George holmes is on the run of a life after coming back from the brink of elimination to collect over 65 million chips on day 7 of the Main event of $ 10,000 to World Series of Poker 2021.

Midway through the second level of Day 7, Holmes found himself with little more than a big blind remaining after a failed attempt to oust Jack Oliver from the Main Event. Holmes had pushed his last 9 million to the middle with king-queen, and Oliver, a booming poker star from England, followed with ace-king. The board sold out with no favors for Holmes, and he had only 475,000 tournament chips left.

A few hands later, Holmes did it with four callers and won a pot to give himself some life with just over 2 million in chips. In 90 minutes, he had 16 million. When Day 7 ended for dinner he had 20 million, and by the end of the fourth level of the day, Holmes had amassed over 32 million in chips and had become a legitimate problem for other Main Event prospects. .

As Day 7 reached midnight Las Vegas time, Holmes sat near the chip lead on a mountain of 68 million chips after picking up a pair of aces to take out Kornuth.

Main events specialist

The roller coaster ride on Day 7 is just another of the many unforgettable experiences Holmes is handling in his second Main Event. His first shot at the WSOP flagship event came in 2019, where Holmes ran deep and finished in 213th place for $ 50,855.

“I only play the Main Event,” said Holmes PokerNews on a short break on day 7. “I went to a WSOP Tour stop in North Carolina a few years ago, but this is the only WSOP event I’ve come to play.”

Holmes is originally from New Jersey and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he competes in a weekly home game. He mainly plays cash games and has been interested in poker since 1999. His tournament experience is limited and his participation in the 2019 Main Event is the only recorded cashout.

To say this is all new and exciting would be an understatement, but the Main Event routine doesn’t leave much time for thinking.

“It’s a crazy race. It’s surreal, ”said Holmes of his Main Event experience. “I don’t even think I’ll be able to figure it all out until it’s over.”

The return path

After battling to come back from the felt, Holmes broke the 30 million mark when he picked up two pair in one hand with Alejandro Lococo. The hand started innocently enough when Holmes limped from the small blind and Lococo checked his option.

Holmes bet 500k on the flop, and Lococo called. Both players checked the turn to see on the river.

Holmes bet 2.3 million and Lococo raised to 8 million. After taking a moment to consider his options, Holmes called with and won the pot with two pair while Lococo missed a pair of Aces. The pot was big enough to push Holmes past the 30 million mark, far from the 475,000 he had a few hours earlier.

If Holmes can make his way to the final table, which he has a good chance of doing, he will have a chance to turn his comeback into an $ 8 million salary.

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