WSOP $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em goes to Jansen

Bradley Jansen of Hubertus, Wisconsin defeated France's Jeremy Malod in heads-up play to claim the gold bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em at the 2021 World Series of Poker. Jansen wins the WSOP gold bracelet and $313,403 for the victory.

The three-day event attracted 1,450 entries to generate a $1,935,750 prize pool. The popular six-handed format saw cashing finishes from notable players Darren Elias (54th $5,282), Upeshka De Silva (47th $6,170), Jun Obara (41st $7,329) and Melanie Weisner (17th $17,141).

Jansen owns a law practice in Wisconsin and considers himself somewhere in-between a professional and recreational player. He won a WSOP Circuit ring in Milwaukee in 2019 and this is his first WSOP gold bracelet in three cashing times at the 2021 WSOP. He previously found the money in Event #7: Dealer's Choice and Event #13: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

"It feels great," Jansen said in a post-win interview with PokerNews. "I've gone through this moment in my head many times before and when it actually gets here it's unreal. Last night I thought about it a lot and I thought about what I was going to do and how I would react. It's easy to get ahead of yourself. It's just a really special day."

Jansen's win didn't come easy. He came from behind after Malod held nearly 70% of the chips at one point in final table action.

"I made a lot of adjustments today. Especially when we were three and four-handed. Malod had a ton of chips and the short stacks were trying to ladder up and I was stuck in the middle."

Fortunes changed for Jansen when the match reached heads-up play.

"When we got heads-up I just ran like the sun and I make a bunch of big hands. (Malod) played great. I don't think there was anything he could have done to change the outcome."

Jansen's WSOP isn't over yet, but he has important business to attend to before he returns to try to win his second bracelet of the series.

"I'm going home tomorrow and I can't wait. I'm coming back out in a couple of days but I can't wait to go home to celebrate with my wife Katherine and my kid.

"My wife is my rock when it comes to poker. We have a 7-month old daughter at home that I can't wait to get home and see. I'm going home tomorrow and I can't wait. I'm coming back out in a couple of days but I can't wait to go home."

Jansen credits a lot of his success to her unconditional support.

"She tells me to go out and do my thing. Someone believing in me means all the difference in the world. I think that's why I've had so much success the last couple of years. Her faith in me keeps me grounded and I couldn't be more blessed."

Day 3 started with two tables of four and quickly moved to a single final table after Jon Baylor hit the rail in eighth place. Seven-handed play continued for more than an hour before Mark Liedtke was eliminated by Jansen's pocket queens.

Jesse Yaginuma went on an early run on Day 3, but it was cut short with a sixth-place finish when he called Malod's shove and his ace-king couldn't improve against Malod's queens. Ryan Andrada finished not far behind in fifth when he shoved with king-jack and Malod sent him away with ace-ten.

Sean Hegarty finished in fourth when he clashed with the other remaining short stack, Ryan Pedigo. Pedigo managed to double again before being eliminated by Malod in third place.

Malod and Jansen came into the final day as the two chip leaders and they were the last two standing to battle for the gold bracelet. Malod held a huge advantage going into heads-up play, but Jansen chipped away early before the turning point came when he made straight on the river and Malod shoved. This hand flipped the chip counts and Malod was left with less than 20 big blinds.

Jansen closed the deal after just over an hour of heads-up play when a six fell on the river to complete his runner-runner straight.

Final Table Results
1 Bradley Jansen United States $313,403
2 Jeremy Malod France $193,711
3 Ryan Pedigo United States $136,070
4 Sean Hegarty United States $96,919
5 Ryan Andrada United States $70,013
6 Jesse Yaginuma United States $51,305
7 Mark Liedtke United States $38,146

(Article courtesy of World Series of Poker)