The World Series of Poker’s flagship yearly event has kicked off this week at the Horseshoe Las Vegas, and it’s already crowned its first bracelet winner.
Asher Conniff of Brooklyn, New York, took down the 493-player field to claim the top $408,468 prize from a $2.047 million pool.
Conniff has a World Poker Tour title and a WSOP circuit ring. But a major WSOP bracelet had previously eluded him.
The $400K win is his third-best career prize. That’s after a $675,000 cash for 10th place at the 2022 WSOP Main Event, and his 2015 WPT win of $973,000.
“It’s incredible, man, just to not have to think about trying to win one anymore is great, and obviously the money, the experience — it’s awesome, I’m so happy,” Conniff said, speaking to WSOP.com after his win.
“I think one of the advantages that I have is that I’ve been in live streams and spots before where people can see my cards on stream, and there’s bright lights, and it’s stressful. I’ve been here before, so I know what to do.”
The Champions Reunion
The $5,000 buy-in tournament had some unique twists that made it worthy of kicking off proceedings for WSOP 2024 in style.
First, entry was free for any player who had previously won any kind of WSOP tournament, from online cash games to circuit rings, or even main event winners. Secondly, any non-tournament winning player who knocked out a previous tournament winner directly would be granted a free seat at the $10,000 WSOP Main Event tables.
A dozen former tournament winners took up the challenge, and six of them hit the cash spots. Out of those, Aram Zobian and Jonathan Pastore were the last two remaining when the final table rolled around on Thursday.
Dominant chip leader Halil Tasuryek put the pressure on Conniff with his five to one lead. But the American turned it around with a pair on the flop after a risky early all-in.
Conniff didn’t take the chip lead over his Turkish opponent until after hitting heads up play. He then closed out the title over a grueling 32 rounds of play, hitting pocket 10s for the win.
Tournament Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Asher Conniff | U.S. | $408,468 |
| 2 | Halil Tasyurek | Turkey | $272,468 |
| 3 | Yuzhou Yin | France | $188,342 |
| 4 | Jonathan Pastore | U.S. | $132,545 |
| 5 | Terry Fleischer | U.S. | $94,936 |
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
