Matthew Alsante Beats Top-Tier Field for Victory in $5,000 NL

Matthew Alsante has defeated a tough field of pros in the $5,000 NL Hold’em event to win a prize of $785,486.

The American swept aside Thai high-stakes professional Punnat Punsri heads-up to seize the title and his first gold bracelet.

Matthew Alsante
Matthew Alsante – Photo Credit: Regina Cortina

Alsante has taken a more serious approach to poker over the last decade but he is really only just starting to get going.

The best cash on his record before this event was only $4,822 — less than his buy-in two days ago.

To win this title, Alsante had to navigate through a field of 1,041 players and then deal with Punsri, a man with more than $16 million in live tournament winnings.

A great achievement that proves the dream is still alive for any aspiring poker players who are interested in trying out the game.

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Final Action

After nine levels, the returning 88 players had reduced to only nine with a prize of $62,945 guaranteed.

No doubt feeling that the stars had aligned, Matthew Alsante started the final table stage with a bang.

He quickly sent home both Patrick Leonard and Japan’s Hirokazu Kobayashi in quick time to give himself a chance of building a commanding stack.

And he soon got his wish. After Jon Vallinas and Ramin Hajiyev left the playing hall to leave the tournament four-handed, Alsante doubled up to leave himself sat with three quarters of the chips in play.

Punnat Punsri
Punnat Punsri – Photo Credit: Rachel Kay Winter

He maintained this advantage going into heads-up play against Punsri but a key hand threatened to undo all of his hard work.

Getting sticky with second pair all-in, Alsante was up against his opponent’s top pair and facing a ruiness situation. However, a miracle turn card to give him two pair flipped the script and gave him a lead he would never lose.

Event #87: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

PlaceNameCountryPrize (USD)
1Matthew AlsanteUnited States$785,486
2Punnat PunsriThailand$523,648
3Philip WiszowatyUnited States$372,446
4Oleg VasylchenkoUkraine$268,407
5Ramin HajiyevAzerbaijan$196,024
6Jon VallinasSpain$145,107
7Hirokazu KobayashiJapan$108,895
8Patrick LeonardUnited Kingdom$82,862
9Ueberton De AquinoBrazil$62,945

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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.
Filed Under: WSOP 2024 Live Poker News Poker News

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