Alexei “Ha KoJleHu” Vandyshev Wins 2021 WSOP Online $5,000 Main Event

On Saturday, September 11th, Alexei “Ha KoJleHu” Vandyshev was able to outlast a massive field of 4,092 entries and win the 2021 World Series of Poker Online $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event. This event was not able to reach its $20,000,000 guarantee which has resulted in an overlay for the participants. With over 27 opening days and a Day 2 which saw 720 players return and try their luck, Vandyshev was still able to come out on top in a matter of hours, taking home $2,543,073 in winnings and his first WSOP gold bracelet. Read on for a full recap.

Final Table Recap

Vandyshev’s triumph in the 2021 World Series of Poker Online buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event is his largest career victory with $2,543,073 in prize money. The Russian’s previous big payday came all the way back in the 2016 World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event for $132,089. Let us take a closer look at how the final day unfolded. 

Brazil’s Edson Tsutsumi Jr came into the final table as a leader while Vandyshev was second in terms of the chip count. The first elimination was performed by Joe Serock when Dimitrios Farmakoulis went all-in with his A K against Joe’s pair of 6s, who had previously shoved from the button. The community cards did not improve the situation for any of the players and Farmakoulis was eliminated with $254,308 for the ninth-place finish. 

The next knockout was carried out by Vandyshev. The Russian was able to flop a top pair of kings with a nine kicker and went all-in against the top pair and a seven kicker of Dawid Smolka. Even though the turn provided Smolka with a potential straight draw, the river improved Vandyshev’s position allowing him to come out on top in this duel. Smolka was eliminated with $339,123 for the eight-place finish.

The next one to be knocked out was Renan Meneguetti as he became a victim of Tsutsumi Jr. Meneguetti three-bet shoved his 12,145,171 from the big blind with Q 10 to top Tustimi Jr’s button raise with his A 9. However, Renan Meneguaetti was unable to come out on top as Tsutsumi Jr won this hand with his ace-high by the river. With his second elimination, Brazil’s Tsutsumi Jr narrowed the field to six contenders. Meneguetti left the tournament with $452,229 in prize money for his seventh-place finish.

The next one to leave the 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event was Norway’s Espen Jorstad. Jorstad and his pocket kings went up against A Q of Nikita Kuznetsov. With a king on a flop, Jorstad was able to get a top set, however, it also gave Kuznetsov an opportunity for a straight draw. Unfortunately for Jorstad a 10 came out on the turn which completed Kuznetsov’s draw. A board pair on the river was the last hope for Espen Jorstad. Once again, Jorstad was out of luck as the 4 on the river changed nothing. Espen Jorstad was eliminated with $603,057 for his sixth-lace finish. What’s interesting is the fact that Jorstad was streaming his play on Twitch. Because of that, he has set a new record for the largest tournament payout earned while broadcasting on Twitch. The previous record was set by Doub Polk with $455,000.

The next elimination was once again carried out by Tsutsumi Jr. This time, Joe Serock was knocked out. This situation was almost identical to the duel between Joe Serock and Dimitrios Farmakoulis. However, this time, it was Serock who found himself on a receiving end. Serock went all-in with his A K against pocket eights of Tsutsumi Jr. Unfortunately for Serock, the community cards did not change the situation as Tsutsumi Jr’s pocket eights were able to last through the river. Joe Serock was eliminated with $804,190 for his fifth-place finish. This has become his second-largest career winning and brought his lifetime earnings over $4.9 million. 

The action with only four players remaining continues for about an hour before the next elimination. Once again, Tsutsumi Jr was able to execute a knockout. Christine Do went all-in on preflop with pocket sixes against Tsutsumi Jr’s pocket tens. However, Tsutsumi Jr was able to flop a set and later improve it to a full house leaving Christine Do no chances of victory. Christine Do was eliminated with $1,072,405 for the fourth-place finish.

With only three players remaining, Nikita Kuznetsov was the next participant to be knocked out, once again by Tsutsumi Jr. Nikita Kuznetsov mini-raised from the button with his A J and went all-in once Tsutsumi Jr three-bet-shoved from the big blind with his A 10. Even though Kuznetsov was ahead at the beginning, Tsutsumi was able to get a two pair on the flop thus taking the lead and coming out on top. Nikita Kuznetsov was eliminated with $1,430,073 for the third-place finish. 

Tsutsumi Jr entered the heads-up play with a 2:1 lead against Alexei Vandyshev thanks to his previous eliminations. However, the Russian players quickly gained more chips and even managed to take the lead 20 minutes before the final hand. Tsutsumi Jr raised to 5,250,000 from the button with his pocket sevens. Vandyshev responded with a three-bet to 24,907,000 with his pocket tens. Tsutsumi Jr went all-in and Vandyshev called. The community cards did not make any change in this duel as the board showed K J 2 3 J which solidified Vandyshev’s winning position. Tsutsumi Jr was eliminated with $1,907,035 for his second-place finish, while Alexei Vandyshev won the 2021 World Series of Poker $5,000 Main Event and took home an impressive $2,543,073.

It was evident that Alexei Vandyshev is a very confident poker player, especially when it came to the heads-up play. Before playing at the final table Vandyshev said the following:

“I think my strength as a poker player is that I have a built-in crystal ball, so I see it when people try to trick me. I think I can win because I don’t care at all about ICM. I will always find a way to bring home the bacon. I want the bracelet and I want it really badly. Other players should think twice because if they fight me, they will only prolong the suffering – the magic is with me.”

Here are the 2021 World Series of Poker $5,000 Main Event Results: