Photo Credits: WSOP
For the first time, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) introduced a $10,000 Big O Championship. This Omaha event, Event#37, drew 332 entrants, creating a prize pool of $3,087,600. The top 50 players would cash, with the winner taking home $681,998.
John Fauver took home the first prize and became the event’s first champion, and his first ever WSOP bracelet. “It’s pretty cool that this is the first time this tournament has ever run,” Fauver said, smiling. “It really doesn’t even feel real yet. Ask me tomorrow if it has set in.”
The Big O event follows the success of the $1,500 Big O, which debuted last year with 1,458 entries and was won by Scott Abrams. This year, the addition of the $10,000 Championship event was another new milestone for the WSOP this year.
Fauver’s path to victory was not easy. “I was short the whole time, and I was just trying to survive,” he explained to reporters afterwards. As the final table began, Fauver had the smallest stack among the last four players. “I found a couple spots where the cards fell perfect for me. Kept me at a playable stack and then it just kept working out for me.”
| Result | Player | Prize |
| 1 | John Fauver | $681,998 |
| 2 | Calvin Anderson | $454,668 |
| 3 | Nitesh Rawtani | $311,747 |
| 4 | Farid Jattin | $217,783 |
| 5 | Dylan Weisman | $155,065 |
| 6 | Alfred Atamian | $112,573 |
| 7 | Michael Rocco | $83,359 |
| 8 | Danny Wong | $62,985 |