Event #75: $1,000+111 Little One for One Drop No-Limit Hold'em
Day 5 Completed
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #75: $1,000+111 Little One for One Drop No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 5
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$1,111
Prize Pool
$5,623,200
Entries
6,246
Level
44
Blinds
1,500,000 / 3,000,000
Ante
3,000,000
Level 44
: 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's James Anderson, 33, has become the winner of the 2019 World Series of Poker Event #75: $1,000+111 Little One for One Drop No-Limit Hold'em by outlasting a record-setting field of 6,246 to claim his first WSOP gold bracelet and a first-place prize of $690,686. Anderson defeated Brazil's Fernando Karam heads-up during an unscheduled extra day, denying the successful Brazilians their third WSOP bracelet of the summer.
Anderson is no stranger to success himself, surpassing $2 million in lifetime winnings on The Hendon Mob with the biggest score of his career. His poker resumé already boasts three earlier six-figure scores, but a sizable four-year cashless drought sticks out.
“I just started playing again a couple of months ago so this one definitely feels good,” he said. “I wanted to get away from the game for a little bit. I was grinding really hard and wanted to take a little break from it. I feel good now. My mind is a lot fresher now, I have a different perspective, and hopefully, it continues. It’s a good start."
Ever since its inception in 2013, The Little One for One Drop has been one of the most popular events on the WSOP calendar, attracting a wide range of poker enthusiasts to build bumper fields of over 4,000 runners year on year. This year, the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino was packed to the brim with 6,246 entrants, dwarfing the previous record of 4,756 players that showed up during the event's inaugural year in 2013 won by Brian Yoon.
Regardless of skill, overcoming such a monstrous field full with mine traps along the way is a challenge alone, and a dose of good fortune along the way is essential to reach the pinnacle of poker glory.
"It was a long grind and I just ran super hot at the final table, nothing much I can say about that," a modest Anderson admitted to PokerNews shortly after his victory. "I'm not really realizing right now but it's going to hit me later for sure."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Anderson | United States | $690,686 |
| 2 | Fernando Karam | Brazil | $426,543 |
| 3 | Marco Guibert | Argentina | $316,233 |
| 4 | Liran Betito | Israel | $236,151 |
| 5 | Shalom Elharar | United States | $177,639 |
| 6 | Nils Tolpingrud | United States | $134,608 |
| 7 | Mark Strodl | United States | $102,757 |
| 8 | Ying Fu | China | $79,029 |
| 9 | Robert Mather | United States | $61,238 |
Parlaying his initial investment of $1,000 — plus the additional $111 going straight to the One Drop Foundation — into a massive score $690,686 must be cause for celebration. However, there's no Sin City night of debauchery in store for the Pennsylvanian, who admitted that despite his eventual victory, the summer has been making him a bit weary.
"I have a flight tonight actually, I'm from Pittsburgh. I'm really ready to go home. I've been in Vegas for too long already so I'm going to celebrate back home," he said, before explaining how taking time away from the felt keeps him fresh.
“It’s just good to come in with a fresh mind. You really lose perspective when you’re just playing tournaments all the time, every day. You can lose confidence very easily. I can go and play the next tournament and lose and I’ll think I’m the worst player in the world even after I win this.”
“You just have to really keep that in mind, you’re going to gain and lose confidence every time you play.”
Weariness or not, Anderson came prepared for the biggest final table of his career. He came, saw, and conquered on an extra, unscheduled fifth day that saw five players returning at noon local time. At the start of the day, it was a pair of animated Israeli's hogging the spotlight with their antics. Shalom Elharar in particular, an Israeli native who lives in Miami, Florida, stood out as the most invested of the bunch, sweating his fellow Israeli Liran Betito's all-ins vicariously as if they were his own, and seemingly giving up a piece of his soul every time he had to surrender a hand.
However, it wasn't going to be the year of Israel, as both Elharar and Benito ended up becoming the first two players to hit the rail. Elharar lost a race with pocket tens against Marco Guibert's ace-king, while Benito never recovered from a big all-in where Anderson spiked a wheel on the turn that left Benito on fumes.
Three-handed action between Anderson, Karam, and Guibert lasted for several hours, with each of the three trading the chip lead back and forth. Ultimately, it was Guibert who became the first to bow out from the trio. Getting it in with pocket jacks preflop, Guibert's outlook against Anderson's ace-six was great on the onset, but once again, the American ended up with a straight to send the Argentinian to the rail in third.
Heads-up, one fortuitous hand turned the tables on Karam, who had been leading throughout most of the final table. Holding ace-six of spades, Anderson four-bet shoved all-in preflop and Karam beat him to the pot with the ace-queen. A nine-high rainbow flop with one spade brought grim prospects for the American, but two more spades fell on turn and river to double up.
