A total of 1,066 players, mostly Americans, travelled to Choctaw, Oklahoma to participate in the $3,500 World Poker Tour Championship Event. They created a total prizepool of $3,619,070 with $666,758 for the eventual winner. After a long and hefty final table, James Mackey was too strong for his opponents and took home the victory.
The final table of six started with the following line-up:
|
Seat |
Player |
Chipcount |
Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
James Mackey |
6.315.000 |
(53 bb) |
|
2 |
Matthew Smith |
2.330.000 |
(19 bb) |
|
3 |
Craig Varnell |
7.495.000 |
(62 bb) |
|
4 |
Bastian Fischer |
8.780.000 |
(73 bb) |
|
5 |
Benjamin Zamani |
3.300.000 |
(28 bb) |
|
6 |
Jack Duong |
3.750.000 |
(31 bb) |
After an hour of play, Matthew Smith shoves his last 15 big blinds to the middle with 
, but he needed help against Duong's 
. He didn't get the wanted help on a board of 
and was eliminated in sixth place for $134,720.
More than an hour later, Mackey scored a huge double when his pair of kings held against the flushdraw of Duong, who was left with only 2 big blinds. One hand later he lost his remaining chips against Varnell and ended in fifth for $175,122.
Fisher, the chipleader at the beginning of the final table, couldn't win a hand. Eventually he shoved his ace-eight into Varnell's Q's, and after a board of 
he could walk to the cashier to collect his $230,300.
Zamani started the three-way play as the shortstack, but managed to survive a couple of all-in situations, causing him to make another moneyjump, as Varnell's ace-seven didn't improve against Mackey's 9's.
In the 134th hand of the tournament, Zamani had all his chips in the middle as a huge underdog. Zamani had shoved with 
, but Mackey held the 
, and after the board ran out 
, Mackey secured his win and his first WPT-title.
The payouts:
|
Place |
Player |
Price |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
James Mackey |
$666.758 |
|
2 |
Benjamin Zamani |
$412.234 |
|
3 |
Craig Varnell |
$306.346 |
|
4 |
Bastian Fischer |
$230.300 |
|
5 |
Jack Duong |
$175.122 |
|
6 |
Matthew Smith |
$134.720 |
