Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown

Event 15: $3500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poke Showdown Championship
No Limit Hold’em
April 10-16, 2014

Entries: 1,795
Total Prize Pool: $5,788,875

RECAP
Eric Afriat (Montreal, Canada), an amateur player from North of the Border, came to South Florida and beat five poker pros to win the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship.

Afriat defeated Mukul Pahuja (Coconut Creek, FL) the hottest player on the World Poker Tour to take the title and the $1,081,184 first place prize.

“I always envisioned it, always felt I was going to win, but the fact after everything is over, it just sunk in that it’s ridiculous what I just accomplished,” said Afriat with tears in his eyes. “The biggest WPT in history, winning the tournament, having just magical cards for five, six hours, just can’t get better than this.”

On the final hand, Afriat won a coin flip when his held against Pahuja’ , denying Pahuja his first WPT title in his third TV final table of the season.

“It was a roller coaster day and to end up in second isn’t the worst thing in the world,” said Pahuja who earned $691,965 as runner-up. “It just hurts because it’s the closest you can get to getting the title. Another close call, another big score though, so nothing to be too upset about.”

Third place finisher James Mackey (Kansas City, MO) played a pivotal role in three-handed play, which was a marathon and saw each player hold the chip lead and become the short stack at various points.

Mackey earned $441,128 and was knocked out by Pahuja who began heads up play with a 2-1 chip deficit.

The toughest beat at the final table came against fourth place finisher Jacob Bazeley (Cincinnati, OH) who had his pocket Aces cracked by Afriat who flopped two pairs.

“Brutal, what are you going to do,” said Bazeley who earned $371,931. “It’s an unavoidable spot and 99.9% of pros go broke there.”

The day began with the two short stacks eliminated first. Chance Kornuth (Hollywood, FL) was knocked out in 6th place ($247,954) by Mackey (KQ < AT), while Matt Stout (Las Vegas, NV) finished 5th when his QT didn’t improve against Pahujas A8.

The Poker Showdown Championships began with a WPT record turnout of 1,795 entries that created a prize pool of $5,788,875. The field featured a mix of poker stars, celebrities and recognizable faces.

Hall of Famer Scotty Nguyen led the poker contingent that included 2013 WSOP Main Event Champon Ryan Riess, WPT broadcasters Mike Sexton and Tony Dunst, as well as poker couple Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly. Former NFL All-Pros Bubba Franks (Green Bay Tight End) and Hollywood Henderson (Dallas Super Bowl winner) also played, but none of these players made the money.

The most impressive run of the 170 players who cashed came from “Hangover” Actress Sasha Barrese who finished 22nd for $25,372. “I’m actually relieved it’s over,” said Barrese who is expecting twins in August, “because it’s so exhausting.”

Notables who made even deeper runs included Day 1 chip leader Justin Young (13th), Jeff Gross (10th), Matt Glantz (9th), Barry Hutter (8th) and Blake Purvis (7th) who bubbled the TV final table.

Once Afriat had the big chip lead, he never relinquished it or gave Pahuja a chance to double-up.

“Everything was just magical,” said Afriat who had the most vocal rail, as Canada was well represented. “You can’t fight faith and it was my time.”

FINAL RESULTS

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