Much to the dismay of the Brazilian rail, the river came the queen of spades, pairing Karam's queen but handing Anderson the backdoor flush to scoop. For several seconds, however, their raucous celebrations echoed loudly throughout the Amazon room, all under the impressing that their country brought home their third piece of hardware for the summer. Instead, reality sunk in like a brick when the dealer casually pointed out Anderson had a flush, and the two tango'd on.
Sporting a 2:1 lead after the runner-runner, Anderson never looked back and meticulously worked his opponent down to scraps before finishing him off with king-five against queen-four to win it all.
In the aftermath, Anderson had nothing but kind words to say about his final challenger.
"I wasn't really confident, he was playing really good actually at the start and I got really lucky on him. But that's all it takes, one hand to get the momentum."
Little One for One Drop History
| Year | Winner | Country | First prize | Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Brian?Yoon | United States | $663,727 | 4,756 entries |
| 2014 | Igor?Dubinsky | Ukraine | $637,539 | 4,496 entries |
| 2015 | Paul?Hoefer | Germany | $645,969 | 4,555 entries |
| 2016 | Michael?Tureniec | Sweden | $525,520 | 4,360 entries |
| 2017 | Adrian?Moreno | United States | $528,316 | 4,391 entries |
| 2018 | Guoliang Wei | China | $559,332 | 4,732 entries |
| 2019 | James Anderson | United States | $690,686 | 6,246 entries |
The near $700k first-place prize was the biggest one to be awarded in the event's seven-year history. The One Drop Foundation is one of many charity initiatives that have been established around the globe have been adopted by the gaming industry.
One Drop has been proudly supported by the World Series of Poker through this decade, including three Big One for One Drop events with a million-dollar buy-in during the WSOP in Las Vegas. Over the years, the WSOP has raised $23,860,280 for the charitable foundation, with $693,306 coming from this event alone. It's another step towards providing access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in, currently, thirteen countries across the globe.
While the Little One for One Drop has concluded, there's plenty more coming from the 2019 World Series of Poker. Click here for live updates from the 2019 WSOP Main Event, or click here for an overview of all events that are currently going on in the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
Level 44
: 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #280: James Anderson moved all in on the button. Fernando Karam, at risk for his tournament, tanked for a minute and announced the call to create the following showdown:
Fernando Karam: 
James Anderson: 
Karam needed to hit on the board for a double but found no help throughout the 
and busted in second place for $426,543.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level 44
: 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #271: Fernando Karam folded his big blind.
Hand #272: James Anderson tossed a pile of 1,000,000 chips in front of him, putting Karam at risk for his tournament and the latter called for 12,800,000.
Fernando Karam: 
James Anderson: 
Karam managed to find a board 
, giving him the straight and the needed double up.
Hand #273: Karam announced all in on the button and Anderson tanked before folding.
Hand #274: Anderson moved all in and Karam folded, showing 
.
Hand #275: Karam folded his button.
Hand #276: Anderson folded.
Hand #277: Karam folded on the button.
Hand #278: Anderson folded.
Hand #279: Karam folded on the button.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
225,300,000
-9,700,000
|
-9,700,000 |
|
||
|
|
24,500,000
9,500,000
|
9,500,000 |
Level 44
: 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #260: James Anderson limped in and Fernando Karam checked. The flop was 
and Anderson took it with a bet of 5,000,000.
Hand #261: Karam shoved on the button and Anderson folded.
Hand #262: Anderson raised to 6,500,000 and Karam folded.
Hand #263: Karam raised to 7,500,000 and Anderson folded.
Hand #264: Anderson limped and Karam checked. Karam bet 5,000,000 on the 
flop and 10,000,000 on the turn, and Anderson called two times. The river went check/check.
"Eight," announced Karam without tabling his hand. Anderson showed 
and Karam mucked.
Hand #265: Karam shoved all in on the button and Anderson folded.
Hand #266: Anderson limped and Karam checked. The 
board got checked down to the river, where Anderson bet 7,000,000. Karam called but mucked when Anderson showed 
.
Hand #267: Walk for Anderson.
Hand #268: Anderson shoved and Karam folded.
Hand #267: Walk for Anderson.
Hand #268: Anderson shoved and Karam folded. Left with just a few big blinds, he contemplated quite a while before folding but ultimately let it go with a grimace.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
235,000,000
72,400,000
|
72,400,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
15,000,000
-72,200,000
|
-72,200,000 |
Level 44
: 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #255: Fernando Karam raised on the button and James Anderson folded.
