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There is a short list of players who are considered to be the best in the world without a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Today, one of those names can be crossed off after Eric Wasserson cemented his mark in poker history by winning Event #5: $25,000 Dealers Choice Championship here at the World Series of Poker Paradise, along with $353,340 in prize money.

“It is a monkey off of my back for sure,” Wasserson explained to PokerNews after claiming the most important title of his career.

From a starting field of 49 entries, many of whom are considered to be the finest mixed game players in the world, just four returned to Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas for an unscheduled Day 3. It would take an additional four hours of action, but Wasserson hoisted the bracelet against a stacked lineup once the dust settled.

Event #5: $25,000 Dealers Choice Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

Wasserson’s career has been filled with goalpost moments. He has two second-place finishes and three third-place finishes in bracelet events, so he was able to breathe a sigh of relief after finally getting the job done.

“I’ve been trying to win a bracelet for a long time,” Wasserson admitted. “It feels really good to finally get it done. I can’t even explain the feeling.”

Wasserson was at a final table filled with opponents that he considers close friends, making the experience much more enjoyable.

“We all have a good rapport and have played tons of hands with each other over the years,” explained Wasserson. “We can make fun of each other and needle so it creates a more fun environment than a normal final table.”

Wasserson entered Day 3 with the chip lead and held the advantage over his heads-up opponent Josh Arieh for the entirety of the match. Wasserson had Arieh on the ropes several times but he kept fighting back, however Wasserson was able to keep his composure.

“You just have to focus on each hand as a new situation. I try to focus on each spot and make good decisions every time. It’s important to keep a good mentality because it’s never going to be easy.”

Wasserson was also quick to praise his rail. A number of poker royalty were in attendance to witness the heads-up battle, which added tremendously to the atmosphere.

“Thanks to everyone that was on my rail–Nick Schulman, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Dan Shak. All of them have played a part in my poker journey. So thanks to all of them and to my parents as well.”

The Day’s Action

Wasserson came into four-handed play today with the chip lead, followed by Daniel Zack, Arieh, and Mike Gorodinsky. The stacks were relatively short, but the world-class precision of the players was shown as no one was willing to budge.

An hour into play, the first casualty of the day was Zack. He would jam the button with a two-card nine draw in No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw and was called by the pat jack of Gorodinsky. Zack would catch a queen on the end to hit the rail in fourth.

The stacks would begin to even out until a stretch of bad cards left Gorodinsky as the short stack. He would jam over an Arieh open in Pot-Limit Omaha with ace-queen-six-duece double suited and was called by the ten-ten-seven-seven of Arieh who made a full house on the turn to eliminate Gorodinsky in third.

Wasserson entered heads-up play with the chip lead and gained momentum early. Thirty minutes into the match, Arieh was at-risk in a hand of No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw with an eight draw against the pat jack-ten of Wasserson. Arieh would catch a nine on the draw to double as the stacks became even.

Wasserson would slowly build his chip lead again until Arieh became short-stacked and selected No-Limit Hold’em as the game. Arieh would find a double before being at risk again shortly after. Arieh limped the button with ace-queen and snap-called after Wasserson jammed with queen-jack. However, a jack fell on the turn, and Arieh failed to improve as Wasserson and company celebrated the victory.

That does it for PokerNews’s coverage of Event #5: $25,000 Dealers Choice Championship here at the World Series of Poker Paradise. Stay tuned as we bring you all the action from the Main Event starting December 12.

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