Richard Ashby is back in the WSOP winning column after a long break
Richard Ashby’s first win in a live poker tournament since September 2019 saw him add a World Series of Poker (WSOP) circuit ring to the WSOP bracelet he won in 2010. Ashby, a Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) specialist, won his WSOP ring in a £1,100 (US$1,402) buy-in PLO event at London’s WSOPC Super Circuit.
Fifty-five entrants produced a prize pool of £53,350 (US$68,021) shared among the top eight players. The minimum cash was £2,100 (US$2,677), and Ashby took home £15,430 (US$19,673) and the coveted WSOPC gold ring.
Ajay Kejriwal was the first player to finish in the money. The Middlesex player finished fifth in the £3,000 (US$3,825) buy-in at the LIVE London High Roller Festival last April and took eighth place to win £2,100 (US$2,677). Rajesh Khanna won £2,600 (US$3,315) in seventh place, his second-highest live cash ever, before Jake Bluston saw his competition end in sixth place, winning £3,300 (US$4,207).
Playing short-handed is often a strength for the top poker pros, but that’s not true in Robert Cowen’s case. He would finish in sixth place and settle for a prize of £4,300 (US$5,482). Bulgarian Presiyan Tsvetanov broke free from his stack and finished fourth for a career-high £5,000 (US$6,375) before Daniel Patel’s end to finish third and win £7,500 (US$9,562) to send the tournament to heads-up play.
Ashby, better known by the online poker nickname “Chufty,” saw himself one-on-one with fellow PLO expert Justin Kyriakides. Ashby easily handled the pressure and sent Kyriakides to the rail in second place, earning him a career-best cash of £12,620 (US$16,090).
Ashby has career live tournament winnings of $2.7 million, a considerable amount he’d like to add to before the conclusion of the WSOP Super Circuit London on August 13.
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