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Joshua Bolton Wins Poker Hall of Fame Bounty Event in Las Vegas
The British player Joshua Bolton won Event #92 on the 2025 WSOP roster this week as he beat American rob Wazwaz heads-up to claim $311,349 and his first-ever WSOP bracelet. Surrounded by friends such as his fellow British pro Andrew ‘Statto’ Hulme, Boulton got the better of Wazwaz after the American had previously led the final few players.
An entertaining end to the $1,979-entry NLHE Poker Hall of Fame Bounty Event #92 saw British player Joshua Boulton triumph against the American chip leader Rob Wazwaz as a talented table of nine played down to a winner. The Horseshoe Las Vegas casino was packed with players and fans on a busy day of action as three British players made the final table and former professional soccer star Jimmy Kebe scored a career-best $105,879 in fourth place.
$1,979 NLHE Poker Hall of Fame Bounty Results:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Joshua Boulton | United Kingdom | $311,349 |
| 2nd | Rob Wazwaz | United States | $207,510 |
| 3rd | Ori Mendi | Israel | $147,184 |
| 4th | Jimmy Kebe | France | $105,879 |
| 5th | David Dibernardi | United States | $77,263 |
| 6th | Laksh Singh | India | $57,205 |
| 7th | Jun Li | United Kingdom | $42,983 |
| 8th | Chen-An Lin | Taiwan | $32,783 |
| 9th | Zhicheng Miao | United Kingdom | $25,386 |
Wazwaz Leads into Final Day
With nine players left, three of the final table hailed from Britain but while one of their number would eventually win the bracelet, two of them made early exits. Zhicheng Miao was the first to bust the final table, cashing for $25,386 in ninth place. An exit for Taiwanese player Chen-An Lin followed, as this time a score of $32,783 was his reward for a run to eighth place.
The second British player to be eliminated was Jun Li in seventh place, as he went home with $42,983. All-in with pocket jacks, he had to hold to double up against the ace-king belonging to Israel’s Ori Mendi but couldn’t do so. A flop of 7-5-5 was OK for the at-risk player but an ace on the turn then an inconsequential nine on the river ended matters in favor of the bigger stack, as Li bid his tablemates good luck and farewell.
Out in sixth place was the Indian player Laksh Singh for $57,205. All-in with pocket nines, Singh was a long way behind Boulton’s pocket jacks and the 8-6-2 was no help to the at-risk Indian player. A jack on the turn was the death knell for the Indian’s chances of recovery as Boulton took the chip lead.
Boulton Blessed by Poker Gods
When the final day began, it was Wazwaz who had grabbed the lead just minutes before Day 2 ended. He and Boulton were some way clear of the others, and that dynamic continued as the final two battled towards what had always seemed like an inevitable collision course.
It wasn’t long before the final five were reduced by a number. David Dibernardi cashed for $77,263 in fifth when his ace-nine of clubs couldn’t hold against Rob Wazwaz’ king-queen, a king on the turn coming before Dibernardi committed his chips with the nut flush draw which didn’t come in on the river of an offsuit seven.
The former Reading and France soccer player Jimmy Kebe scored the biggest cash of his poker career so far, as he won $105,879 in fourth place. Losing a lot of his stack with pocket aces against Mendi’s six-four on a flop of 8-4-4, Kebe then saw his short stack disappear when ace-six of diamonds was shot down by Joshua Boulton’s ten-eight of the same suit, a ten coming on the turn to doom the former soccer star.
Ori Mendi left in third place for $147,184 when his ace-king shove caught no cards against the call with pocket nines from Joshua Boulton. A board of Q-4-2-Q-6 meant the Israeli met the rail as Wazwaz’ stack of 19.2 million chips and Boulton’s 14.25 million were separated by the center of the felt as the cross-Atlantic rivals prepared to play for the win.
The Champion in his Own Words
Heads-up, it was a big double-barrel bet that bagged Boulton a 3:1 chip lead. That lead saw him shove with ace-ten but the British player was dominated by Wazwaz, who called with ace-jack and said: ‘Let’s hold this time!”
Showing that the Poker Gods are not fond of being called out directly, a flop of T-7-3 landed, and after a deuce on the turn, a four on the river pronounced Boulton the champion at Wazwaz’ expense. With Boulton winning $311,349 as champion and Wazwaz claiming $207,510 as runner-up, the newest bracelet winner was finally left smiling.
After the event, Boulton was teased from his fellow British players on the rail about referring to himself as unlucky. The Coventry-born professional, whose previous biggest-ever win on The Hendon Mob was the Venetian Deepstack event he won for $38,000, couldn’t hold back his delight.
“Absolutely amazing. Yeah, very lucky, very blessed,” Boulton said. “I will [stop complaining] now, for sure. That’s my unlucky bad beats ended.
Asked what the support on his rail meant to him, the Brit, who banked his biggest-ever score of $311,349 to put him over a million dollars in live tournament, responded: “That’s what it’s all about. My good friends are here; I’ve stayed with one of them for six weeks in a house here.”
Despite going into the final bracelet battle with 14 million chips to Wazwaz’ 19 million, Boulton was confident and always saw himself winning gold.
“I was confident,” he said. “I had 14 mil, he had 19 mil. I brought it back early and then I got lucky at the end.”
Luck or not, Joshua Boulton has achieved something so few players ever have, winning a WSOP bracelet.
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