Hand #256: Anderson raised to 6,500,000 and Karam decided to three-bet to 18,000,000. Anderson pushed all in for a total stack worth 81,300,000 and Karam snap-called.
James Anderson: 
Fernando Karam:
Anderson had the dominated hand and the board first fell 
but the turn and the river gave a runner-runner flush to Anderson who doubled up through Karam.
Hand #257: Karam folded his button.
Hand #258: Anderson raised to 6,500,000 and Karam called.
Both checked on the flop 
and Karam led out for 6,500,000 when a fell on the turn. Anderson called. The river was the 
and this time Karam checked and folded after Anderson fired 22,000,000.
Hand #259: Karam raised to 6,500,000 and Anderson called. Both checked throughout the board 
and Karam mucked when Anderson showed 
for a pair of fives.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
162,600,000
87,600,000
|
87,600,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
87,200,000
-87,800,000
|
-87,800,000 |
Level 44
: 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #243: Walk for James Anderson.
Hand #244: Walk for Fernando Karam.
Hand #245: Walk for Anderson.
Hand #246: Anderson raised to 6,500,000 and Karam defended. The flop was 
and Karam check-folded to a bet of 5,000,000.
Hand #247: Karam raised to 6,500,000 and Anderson defended. The 
flop brought two checks. The turn was the 
and Karam took it with a bet of 8,000,000.
Hand #248: Walk for Karam.
Hand #249: Karam raised to 7,500,000 and won the hand.
Hand #250: Anderson raised to 6,500,000 and Karam called. Karam check-called 6,000,000 on the 
flop before both checked the turn and river down. Karam tabled to win the hand.
Hand #251: Walk for Anderson.
Hand #252: Anderson raised to 6,500,000, Karam three-bet to 18,000,000 and Anderson folded.
Hand #253: Walk for Anderson.
Hand #254: Anderson raised to 6,500,000 and Karam called. The 
flop went check/check. The turn 
brought a bet of ten million straight from the Brazilian and Anderson gave it up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
175,000,000
44,000,000
|
44,000,000 |
|
|
75,000,000
-44,500,000
|
-44,500,000 |
|
|
||
Level 44
: 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Hand #237: Fernando Karam completed and James Anderson checked.
The flop came and Anderson check-called a bet of 4,000,000 from Karam. The turn brought no betting action.
A completed the board and this time Anderson check-called for 17,000,000. Karam tabled for two pair and Anderson mucked.
Hand #238: Anderson raised to 6,500,000 and Karam called to see a flop . Karam checked and snap-folded when Anderson grabbed some chips for a bet.
Hand #239: Karam raised to 7,500,000 and Anderson called. The flop appeared and Anderson check-folded after a continuation bet from Karam.
Hand #240: Anderson raised his button to 6,500,000 and Karam called. The flop went check-check.
The turn brought the 
and Karam quickly check-called a bet worth 7,000,000 from Anderson. On the river, Karam checked and Anderson fired a bet of 25,000,000. Karam thought about his move for a minute and moved all in.
Anderson went deep into the tank and ended up folding after a few minutes. Karam said he was bluffing.
Hand #241: Karam folded his button.
Hand #242: Anderson raised to 5,500,000 and Karam called. Both checked on the flop .
The turn fell a and Karam led out for 5,000,000. Anderson let it go.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
131,000,000
72,000,000
|
72,000,000 |
|
|
119,500,000
-71,500,000
|
-71,500,000 |
|
|
||
Level: 44
Blinds: 1,500,000/3,000,000
Ante: 3,000,000
Level 43
: 1,200,000/2,500,000, 2,500,000 ante
Hand #229: Fernando Karam raised preflop to win the hand.
Hand #230: With 6,200,000 each in the middle preflop, a flop of 
appeared. Karam bet 5,000,000, James Anderson raised to 14,000,000, and Karam folded.
Hand #231: After a raising war preflop, both players got their stacks in the middle. It was Karam who put the last, big shove in and Anderson called it off for 82,000,000 total.
James Anderson:
Fernando Karam:
The kings of Anderson held up on a 
board to propel him to a huge lead.
Hand #232: Anderson raised to 6,000,000 and Karam called. The flop was and Karam check-called 7,500,000 from Anderson. Both players checked the turn and river, giving Anderson the winner with .
Hand #233: Karam raised to 6,000,000, Anderson three-bet shoved and Karam folded.
Hand #234: Walk for Karam.
Hand #235: Walk for Anderson.
Hand #236: Walk for Karam.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
191,000,000
122,000,000
|
122,000,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
59,000,000
-121,800,000
|
-121,800,000 |