Sturm Bests Bill Klein in Event #23: $50,000 High Roller ($1,546,024)
- 28 Two Big Bets and a Chair – David “ODB” Baker Fights Back from the Felt to Win His Third Bracelet
- 29 Jason Simon Becomes WSOP’s First Gladiator of Poker for $499,852
- 30 Renji Mao’s Deepstack Aggression Earns Him First WSOP Bracelet ($402,588)
- 31 Belyalovsky Defeats 2020 WSOP Online Domestic Main Event Champion Hebert
- 32 12 Year Drought Ends: Ben Lamb Runs “Hotter Than the Sun” to Win 2nd WSOP Gold Bracelet
- 33 Six is Sweet For Shaun Deeb in Event #27: $1,500 Eight Game Mix
- 34 Jans Arends Tops Star-Studded Final Table to Win $100K High Roller for $2,576,729
- 35 Benjamin Ector Busts Seven Straight to Win Event #28: $1,500 NLH Freezeout ($406,403)
- 36 Houston Firefighter Scott Dulaney Extinguishes the Opposition in Event #31 of 2023 WSOP
- 37 Cash Game Specialist Mark Ioli Wins First WSOP Bracelet for $558,266
- 38 John Monnette Joins Five-Timers Club With $1,500 Triple Draw WSOP Title
- 39 Sean Troha Wins 2nd WSOP Bracelet; Takes Down Event #34: $1,500 PLO for $298,192
- 40 “It’s Gonna Be Tough for You” Says Jerry Wong on Way to Winning 1st WSOP Bracelet
- 41 Chris Klodnicki Returns to WSOP, Wins $10,000 NLH Secret Bounty for 2nd Career Bracelet
- 42 Ryutaro Suzuki Becomes Japan’s Mixed-Game Master in Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix
- 43 Yuan Li Adds Name to List of 2023 WSOP Bracelet Winners after $2K NLHE Triumph ($524,777)
- 44 Benny Glaser Joins Five-Timers Club with Win in Event #38: $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
- 45 Morgan Magee & Josh Dempsey Lay Claim to WSOP Online Bracelets in MI & PA
- 46 “suited_h13” Last One Standing in WSOP Online Event #6: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo ($134,527)
- 47 Chris Brewer Wins $250k Super High Roller and First Bracelet ($5,293,556)
- 48 Joe “jimjam01” Serock Wins 2023 WSOP Online Event #7: $500 PLO 6-Max ($93,911)
- 49 “I’ve Got It!” Qiang Xu Wins First Bracelet in $800 Deepstack ($339,033)
- 50 Scott Abrams Becomes Inaugural Big O Champion for $315,203
- 51 Braxton Dunaway Wins Monster Stack for $1,162,681; Now Headed to Son’s College World Series
- 52 Jeremy “ChipChecka” Ausmus Claims Sixth Bracelet in Online Event #8: $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em
- 53 Jay Lockett Turns $500 into $262,526 and a Bracelet at the 2023 WSOP
- 54 Braxton Dunaway Wins Monster Stack for $1,162,681; Now Headed to Son’s College World Series
- 55 William Leffingwell Brings A Bracelet Home to Houston a Week After His Friend Did the Same!
- 56 Pengfei Wang Plays First Tournament Ever; Wins $270,700 in Event #49: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty
- 57 Brian Rast Wins $50,000 Poker Players Championship For the Third Time ($1,324,747)
- 58 Yang Zhang Captures 2023 WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Title ($717,879)
- 59 Yuri Dzivielevski Wins Third Bracelet and $207,678 in Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
- 60 Poker Player Proposes to Girlfriend After Winning WSOP Bracelet & $1,309,232
- 61 Team Savakinas Reign Supreme in WSOP Tag Team Event ($190,662)
- 62 Nick Pupillo Wins First Bracelet In $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw for $181,978
- 63 Justin Vaysman & Rudy Gavaldon Win WSOP Online Bracelets in Pennsylvania & Michigan
- 64 Ryan “GoFeltaFish2” Eriquezzo Multitasks His Way to His Third WSOP Bracelet
- 65 Lonnie Hallett Defeats Billy Baxter Heads-Up to Win 2023 WSOP Seniors Championship ($765,731)
- 66 Mike Gorodinsky Blazes Down the Home Stretch to Win $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship ($422,747)
- 67 Marcin Horecki Denies Mike Matusow as he Captures Poland’s First-Ever Live WSOP Bracelet
- 68 Retired Fireman Steven Genovese Climbs a Different Type of Ladder to Take Home a WSOP Bracelet!
- 69 Jason Daly Steamrolls Final Table of Event #58: $3,000 Limit Hold’em to Win First WSOP Bracelet
- 70 Millionaire Maker Winner Pavel Plesuv Becomes Moldova’s First WSOP Champion ($1,201,564)
- 71 Ka Kwan Lau Finds Redemption in $25K PLO High Roller ($2,294,756)
- 72 WSOP Online Pennsylvania & Michigan: Christopher Nunez & David Ferus Find Mystery Bounty Success
- 73 Calm, Collected, and Deadly: Robert Schulz Becomes a WSOP Champion
- 74 Jason Mercier Defeats Mike Watson to Capture Sixth WSOP Bracelet
- 75 Brazil’s Gabriel Schroeder Bad Beats Andy Black on Way to Super Turbo Bounty Bracelet ($228,632)
- 76 Austria’s Klaus Ilk Wins 2023 WSOP Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors for $371,603
- 77 “Can’t Stop Kopp!” William Kopp Wins Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better ($259,549)