The questionable call by Lauri Saaskilahti in the WSOP Main Event practically decided the champion of the world’s main poker tournament. Even after the tournament ended, the play between Lucas Jumalon and Lauri Saaskilahti still draws attention. Now, the two involved have explained the thinking behind the play.
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Thus, Saaskilahti revisited the confrontation on the First Hand Hands podcast from the PokerOrg site. The Finn mainly analyzed the hero call with J♦3♦. The play happened shortly after he approached Lucas Jumalon in the chip count. However, after losing the considerable pot, the European quickly lost the final confrontation.
In this way, the Finn explained that his decisions were related to the reads he made of Jumalon. When the J♠ appeared on the turn, the champion bet about twice the pot. Saaskilahti then decided to continue in the hand also based on his physical reads of the opponent.
However, the situation became even more complicated on the river. The 6♠ completed Jumalon’s flush, who made a large overbet. After about 11 minutes of thinking, Saaskilahti called the bet. Thus, the decision practically defined the champion of the WSOP Main Event.
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Jumalon explains the reasoning behind the bet
However, Jumalon spoke about the play after being questioned by Mike Matusow on social media. The veteran player wanted to know if the champion would have kept the pressure if the river had not completed the flush. Later, Jumalon answered that he would have folded in that scenario.
Additionally, when explaining his strategy, he highlighted the image he had built during the heads-up. According to Jumalon, this perception influenced both the bet of twice the pot on the turn and the decision on the river. “It all comes down to what I believe he thinks about me”, the champion explained when commenting on the line taken.
Finally, Jumalon stated that he would not have folded the hand against all opponents. “I would have folded on the river against him, not against other players”, he revealed. Furthermore, the champion made a point of praising Saaskilahti and highlighted the respect for the Finn’s performance in the heads-up.
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