Day 4 of the #44 $3k No-Limit Hold’em event, Poker Academy ambassador Jon Van Fleet started with the 9th largest stack. Enjoy a recap of his performance on the last day of the tournament.
15 players resumed the game at 11 am local time. During the first two blind levels, six players dropped out of the competition, and the line-up for the final table was thus determined.
| # | Players | Winnings |
| 10 | Kartik Ved | $48,109 |
| 11 | Ankush Mandavia | $48,109 |
| 12 | Aliaksandr Hirs | $38,317 |
| 13 | Aliaksandr Shylko | $38,317 |
| 14 | Samy Boujmala | $30,873 |
| 15 | Justin Chu | $30,873 |
Jon Van Fleet on the final table
Jon Van Fleet had his hands full from the start. First, he was fighting for his tournament life when Aram Oganyan (SB) pushed all-in with almost 7 million chips. In the BB, Van Fleet checked his cards to reveal Ac9c. His opponent held KQo. The board ran 83378, leaving Van Fleet with a winning A-high hand and taking the massive pot.
He was right back in the hot seat after Levente Szabo pushed all-in on BTN for 2.8 million. Oganyan, in the small blind, responded with an all-in of 4.25 million and Van Fleet decided to make a stand with AQs looking to knock out two players at a same time. Unfortunately for him, Oganyan hit a set of sevens and doubled up. Szabo busted at 9th.
Poker Academy Ambassador was responsible for eliminating John Marino in 8th place. With the blinds at 200k/400k + 400k ante, Van Fleet pushed all-in from the small blind with a pair of jacks. Marino called with fives. The board ran QJ6A3 and Marino was out of tournament.
A lost flip that made the difference
At level 34, three players – Shannon Shorr, Aleks Dimitrov and Frederic Normand – had to bid farewell to the tournament. Only four players were left in contention for the coveted gold bracelet.
In the 250k/500k+500k ante blind war, Jon Van Fleet (6c6h) and Oganyan (Ac7c) clashed once again. The flop brought three hearts, the most significant of which was an ace. This gave the small blind player a considerable edge. However, Jon still had a redraw since he held a 6 of hearts in his hand. The turn then revealed a 9h, enabling him to remain in the tournament.
The pivotal hand for Jon was a lost flip of AK vs the pocket nines held by Alex Lynsky. After this, Van Fleet had just over 6 million chips in his stack. Things did not go his way for much longer though and when the blinds changed, he pushed his last 1.2 million from the SB into the pot with JTo. Lynski called with K4 and Jon was fortunate enough to hit a T on the flop.
The end of the road for Jon came at the blinds of 400k/800k+800k ante. On the SB, he pushed all-in for 5.4m with Kc2h but his opponent Yang Zhang called with 6h4h. The board ran AQ4JJ, giving Zhang two pairs and ultimately eliminating Jon from the tournament. He finished 4th and earned a cash prize of $238,546.
Yang Zhang went on to win this event, defeating Aran Oganyan in a heads-up battle. This victory earned him his first WSOP bracelet and $717,879 in prize money. Congratulations to the winner!
| # | Player | Country | Winnings |
| 1 | Yang Zhang | China | $717,879 |
| 2 | Aram Oganyan | USA | $443,680 |
| 3 | Alex Lynskey | Australia | $323,610 |
| 4 | Jon Van Fleet | USA | $238,546 |
| 5 | Frederic Normand | Canada | $177,732 |
| 6 | Aleks Dimitrov | Bulgaria | $133,862 |
| 7 | Shannon Shorr | USA | $101,928 |
| 8 | John Marino | USA | $78,475 |
| 9 | Levente Szabo | Hungary | $61,098 |
Apestyles being busy
After his elimination from the tournament, Jon decided to join forces with his dad for the tag-team event. Together, they set off on a mission to win the golden bracelet. Onward and upward!
Busted 4th for around $230k. Always want the bracelet but feeling great.
— Jonathan Van Fleet (@apestyles) June 23, 2023
Now I'm taking over for my dad "the geez" in the tag team event. He was a trooper and played 7 hours!
Thank you for all the support everyone!
We want to extend our appreciation and congratulations to Jonathan Van Fleet for the enthusiasm he brought to the game and his outstanding performance. We can’t wait to see what his next starts will bring, and we are wishing him all the best in his attempt to win at least one gold bracelet during the 54th Annual World Series of Poker!