2021 was a memorable year for professional poker with a number of gold rings won throughout the duration of the World Series of Poker tournament that ran last year. There were several professional poker players that stood out from the crowd, however, by earning their first gold ring or adding to their existing gold ring collection. If you missed out on a number of famous faces earning their gold rings in real-time, continue reading to familiarise yourself with some of the year’s most notable and deserved wins.
Aaron Henderson
On July 16 of last year, Aaron Henderson kicked off the WSOP Summer Online Circuit by winning the $320 buy-in Event #1 $40,000 Better 8-Max and earning his first gold ring in a match that attracted 192 entrants with a final prize pool of $57,900 shared out amongst the last remaining 30 contenders at the table. In doing so, he beat a number of worthy opponents before battling it out in heads-up play to walk away with a cash prize of $12,077 and his first piece of poker hardware.
David Larson
It was the Bicycle Casino Circuit of the WSOP where David Larson managed to achieve the record-breaking feat of earning his eighth WSOP gold ring during the $400 No-Limit Hold’em event. The highly anticipated match attracted 107 entrants from start to finish and after eight hours of non-stop play against worthy opponents Meghan Smith, Lucas Tae, and Ray Wright, Larson was eventually crowned the winner and walked away with $9,995 to add to his existing poker earnings that, after his momentous win, now stand at a staggering $1,268,701.
Lori Gansel
In the Bounty Ring Event #6 $280 + 70 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty, Lori Gansel rose to the top to earn the first gold ring of her professional poker playing career so far. The Texas native, whose skills lie in playing live poker tournaments as opposed to online poker tournaments such as those found on ggpoker.co.uk, now possesses impressive career earnings of $39,765 in total with that amount only set to increase in the coming years as she grows and develops as a player by climbing the ranks and participating in more poker tournaments.
Christina Gollins
The latest WSOP proved to be popular amongst female professional poker players with Christina Gollins becoming the latest to earn her first gold ring after finishing in first place in Event #1 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack during the Bicycle Casino Circuit leg of the tournament. In doing so, she earned the best live cash of her career so far with $24,955 to take her career winnings to an impressive $98,940 and paved the way for a long and successful career within the wider world of poker having only recently relocated to Las Vegas in an attempt to switch from a career in property management to a career in professional poker on a full-time basis.
Shawn Sparks
Shawn Sparks earned his second gold ring of his professional poker playing career during Event #9 $400 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Million Dollar Guarantee of the Choctaw Durant Circuit. After two days and 32 levels of play, he toppled a field of 465 entrants and walked away with a $30,200 cash prize as the last man standing.
In 2021, a number of professional poker players earned their first gold ring or added to their existing collections by outperforming their opponents and achieving career-best performances at the table. This included Aaron Henderson, David Larson, Lori Gansel, Christina Gollins, and, last but not least, Shawn Sparks.
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