Lou Garza came from behind to beat the favorite Ben Lamb in Event #14 at the WSOP.

Lou Garza eliminated three of his four opponents on his route to winning his second WSOP bracelet and a career-high result of $1,302,233 in Sin City on Thursday night. With a $5,757,500 prize pool, the $25,000-entry High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha/No-Limit Hold’em Event #14 saw Garza came back from 4:1 down in chips to win heads-up against the highly decorated 2011 WSOP Player of the Year Ben Lamb.

WSOP Event #14: $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLHE Final Table Results:
Place	Player	Country	Prize
1^st	Lou Garza	United States	$1,302,233
2^nd	Ben Lamb	United States	$868,140
3^rd	Chongxian Yang	China	$598,285
4^th	Robert Cowen	United Kingdom	$421,524
5^th	Brandon Mitchell	United States	$303,773
6^th	John Pannucci	United States	$224,034
7^th	Zhargal Tsydypov	United States	$169,183
8^th	Youness Barakat	Italy	$130,896
9^th	Michael Moncek	United States	$103,821

Massive Prize Pool in Mixed High Roller

The $25,000 High Roller Event #14 took place in both Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold’em this week. With a whopping 245 entries all putting up the five-figure buy-in, the prize pool of $5.75 million was distributed between 37 players, with stars of the felt such as John Hennigan (36^th for $50,829), Cherish Andrews (34^th for $50,829), Jason Koon (32^nd for $50,829), and Bryce Yockey (26^th for $53,371) all claiming profit.

Closer to the final table but falling short were players like Stephen Chidwick (21^st for $53,371), Shaun Deeb (17^th for $60,520), Nick Schulman (14^th for $70,546), and Michael ‘Texas Mike’ Moncek (9^th for $103,821), who all failed to reach the final day but booked profit for the tournament nevertheless.

Chasing a top prize of $1,302,233, and one of the most prestigious WSOP bracelets on offer this summer, Lamb’s lead at the end of the penultimate day was a huge one, but his Day 2 was nothing but anything but easy in getting there. With 14 players left, Lamb was down to just two big blinds. Bouncing off the canvas, however, Lamb refused to be cooked and once back in contention, played like a man living a second life to the full. Bullying anyone he could, Lamb bagged up almost half the chips in play with four men standing between him and the third WSOP bracelet of his career.

Final Five Gather to Roast Lamb

The final day of the 14^th bracelet event this summer was an additional one, and when players sat down, the third-place finisher from the 2011 WSOP Main Event and a three-time bracelet winner, Ben Lamb, held almost half of the chips in play to amass a vast lead. In $25,000-entry events,

Lamb got off to a fast start, raising and taking several pots. Garza, although safely second in chips, was to Lamb’s direct right, so had to be hyper-aware of the ICM pressure he was under, along with all the other players trying to stop the chip leader. An opportunity presented itself for the eventual winner when Garza found pocket kings after Brandon Mitchell had shoved with king-nine. No help came for Mitchell who was the first man out, as Garza picked up chips and momentum.

Mitchell had gone and soon after, so too did Robert Cowen. The Welsh player, chasing a second bracelet, saw his aces cracked by Ben Lamb’s wrap and just three players were in the hunt with Chinese player Chongxian Yang down to fumes. Yang was quickly the next victim of Garza, who took out another, yet soon faced a 4:1 deficit.

Garza Gets the Gold

Down to the final two, everything went Garza’s way. Winning with two pair, then a wheel, he managed to chip up through Lamb to the extent that he was in the lead. Garza pressed in PLO and for some time grew his lead but Lamb wrestled back control. Garza, undeterred, succeeded with a triple barrel bluff and tossed the cards in Lamb’s face at the conclusion of the hand, a display of arrogance designed to underline his intentions to take charge.

Soon after, trips for Garza improved his chances and with 80% of the chips in play, Lamb’s ten-blind shove with king-ten suited ran into Garza’s pocket aces which held to win him the gold. Lamb, desolate, was the gentleman, hugging Garza and shaking his hand, but he must still be wondering how he lost the chance of his latest title.

“It feels great, but we’ve got some more work to finish off. We’re not done yet.” Garza declared. “It means everything to have family and close friends here supporting me. Once we got heads up, I knew I had to flip the switch, get aggressive, and just go for it with nothing to lose.”

Paul Seaton, an esteemed figure in the poker community with over ten years of experience, has provided live coverage from renowned poker tournaments like the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour. His involvement goes beyond observation; he has served as the Editor of BLUFF Europe Magazine and Head of Media for partypoker.

Paul's poker analyses have appeared in publications such as PokerNews, 888poker, and PokerStake, where he has conducted interviews with renowned players like Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Phil Hellmuth, and The Hendon Mob’s entire lineup. His outstanding contributions led to a nomination for Best Written Content at the Global Poker Awards, highlighting his significant impact and influence within the global poker community.