Aram Zobian Ends Winless Streak With a $292,800 Score in Event #9: $15,000 NLH at US Poker Open

How It Started

Six players returned to play for it all. As mentioned, Zobian topped the counts. Brandon Wilson was his nearest challenger. Chino Rheem, Marius Gierse, Nicholas Seward, and Clemen Deng all had work to do to catch Zobian and Wilson at the top of the counts. Here are the counts when play resumed with the blinds at 20,000/40,000.

Event #9 Final Table Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Aram Zobian		2,665,000
2	Brandon Wilson		2,535,000
3	Chino Rheem		825,000
4	Marius Gierse		560,000
5	Nicholas Seward		550,000
6	Clemen Deng		495,000

Early Doubles and Elimination

Rheem was the first player all in and at risk. He had A J versus the 3 3 of Wilson. Rheem binked a jack on the turn of the 8 K Q J 5 runout, securing a crucial double-up. It was then Seward’s turn to double. He left Deng short as his 6 6 failed to hold against Sewards A 4 across the 9 4 7 A 2 runout. Deng’s final chips then went to Seward; this time, the holdings were reversed. Deng had A 7 , and Seward had a pair with 9 9 . Seward spiked a full house on the turn across K 8 8 9 6 .

Sewards newly acquired chips partly went to Gierse, again in a preflop all-in. Seward had 2 2 against the Austrians K 10 . The ducks couldn’t stay afloat across the king-high K Q J J 5 board. Gierse then doubled again, making a set of aces against Zobian, who had ace-five off suit. Gierse chips found the middle on the turn of the 4 Q A 10 board, and the 2 changed nothing as Zobian was drawing dead. The last of Sewards’ stack went to Rheem. The former moved all in from the button for just over 7 big blinds with K Q , and Rheem called as the covering stack with 9 9 . The A 2 5 A 6 gave Rheem two pair and left Seward chipless.

Gierse Gone, Rheem Removed

Having lost a decent chunk of his stack to Wilson, who rivered a king to best Gierse’s ace-high, Gierse moved all in from the small blind for 19 big blinds. Zobian made the call in the big blind. Gierse’s A Q was ahead preflop against the A 9 of Zobian. However, the 10 J 8 Q J provided the latter with a straight to take play three-handed. Rheem was nearing Zobian at the top of the counts, before taking the lead courtesy of Wilson rivering a straight to take chips from Zobian. However, he mistimed a jam on the turn of 8 2 4 Q . Rheem bet the flop with A 4 before moving all in against Wilson, who had Q 6 in a blind v blind confrontation. At this stage, he was covered, and the J offered no relief for the Mixed Game specialist.

Heads-Up

With that pot, Wilson took the chiplead into heads-up play. He instantly put further daylight between himself and Zobian, winning two sizeable pots. Zobian didn’t lie down and showed resilience against a tough opponent. He chipped back up, taking down pots without showdown, before getting paid with two pair in a limped pot. The first hand into Zobian’s chipleadership, Wilson limped in with A 9 . Zobian jammed K 6 and Wilson snap-called. Wilson didn’t stay ahead for long, as Zobian made two pair across the 2 9 K J 6 runout to secure the victory.

Zobian holds charity work close to his heart. He co-founded the Natna Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization to help children affected by conflict in Ethiopia. The charity is aiding the Tigray region in Ethiopia, and is working on helping the region have access to schools, food and hygiene packages, as well as safe spaces for arts and sports. A very worthy cause.

What’s Next?

The final event, Event #10 $25,000 NLH, will wrap up the US Poker Open tomorrow. Returning for the final Day 2 will be a field of seven, led by David Coleman. Kristen Foxen is hot on his heels for her second title of the event in second place. Richard Green, Darren Elias, Jesse Lonis, Cherish Andrews and Ebony Kenney make up the chasing pack. Andrews will also be looking for a second title, and Kenney is the clear short stack. Below are the counts.

Event #10: $25,000 NLHE Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	David Coleman		1,945,000	78
2	Kristen Foxen		1,760,000	70
3	Richard Green		1,250,000	50
4	Darren Elias		775,000	31
5	Jesse Lonis		740,000	30
6	Cherish Andrews		545,000	22
7	Ebony Kenney		185,000	7.5

That’s all for now, folks. Until next time.