Brian Kim Loses a Chance to Win the WSOP Main Event Due to a Five-Bet Shove
July 18, 2024 - At the 2024 WSOP Main Event final table, Brian Kim, a Los Angeles poker pro with over $7.3 million in live tournament earnings, faced a pivotal hand three hours into the session. This hand, which will be widely discussed, saw Kim finish with $1.5 million, potentially much less than he could have earned.
The final table action at the 2024 WSOP Main Event picked up with Malo Latinois busting in ninth place with A♥K♥ against Jordan Griff's 3♣3♠. Joe Serock soon followed in eighth, losing AxJx to Niklas Astedt’s QxQx. The most entertaining hand saw Boris Angelov raise, Kim three-bet with K♣6♣, and Astedt cold four-bet with 10♠10♦. Kim then five-bet all-in for 53,900,000, and Astedt called reluctantly.
Astedt would win middle set and Kim would be in severe need of a runner-runner straight or flush as the flop came out Q♣10♥8♠. Kim's run in the record-breaking WSOP Main Event came to an end on the 6♠ river when she finished in seventh place, earning $1,500,000. Help would arrive on the 5♣ turn.
When asked about the flop, Kim had this to say "Not happy to get called, but I think, Yeah, I had, an instinctual thing going on, That button didn't have a great hand. And also he was opening all the stuff he was supposed to, I had a feeling that Niklas actually considered folding when he looked at his cards.