Antonio Galiana Makes it Two Bracelets After Taking Down $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em

The Spaniard came into the fourth and final day with only four rivals for the title and bracelet. Over the first three days a field of 558 players came together to build a prize pool of $3,720,960. The winner would receive a cool $582,008.

Galiana was beaming after his win and couldn’t wait to tell reporters just how hard he has worked over the last year.

“Second bracelet, I feel amazing… I have nothing else to say but I have to come back to reality. There was no point I really thought I was winning it… but after the bluff in heads-up — when he folded — I said, ‘Okay, now we’re even.’ 

“Heads-up is one of my specialties in poker. This year, I started coaching with a genius called Giuseppe Gallo. We worked hundreds of hours together. 

“When I came back, I was four or five times better than last year. Adopting a GTO-centric approach, he emphasised preparation, discipline, and robotic precision in decision-making. 

“We don’t mind if the opponent bluffs or not — we’re trying to emulate the robot as much as we can. That’s what we worked for. At the end of the day, to play this properly, you have to know all the theory.”

What really makes Galiana’s results all the more impressive is the fact that he only switched to tournaments a couple of years ago.

Last year he picked up his maiden bracelet in a similar $2,500 NL hold’em event and has been making swift progress ever since.

Action Recap

Day 4 started with an average stack of 50 big blinds, meaning there was not going to be any major rush for the biggest payouts.

Galiana started with a slim lead and he clearly wasn’t afraid to kick off the day mixing it up with anyone at his table. This backfired spectacularly when he clashed with Frederic Normand, his heads-up opponent, and ended up at the bottom of the chip counts.

Maintaining a cool, calm, and composed demeanor, Galiana kept his head and built his stack back up before taking back the lead after winning a monster pot against Renji Mao.

By the time he was squaring up against Normand heads-up, Galiana had frittered away much of his stack and he was once again at a significant disadvantage. With that in mind, he set about grinding his way back into contention for the win steadily, rather than going for bust.

It was clear where the bracelet was heading when Galiana bullied Normand off the best hand after a ten-minute think when he exclaimed “I don’t know what to do,” and had the clock called on him.

Event #3: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

Dan Heimiller Wins Third WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 Seven Card Stud

The other bracelets won on Day 5 were Caleb Furth and Dan Heimiller who picked up his career third in Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud.

The American outlasted a field of 377 entries to snatch the top prize of $106,840 after defeating legendary mixed games player David Bach and ending an 11-year wait for his bracelet hat trick.

When asked what his secret to success was, Heimiller replied:

“Stubbornness. I wouldn’t quit poker when I should have. I could have quit a long time ago, but I was persistent.

“It looked like he was coming back for a while, so it was a little scary. And it looked like it was going to take a very long time. But fortunately, I had a lot more luck than him. I think all day, I was catching two pair on sixth or seventh street. I was just so damn lucky.”

Event #6: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Final Table Results

Mark Patrickson

Professional Poker Journalist

Mark Patrickson is a poker journalist with over ten years of experience. He writes for VIP-Grinders.com, sharing his deep knowledge of poker. He creates interesting content about poker strategy, trends, and news for poker fans worldwide. [more]